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Mercedes Sprinter: no more 4WD or 3.0L Engine ... Now “all wheel drive” and 4 Cylinder Engine
New tires on the Sprinter yes do they roll so much nicer than the 3.5 year old ones. Same unbeatable offroad tires as I in 2017. This is my 3rd set so far and never a flat. You can get 50K miles on a set if you’re foolish, but 30K is smarter. After all, 16/32 tread works a lot better than 4/32 and fresh resilient rubber is much more resistant to damage.
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I recently took my 2017 Mercedes Sprinter in for some body work (somebody backed a trailer hitch into the van door and then vanished so the $1000 deductible is mine to pay). I learned that the new Sprinter models have changd.
The awesome go-almost-anywhere utility of the Mercedes Sprinter might be at risk—I can’t tell for sure, and we’ll have to see how this sorts out.
No longer can you have real 4WD and low range gearing; you now get “all wheel drive” without a low range. All my lifetime xperience with all wheel drive is that is gets you stuck; I’d have been towed 3 or 4 times by now at $3000 a tow if I could even have persuaded a tow truck to venture there.
But... could the AWD be better than the 4WD? At least one coin-operated auto-review site claims so. Without driving one, it’s hard to say. Can’t rule it out I suppose.
The 4 cylinder engine high-output 1.95L twin turbo diesel engine might be OK or even better: on paper it is a bit more powerful than the 3.0L engine in my 2016 Sprinter.. And the 9-speed transmission is a big improvement.
I plan on maintaining my 2017 Sprinter as long as I can. The thing was expensive enough without all the build-out costs. Now I have to find a dealer who won’t charge me an outrageous $3500 for a Service B.
* But what do you expect from a company that features “Sustainability” and “Inclusions” front and center on the web page with “Inclusion” a feature story. Destroying real utility all while selling ultra-high-end schlock for the ultra-wealthy who won’t be eating insects for lunch. This is a company that lies to and mislead its customers (eg dieselgate and more), proven in court several times.
** The same reason Mercedes put non-diesel rated lightweight car oil in the 3.0L diesel Sprinter, ensuring improper breakin for a lifetime of problems and increased emissions, all to save 0.25 mpg from the lighter oil.
GFX 50R + Fujifilm GF 250mm f/4 R LM OIS WR @ 205.5mm equiv (250mm)
ENV: Eureka Dunes, altitude 2800 ft / 853 m, 55°F / 12°C
RAW: LACA corrected, diffraction mitigating sharpening
[low-res image for bot]
