Mercedes-Benz Vito vs Ford Transit Custom

What's the difference?

This is a very competent light commercial van that’s nice to drive, either unladen or with a heavy load. It’s also rated to carry more than a tonne (like the HiAce) while towing 2.5 tonnes (one tonne more than the HiAce) which would make it well suited to a wide range of job applications, particularly given the forklift-friendly option of rear barn-doors.

However, even in standard trim, without our test vehicle’s options, it costs about $20K more than Toyota’s dominant rival. So, only a potential buyer can decide if the Vito’s much higher pricing is justified after a decent test drive and consideration of its higher tow rating - and perceived prestige.

The Sport, like all Transit Customs we’ve tested, is a capable one-tonner and all-around workhorse even though it's not quite as sporty these days due to engine revisions. With an all-new Transit Custom range due later this year, we’re not sure if a Sport will be part of the model mix. So, if you like the look of this rebel, we’re sure run-out deals will soon be available.

Our test vehicle rides on a 3200m wheelbase, which is the shorter of two available, resulting in an overall vehicle length of more than 5.0 metres (5140mm) and a tight 11.1-metre turning circle. Its 1915mm height ensures access to underground and multi-storey carparks.

It looks a cut above the usual whitegoods-on-wheels appearance of commercial vans with its alloy wheels, chrome grille highlights and black metallic paint including the front and rear bumpers. It has MacPherson strut front suspension, semi-trailing arm coil-spring rear suspension (which is excellent under heavy loads) and four-wheel disc brakes.

Although the driver’s bucket seat offers multiple adjustments, the separate bench seat for two passengers has none, but it does include a separate headrest and lap-sash belt for the centre passenger. All are trimmed in black 'Caluma' fabric.

However, if you’re tall with large feet like me, you’ll struggle to find a comfortable position in the centre seat. Given that its base cushion is offset to the left of the floor’s transmission hump, you can’t sit with feet either side of the hump.

The only choices are to squeeze both feet on top of the hump between dash and seat (not enough room for my size-11 Blundstones) or angle both legs across to the left with your feet on the passenger floor and knees pressing into the dash. Either way, travelling three-up is for short trips only, with the smallest crew-member preferably in the middle.

The Sport enhances the purposeful styling of the Transit Custom, which, with its wedge-shaped character lines, trapezoidal grille and swept-back headlights, is still arguably Australia’s best-looking commercial van after more than a decade in local showrooms.

Although some may find the twin racing stripes too in-ya-face, the overall effect of the Sport’s unique body enhancements and larger 17-inch alloys with lower profile tyres is one of cheeky rebellion against commercial van conservatism.

Only the Transit Custom’s handsome lines could get away with this. Can you imagine how a HiAce would respond to this treatment?

Even so, the Sport retains the excellent design features that make it such a good workhorse, including the sealed steel bulkhead that separates the cargo bay and cabin. This not only serves as a robust cargo barrier but also insulates the cabin from cargo bay noise, which in some commercial vans without a bulkhead can be unbearable at highway speeds.

Its front-wheel drive chassis platform has MacPherson strut front suspension, leaf-spring beam axle rear suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, power-assisted rack and pinion steering and a compact 2933mm wheelbase that provides a competitive 11.8-metre turning circle.

Our test vehicle is fitted with the standard LHS sliding load-door and twin rear barn-doors, but optional body configurations include a window in the LHS sliding load-door, dual side load-doors with or without windows and a rear swing-up tailgate.

With its relatively light 1967kg kerb weight (a HiAce equivalent tops 2200kg) and 3050kg GVM, our test vehicle has a 1083kg payload rating, so it’s a genuine one-tonner. And up to 150kg of that can be carried on the roof, where you’ll find four pairs of mounting points along each side of the roof ready for rack-mounting.

It’s also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer and with its 5550kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) it’s rated to tow its maximum trailer weight while carrying its maximum payload. That’s an impressive and useful set of numbers.

The cargo bay, which offers a competitive 6.0 cubic metres of load volume, is accessed by sliding doors on each side with 822mm opening width (although the top half of the cabin bulkhead encroaches on this) and a swing-up tailgate which restricts forklift access for rear loading (a twin barn-door option is available).

The walls and doors of the cargo bay are lined and its wooden load floor is 2678mm long and 1709mm wide with 1270mm between the rear-wheel housings. So, it could carry two 1165mm-square standard Aussie pallets or up to three 800 x 1200mm Euro pallets, secured using your choice of eight load-anchorage points. There’s also a large storage area at the base of the bulkhead which is ideal for carrying ropes, straps, load-padding etc.

There are numerous personal storage places in the cabin, including large bottle-holders and bins in the base of each door plus a second-tier at mid-height for smaller items. There are also three bins and two cupholders in the top of the dash-pad plus an overhead glasses holder, decent-sized glove box and a sizeable storage compartment hidden beneath the outer passenger seat.

With its 2064kg kerb weight and 3100kg GVM, the Sport offers a one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1036kg.

Handily, up to 130kg of that can be carried on the smartest of roof storage systems, comprising a trio of sturdy hinged racks which lie flat against the roof when not in use but can be quickly swung up and locked into vertical positions for load carrying.

It’s also rated to tow up to 1600kg of braked trailer. However, to do that without exceeding the 4100kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) would require a sizeable and impractical 600kg reduction in payload from 1036kg to only 436kg.

More than half of that 436kg could be used up by the weight of three big crew members alone before you could think about loading anything in the cargo bay.

So, from practical experience, we reckon it’s best to base tow ratings on a vehicle’s GVM. In this case, the maximum tow rating drops from 1600kg to 1000kg, but the payback is you get to keep the full 1036kg payload which is safer when towing and generally more useful.

The Sport’s cargo bay offers a competitive 6.0 cubic metres of load volume and with its 2555mm load floor length and 1351mm between the rear wheel housings, it can carry either two 1165mm-square standard Aussie pallets or up to the three 1200 x 800mm or 1200 x 1000mm Euro pallets.

Both types of pallets can be forklifted through the rear barn-doors with their 180-degree opening, but only the narrower Euro pallet could be loaded through the sliding side door with its 1030mm-wide opening.

The load floor length can be extended by almost half a metre via a swing-up hatch at the base of the cabin bulkhead, which accesses otherwise empty storage space beneath the front passenger seats. This useful feature allows extra-long items like lengths of timber, copper/PVC pipe, rolls of carpet, etc, to be carried.

The cargo bay has eight load-anchorage points and the load floor is protected by a tough vinyl covering. The walls and doors are lined plus there’s a handy 12-volt power outlet and bright LED lighting.

Plentiful cabin storage includes three levels of bins and a large-bottle holder in each front door plus upper/lower bottle holders on each side of the dash and a pop-out cupholder beneath the gearshift. There’s also a single A4-sized glovebox and more bins set into the top of the dash.

 Overhead is another cubby for small items and hidden beneath the two passenger seats is a cavernous storage area (when the cargo bay’s load-through hatch is closed of course) which is accessed from above through the hinged base cushions.

The centre seat’s backrest also folds forward to reveal a handy ‘mobile office’ work desk with pen holder, elastic strap for securing documents and two more cupholders.

Our test vehicle is the Transit Custom Sport 320S SWB, which translates to 3200kg GVM (it’s actually 3100kg), S for Sport and SWB for Short Wheelbase.

It’s available only with Ford’s 2.0-litre 'EcoBlue', four-cylinder turbo-diesel and six-speed automatic for a list price of $50,390 plus on-road costs.

Our example is finished in 'Blue Metallic' which is one of six optional premium colours that cost an additional $700. Other standard equipment for Sport buyers includes Bi-Xenon HID headlights with static bending and LED daytime running lights, body-coloured side mirrors and unique Cobra-style matt black body stripes and side decals.

There’s also a neat body kit with body-coloured front and rear bumpers, side skirts and wheel-arch flares; the latter neatly shrouds the black 17-inch machined alloys and grippy 215/65 R17 Michelin Agilis tyres. Stored underneath is a full-size steel spare.

The cabin can seat up to three on leather-appointed and heated seating, enhanced by a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s bucket seat with fold-down inboard armrest.

There's also a hard-wearing 'Sensico' (synthetic leather) steering wheel with height/reach adjustment and classy chrome air-vent surrounds with contrasting piano black fascia highlights on the dash.

Four-speaker multimedia includes an 8.0-inch touchscreen control and multiple connectivity including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Sync3, DAB+ digital radio, and more.

The refined and efficient 'OM654' is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder intercooled turbo-diesel which meets the toughest Euro 6 emissions standards using AdBlue. It produces 120kW at 4200rpm and its 380Nm is served at full strength across a broad torque band between 1350-2400rpm, which highlights its flexibility.

The '9G-Tronic' nine-speed torque converter automatic offers fast and smooth shifting and there are four switchable driving modes comprising 'Eco', 'Comfort', 'Sport' or 'Manual', the latter using steering wheel-mounted paddle-shifters.

Originally the Sport’s 2.0-litre EcoBlue four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine was tweaked for more power (+11kW) and torque (+15Nm) than the standard engine, as you’d expect.

However, given that availability of that unique variant ended in June 2022, it now shares the same engine as the standard Transit Custom.

While not class-leading, it still provides an energetic 125kW at 3500rpm and ample 390Nm of torque between 1500-2000rpm.

It also meets Euro emissions standards using AdBlue with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and offers a choice of Normal and Eco drive modes, plus an auto engine stop-start function which thankfully can be switched off.

The Sport also shares the same six-speed torque converter automatic used in the standard Transit Custom with ‘intelligent’ electronic protocols that monitor different driving styles, gradients and loads to optimise engine efficiency.

It also offers the choice of sequential manual shifting, but that’s done by flicking a small toggle switch on the side of the gearshift which doesn’t feel very sporty to use.

Mercedes-Benz claims an official combined cycle figure of 6.8L/100km but the dash readout was showing 8.1 at the end of our 348km test, of which about one third of that distance was hauling more than one tonne of payload.

That was lineball with our own figure, calculated from tripmeter and fuel bowser readings, of 8.3 which is outstanding single-digit economy given its big payload and GCM ratings. So, based on our figures, you could expect a ‘real world’ driving range of around 840km from its 70-litre tank.

Ford claims an official combined average of 8.0L/100km and the Sport’s dash display was showing 8.4 at the end of our 200km test, which was conducted without a load in normal mode with the engine stop/start function switched off.

Our own figure calculated from actual fuel bowser and trip meter readings came in at a higher 10.2 which is within the usual 1.0-2.0L/100km discrepancy usually found between dash figures and our own.

So, based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 680km from its 70-litre tank.

It offers a comfortable driving position with good eyelines to all mirrors, even though the central mirror’s view through the bulkhead window is slightly obscured by the centre seat headrest.

There’s a vast blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder caused by the bulkhead and solid cargo bay walls. This requires total reliance on the passenger-side door mirror in traffic, fortunately with the reassurance of blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

The driver’s seat, with its fold-down inboard armrest and multiple adjustment, is supportive and comfortable even though the recline angle of the backrest is restricted by the bulkhead behind it. Fortunately, there’s enough recline available, even for tall drivers.

The leather-trimmed steering wheel has a luxurious feel which is in stark contrast to the foot-operated parking brake, which lets out a loud spring-loaded ‘twang’ each time you pull the dashboard lever to release it.

It’s nice to drive on a daily basis as the bulkhead seals off cargo bay noise, steering is nicely weighted, the four-wheel discs provide strong braking and the unladen ride quality with four-coil suspension is smooth and supple.

At city and suburban speeds, the nine-speed auto is efficient at keeping the turbo-diesel operating in its broad peak torque band, with energetic throttle response that never feels sluggish.

With adaptive cruise control it also has effortless highway performance, requiring only 1500rpm to maintain 100km/h and 1750rpm at 110km/h. Engine and wind noise are low, but tyre noise varies according to road surface and can be quite intrusive on coarse bitumen at these higher speeds.

To test its payload rating, we forklifted 975kg into the cargo bay. With the raised tailgate restricting forklift access, we could only load one weight-block through the rear and that was only possible using extended tynes on the forklift. The other two blocks were loaded through the side doors.

With driver the total payload was 1065kg, which was less than 20kg under its limit. The coil-spring rear suspension compressed 75mm, which engaged the long rubber cones located inside the coils that provide a second stage of load support and a ride quality that’s free of thumps over bumps. The nose rose 30mm in response.

With more than a tonne on board, the Vito handled the load with ease. Although more accelerator pedal was needed, particularly on hills, the handling remained stable and it glided over bumps.

It also scoffed at our 13 per cent gradient 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, self-shifting down to third gear to easily haul this load to the summit.

Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, wasn’t as effective which is usually the case with relatively small diesels trying to restrain heavy payloads on steep descents. The quartet of disc brakes kept our speeds below the posted 60km/h limit.

For a one-tonne van it’s surprisingly engaging (dare we say sporty?) to drive with torquey engine response, communicative steering and a bolstered driving seat that provides good lateral support of the upper body.

The quartet of disc brakes provides ample stopping power and the well-planted chassis on its larger diameter and lower profile Michelins responds vigorously to steering input, which makes it enjoyable to drive either when zipping through traffic or cruising on the open road. Overall refinement is good with low engine, tyre and wind noise.

It’s a comfortable highway hauler, with gearing that keeps engine rpm capped at a leisurely 2100rpm at 110km/h.

The fold-down inboard armrest is much appreciated on long hauls, but driving comfort could be further improved with a longer base cushion for better under-thigh support.

 All-round vision is as good as you could ask for, given a huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder created by the cabin bulkhead.

The door mirrors are large enough to provide good views down both side of the van, aided by the bottom third of each being fitted with a wide-angle view.

Combined with other active driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors, reversing camera, etc, the working van’s traditional danger zones are well monitored which makes the Sport easy to live with if you drive it daily.

As the forklift was temporarily out of action, we didn’t conduct our usual GVM test with the Sport during this review. However, we have previously tested one with a 1030kg payload which was right on its maximum payload rating.

The rear suspension only compressed about 40mm which left plenty of bump-stop clearance and resulted in an even more planted feel on the road with no significant effect on engine, steering and braking response.

It also resulted in a smoother ride quality, which is to be expected given that the much heavier sprung weight ironed out bumps and other road irregularities.

Although its maximum five-star rating was achieved when the current Transit Custom generation was launched more than a decade ago, Ford to its credit has continually updated the van’s safety menu to ensure it has remained at the cutting edge of occupant protection, despite its impending demise.

The Vito is covered by a five-year/250,000km warranty including a 24-hour roadside assist support package. Service intervals are 12 months/25,000km whichever occurs first.

A choice of three capped-price service plans is available, including 'Best Basic Pre-Paid' which covers five scheduled services for a total cost of $4892, or an average of $978 per service.

The Transit Custom is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Scheduled service intervals are 12 months/30,000km whichever occurs first.

Capped-price servicing is $399 annually for the first four years/120,000km whichever occurs first when serviced at Ford dealerships.