Mercedes V-Class Marco Polo Camper Van - Is the £53K camper worth it?
MERCEDES V-Class Marco Polo Camper is a £53,000 camper van - we’re not sure what the point of it is though.
Sitting somewhere between a commercial vehicle and a home-from-home camper, the V-Class is somewhat baffling.
It sleeps four, is nicely finished inside and is on the more luxurious scale of the camper van market.
Inside you’ll get a nice little built-in kitchenette with a fridge and hob, plus a two-seater sofa, which can easily be transformed into a bed, a small dining area and a roof bed.
The elephant in the room however is the lack of toilet. Maybe not so much of an issue for the probable market for this van trundling through European campsites, but, I still argue that a toilet an essential.
You’ll find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, having to hunt for or constantly have to pull over on the road to go.
Add to this the extortionate £53,180 price tag, rising to over £60,000 for the AMG Line, the strikes are beginning to add up agains the V-Class.
However, and somewhat redeeming for the V-class are its list of standard features and low emissions engines.
A choice of two engines are available: 220 d and 250 d, both using a turbocharged 2.1-litre diesel engine.
The 220 d has an output of 163 hp and maximum torque of 380 Nm, with fuel economy of 44.8 mpg on the combined cycle and CO2 emissions of 166 g/km.
The 250 d generates 190 hp and 440 Nm of torque, can achieve 44.8 mpg and emits 169 g/km of CO2.
As standard, Sport models come with a two-seater sofa with bed extension; yacht wood flooring in rear compartment; camping table plus two chairs with storage bag; electrically operated pop-up roof.
Swivelling driver and passenger seats are a nice touch and the automatic three-zone climate control, external connections for power and fresh water will come in handy.
Active Parking Assist with rear-view camera will help with those tricky manoeuvres and split tail gate for loading/unloading.
For an additional £2,140, AMG Line models add AMG bodystyling; 19-inch AMG bi-colour wheels; sports suspension; carbon-look dash; AMG spoiler lip on tailgate; and metallic paint.
For £595, the Lane Tracking package includes Blind Spot Assist and Lane Keeping Assist.
The Driving Assistance package is optionally available for £1,695 and includes Distronic Plus; Blind Spot Assist; Pre-Safe; and Lane Keeping Assist.
Stand alone options include metallic paint (£645); Comand Online infotainment system (£1,795); 360° camera (£335); extra individual seat in the middle row (£1,045); side awning (£695); and auxiliary heating (£1,345 – available across the entire V-Class range).
If you have £60,000 to burn and don’t mind the lack of toilet, then the luxury feel and features are quite a nice package but frankly it’s tricky to see this one really making an impact.