Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vs Peugeot Expert

What's the difference?

It has its niggling faults like any vehicle but the Sprinter panel van is a well-designed vehicle overall. It’s fit for purpose and worthy of consideration if you’re in the market for a heavy commercial van. That is if you have about $90K to spend, which is around $40K more than its closest competitor - and that one comes from China.

Positives are higher payload and tow ratings than the Toyota HiAce along with superior fuel economy. Negatives are inferior safety, evidence of questionable build quality and a list price more than $3000 above a HiAce equivalent. So, whether the positives outweigh the negatives to justify its higher price, only a potential buyer can decide.

This is a sizeable vehicle that’s almost 7.0 metres long (6967mm) and more than 2.0 metres wide (2020mm) and with its ‘High Roof’ design stands more than 2.6 metres (2663mm) tall. If you tick the ‘Super High Roof’ option that raises height to 2878mm.

It rides on a sprawling 4325mm wheelbase with strut-type coil-spring front suspension, a robust leaf-spring live rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes.

Our only gripe in the cabin relates to the single USB outlet, which is awkwardly located inside the dash pad’s lidded central storage bin with no cut-out in the lid to route a device cable through. Placement near the central dash controls (like its smaller Vito sibling which has two USB ports) would be much better.

Our 'Long' example rides on a 3275mm wheelbase with 5309mm overall length, 1920mm width and 1948mm height, so compared to the HiAce it's slightly longer in wheelbase and overall length but narrower and not as tall. It’s also significantly lighter with a kerb weight that’s almost 500kg (or half a tonne) less than the Toyota; a big factor in its spirited performance and superior payload rating.

The Peugeot’s front-wheel drive underpinnings include MacPherson strut front suspension, coil spring semi-trailing arm rear suspension, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes. Its 12.4-metre turning circle is also more than a metre larger than the HiAce.

The Pro’s work focus can be seen in its black plastic front and rear bumpers and side mouldings where most scrapes and dents occur in hard-working vans. There’s matching black on other high-wear surfaces like the door mirrors, door handles, hubcaps, rear wipers and rego plate shroud.

The cabin has seating for three with a driver’s bucket seat and separate two-passenger bench seat. Although all occupants have ample headroom, the dashboard’s protruding centre console leaves little legroom. In fact, the centre passenger must travel with both knees skewed to the left of this extension, which then encroaches on the outer passenger’s legroom. So, for a crew of three we’d recommend short trips. Our only other criticism was the lower dash panel on the passenger’s side, which kept popping loose despite repeated attempts to click it back into place.

With a 2372kg kerb weight and 4100kg GVM, this Sprinter van has a substantial 1728kg payload rating. It’s also rated to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer and with its 6100kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that means it can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight.

The huge cargo bay, with a solid timber floor that looks long enough for landing light aircraft, has a cavernous load volume of 14 cubic metres.

It’s accessed through a large kerbside sliding door with 1260mm-wide opening, or symmetrical glazed rear barn-doors with 180-degree opening for easy forklift access. There’s internal lighting front and rear and the walls and roof are not lined.

Tall people can stand without stooping given the 2009mm internal height. With a 4351mm floor length and 1350mm between the rear-wheel housings, the Sprinter can carry up to three 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to five 800 x 1200mm Euro pallets, secured with a choice of 12 load-anchorage points. There are also handy net-type storage pockets in each rear barn-door.

Plenty of cabin storage starts with a large-bottle holder and upper/lower bins in each front door, plus full-width overhead storage shelves with a lockable compartment on the passenger side, four small-bottle/cupholders in the lower central dash, two more small-bottle/cupholders and three ‘clamshell’ lid bins in the top of the dash-pad, an open storage shelf on the lower passenger-side dash and another sizeable enclosed compartment beneath the passenger seat.

Its relatively light 1743kg kerb weight combined with a 3100kg GVM allows for a sizeable 1357kg payload that’s almost 300kg more than the HiAce. It’s rated to tow up to 1800kg of braked trailer, which is also 300kg more than the Toyota. And with its 4900kg GCM, the Expert can legally tow its maximum trailer weight while carrying its maximum payload. These are excellent numbers for a multitude of working roles.

The cargo bay and cabin are separated by a stout steel bulkhead, which insulates the cabin from tyre noise emanating from the rear wheel housings and doubles as a cargo barrier. Its central window provides vision for the rear-view mirror and the ability to check on loads.

Lined to mid-height, the Expert’s cargo bay is accessed through large sliding doors on each side with handy 935mm-wide openings, while rear access is through glazed barn-doors which open to 180-degrees to aid forklift access. Each is equipped with its own windscreen wiper and demister.

The load floor is 2780mm long and 1628mm wide with 1258mm between the wheel housings, so it can carry up to three 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets or two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets, held in place by a total of eight floor-mounted load anchorage points. The 6.1 cubic metres of load volume splits hairs with the HiAce’s 6.2 cubic metres.

Cabin storage starts with a cavernous bin in the base of each front door that can easily hold a big 1.5-litre bottle and lots more. Each door also has two other compartments for smaller items. The dash-pad has a cup holder at each end and there’s a shrouded storage compartment in the centre. There are also two small storage nooks near the gearshift dial, plus on the passenger side is a glovebox and additional storage compartment (with 12V accessory plug inside).

The bench seat’s hinged base cushion also tilts forward to reveal two large storage bins below, with one thoughtfully lined with polystyrene foam to keep items either hot or cold.

Our test vehicle is the Pro Long Auto variant. ‘Pro’ means it’s the lower-priced and more work-focused of two Expert model grades. ‘Long’ means it has the longer of two wheelbases and ‘Auto’ denotes auto transmission as opposed to the manual alternative.

Powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel shared by all Experts, it has a list price of $50,075 plus ORCs which is significantly more than its LWB HiAce auto equivalent at $46,760. And our example is finished in Artense Grey metallic, which is one of several premium colours available at extra cost.

The Pro Long Auto is built for work with 16-inch steel wheels and 215/65 R16C Michelin tyres plus a full-size spare. Useful workhorse features include rear parking sensors, 12-volt accessory socket, automatic headlights and wipers, front fog lights, cruise control and a multimedia system with 7.0-inch colour touchscreen and multiple connectivity including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

The 'OM654' is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel that meets the toughest Euro 6 emissions standards using AdBlue.

With two-stage turbocharging and auto start/stop technology, it produces 140kW at 3800rpm and 450Nm across a 1000rpm-wide torque band between 1400-2400rpm which showcases its flexibility.

The smooth-shifting nine-speed torque converter automatic offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using the steering wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, which could be handy when hauling heavy loads particularly in hilly terrain.

The Expert’s punchy 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel is one of its strengths. Turbocharged and intercooled, it has Euro 5 emissions compliance and produces 110kW at 4000rpm and 370Nm at 2000rpm. The eight-speed torque converter automatic has near-seamless shifting and offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using steering wheel paddle-shifters.

Heavy commercial vehicles are not required to provide fuel consumption data. Even so, when we stopped to refuel at the end of our 247km test of which about one third of that distance was hauling a heavy payload, the dash display was claiming a surprisingly frugal combined average of 9.9L/100km (with auto stop/start switched off).

This was close to our own figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, of 10.5 which means you could expect a ‘real-world’ driving range nudging 900km from its optional 93-litre tank.

Peugeot claims a combined average consumption of 6.3L/100km and the dash display was close to that at 7.6L after 386km of testing, which included about one third of that distance carrying a full payload. Our own figure calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings came in higher again at 8.3L/100km, which is still outstanding economy for a vehicle of this size. So, based on our numbers, you could expect an extensive driving range from its 70-litre tank of around 840km.

Wide door openings and large assist-handles on the windscreen pillars make for easy cabin entry.

Finding a comfortable driving position is not hard either, given the combination of a height/reach-adjustable steering wheel and supportive bucket seat with adjustments for backrest angle, seat-base rake/length and lumbar support.  

The optional 'Campervan Package' seats, with fold-down inboard armrests, can also rotate towards the centre of the cabin. We assume this pivoting function is to aid rear-of-vehicle access, but was of no use in our test vehicle given the mesh cargo barrier.

Our only criticism of the driving position is that the slim pillar between the fixed and sliding glass in the driver’s door partly obscures the driver’s eyeline to the door mirror. However, sliding the seat base forward solves the problem, so it’s only an issue for tall drivers like me that need to sit more rearward.

The ride quality without a load is good, given the robust rear suspension. It also has nicely-weighted and responsive steering plus good braking, along with acceptable internal noise levels at sub-80km/h city and suburban speeds given the absence of a solid bulkhead and minimal cargo bay linings.

However, tyre roar emanating through the rear-wheel housings and amplified by the cargo bay can be uncomfortably intrusive at highways speeds, depending on the coarseness of bitumen surfaces.

So, we’d recommend either installing a solid bulkhead (or use ear-plugs) to reduce noise levels if you’re planning to do regular highway driving in this configuration.

The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel and nine-speed automatic display great efficiency, with throttle response at its most immediate and energetic when operating within the 450Nm peak torque band between 1400-2400rpm.

The refined auto’s snappy but smooth shifting gets the best out of this engine in most situations, without the need to paddle-shift in manual mode.

To test its load-carrying ability, we used up all of our weights to forklift 1300kg into the cargo bay, which was still more than 400kg less than the GVM rating.

As a result, the Sprinter made light work of hauling this 1.3-tonne payload around town, with the only differences being a slightly firmer ride and more accelerator pedal required to maintain engine performance.

It easily hauled this load to the summit of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h, although engine-braking on the way down was (as expected) not as strong given its small displacement.

In a manually-selected second gear, road speed quickly increased as the engine climbed towards the tacho’s redline on overrun, before the auto dismissed our manual gear selection and shifted up to third.

This automatic engine-protection protocol is common in Euro vans. However, if you’re not ready for it, it can spring a surprise when you’re leaning on the drivetrain to assist with engine-braking during a steep descent and it suddenly shifts up and starts running away from you. The quartet of disc brakes, though, easily compensated for this shortfall.

It has a comfortable driving position as the steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach, the bucket seat has a fold-down inboard armrest and there’s a prominent left footrest. Although the driver’s seat base has no rake adjustment, it’s long enough to provide good under-thigh support with enough rake to avoid sliding towards the front of it like some rivals.

The steering is responsive and nicely weighted, which combined with competent handling and braking makes the Expert feel sure-footed. The supple four-coil suspension provides a smooth unladen ride quality.

The energetic drivetrain with its 370Nm of torque has spirited acceleration and good agility in traffic. Although peak torque is at 2000rpm, the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel pulls cleanly from 1500rpm which showcases its flexibility.

The eight-speed automatic gets good results from this engine, but sequential manual-shifting using the paddle-shifters is handy when more driver input is required. The cabin is acceptably quiet at highway speeds, thanks to the cabin bulkhead and low tyre, engine and wind noise.

Our only major criticism is the absence of blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. In our opinion every van, particularly with solid side-walls and doors like this one, should at least have these active safety features as standard (like the HiAce which also has standard front parking sensors).

The Expert’s relatively small mirror on the passenger door is not sufficient in eliminating the large and potentially hazardous blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder, particularly in heavy traffic and when reversing from driveways into busy streets.

No ANCAP rating and although it’s equipped with AEB, emergency brake assist and forward collision warning there are only front airbags for driver and passenger, which looks threadbare compared to the HiAce’s seven airbags. It also misses out on important active safety features previously mentioned.

The Sprinter is covered by a five year/250,000km warranty including five years roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/40,000km whichever occurs first.

Capped-price servicing for the first five scheduled services during warranty period totals $7130, or a pricey average of $1426 per service.

The Expert is covered by a five years/200,000km warranty. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/20,000km whichever occurs first. Five years of capped-price servicing totals $3049 or an average of $609.80 per year.