Mercedes-Benz V-Class Review & Prices

The Mercedes V-Class is the sort of car you’re more likely to see ferrying VIPs around or acting as a posh airport taxi - but if you’re the discerning sort who needs a big family car, this large MPV is an excellent option.

The V-Class is the people-carrier version of Mercedes’ Vito van, but instead of just fitting the commercial vehicle with seats the transformation is a bit more extensive - the V-Class gets unique styling and a totally different interior to the Vito. It’s like doing up an old house, but going right down to the roots and putting in better insulation, better windows and thicker doors - instead of just buying a new sofa, polishing the cooker and calling it a day.

Posh people-carriers aren’t the most common of beasts, but the V-Class has a job on its hands going up against talented alternatives such as the Ford Tourneo Custom, Volkswagen Multivan and the Lexus LM. Lower-end models also cross over with the posher variants of the Citroen SpaceTourer or even seven-seater SUVs such as the Hyundai Santa Fe or BMW X7.

You can differentiate a V-Class from a Vito by the details. V-Class models get a nattier grille - on Exclusive models, there’s even an upright bonnet emblem like a traditional Mercedes. They get body-coloured elements instead of the black plastic door handles, bumpers and mirrors of a Vito. Despite these details, though, there’s zero hiding that this is a van through and through.

Of course, that translates to a very roomy and flexible interior. The V-Class is available in Long or Extra Long body sizes and with six, seven or eight seats. Whichever configuration you go for, you’ll find much more room for passengers than in any SUV - and while luggage space behind the third row is tall rather than deep, it should take a family’s worth of suitcases without too much complaint.

The Exclusive six-seater model is the closest you’ll get to a Lexus LM Takumi - it gives occupants in the middle row a pair of aircraft-style seats that recline, heat, cool and massage. It really is business class travel for the road.

But up front in the cockpit things are pretty good too. The V-Class gets a dashboard featuring Mercedes’ passenger car tech, including a pair of high-res screens and a touchpad controller. Material quality is lovely, and it’s really got the wow factor when you put it next to most other MPVs.

The V-Class is available with two diesel engines - the 220d or the 300d, with 163hp and 239hp respectively. Both come with auto gearboxes. It’s a shame there’s no hybrid or plug-in hybrid option for inner city use - the VW Multivan and Lexus LM both offer this - but there is the all-electric EQV available, which we’ve covered separately.

Power is effortless and the V-Class is generally very comfortable to drive, but it can’t quite compete with more modern alternatives when it comes to refinement and long-distance comfort. However, if you’re upgrading from any seven-seat SUV, you’ll find the space on offer more than compensates for a slightly wobbly ride over bumps.

If you’re interested, check out our best Mercedes V-Class deals here. You can search for a used Mercedes V-Class for sale, or look for other new or used Mercedes models. And remember that Carwow can even help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

The Mercedes V-Class range kicks off at just over £77,000 - a good midpoint between the Volkswagen Multivan and the Lexus LM, which start at just under £50,000 and £94,000 respectively. Quite the price range to consider.

You’ll pay around £1,000 extra if you want the Extra Long model, while the 300d engine costs about £5,000 more. For your money, all the Premium models come with 19-inch alloy wheels, LED lights front and rear, tinted windows, ambient lighting, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with wireless charging, twin 12.3-inch displays for driver information and infotainment, and leather upholstery with wood trim.

You can also add on an AMG Line package, which gives you extra styling features on the outside and unique AMG-styled alloy wheels. If you’re interested in the V-Class Exclusive, which brings that six-seater interior layout and posher, upright grille, it’ll cost you from just under £90,000, but adds brushed aluminium trim, a Burmester sound system and a driver assistance pack to the equipment roster.

Powerful diesel engines, a standard automatic gearbox and lots of driver assistance tech - but the suspension gives away the V-Class’ van roots

In town

The V-Class is pretty huge even if you go for the Long rather than Extra Long body - so it’s not the easiest to park in tight spaces. However, it’s a doddle to drive around town thanks to great visibility and the high-up driving position, combined with the low dashboard. You feel a bit more coccooned in a VW Multivan or Lexus LM, so they’re slightly harder to judge your corners in.

Whichever diesel engine you go for, there’s enough low-down shove to keep things quite relaxed at town speeds. If you do ask for more performance, the engine can sound a bit raucous, though. At least the nine-speed automatic gearbox is excellent - it always seems to be in the right ratio.

Where the V-Class falls down slightly compared to its alternatives from VW and Lexus is the suspension. It’s softly sprung, but you do feel the sharp edges of larger bumps and the heavy body can sometimes seem to lumber over speed humps or potholes. It’s not uncomfortable, but your passengers will find themselves shaken about more than they would in those cars.

On the motorway

Motorways feel like the natural habitat of the V-Class. The diesel engines settle down into a relaxed thrum, the suspension smooths out and you can just sit back and enjoy excellent refinement, superbly comfortable seats, and some of the best driver assistance tech out there.

The adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping aids on the V-Class are the best on any MPV, operating predictably and being easy to turn on and off as needed. It’s even quite economical, coming close to 40mpg on a longer run.

On a twisty road

Your passengers won’t thank you for driving the V-Class quickly, and neither will the car itself. The V-Class is very large, very heavy, and based on a van platform - so it’s best to take twisty roads at a relaxed pace.

If you insist on going quicker, you’ll find that the steering is quite slow, though it’s accurate enough to make placing the car on the road easy. There’s also a lot of body lean in the bends thanks to the soft suspension, and the car’s weight means you can squeal the tyres quite easily. Unless you like clearing up the results of carsickness from your upholstery, just take it easy on the back roads.

Unparalleled roominess and impressive luxury, but the bulky seats don’t fold away and are a pain to remove

The front seats of the Mercedes V-Class are a nice place to sit, and significantly classier than the more workmanlike Vito on which it’s based. You get comfortable leather seats with loads of adjustment, including twin armrests and an extendable seat base. You do sit up very high, and the steering wheel is a bit more horizontal than it is in the VW Multivan or Lexus LM, so it feels a bit more van-like, but that doesn’t impact long-distance comfort.

Storage for smaller items is reasonable, with big door bins and a cavernous glovebox. But the cupholders and wireless charging pad are placed very low down, on the floor between the front seats, which can be a pain to reach.

Space in the back seats

There are three rear seat layouts available. Eight-seater models come with two three-seater benches, while seven-seater versions replace the middle one with a pair of captain’s chairs. Exclusive models also have captain’s chairs in the rearmost row, and proper luxury armchairs in the centre.

Whichever row you find yourself in, there’s lots of space. Three adults can sit quite comfortably across the benches, and the individual chairs where fitted are spacious and extremely comfortable. Access is easy too thanks to standard electrically-operated sliding doors on both sides, though there’s only one seat that folds properly forwards in the middle row for access.

The seats all slide fore and aft to help you balance passenger space and luggage room, but unless you’re transporting a basketball team there should be enough for everyone’s legs. As for child seats, in seven- or eight-seater models you’ll find a whopping five ISOFIX points.

Boot space

With all three rows of seats in place you get a massive 1,030 litres of boot space in the Long model or 1,410 litres in the Extra Long. This is where the V-Class’ extra size really comes into its own, as that’s much more space than you get in the VW Multivan or Lexus LM.

Usefully, an opening rear window also comes as standard, so you can load up more flexibly - you can also grab something off the top of a packed boot without risking everything toppling out of the tailgate.

You can, if you like, remove the seats to transform the V-Class back into something akin to a van - but they’re so bulky and heavy, and require storage when they’re out, that you probably won’t bother.

High-quality materials and tech lifted straight from Mercedes’ car range, though the touch-sensitive steering wheel remains a pain to use

The Vito van gets switchgear and infotainment similar to the Mercedes Sprinter - but for the V-Class, Mercedes pushed the boat out and added in a dashboard straight from the E-Class. While it’s not the very latest Mercedes interior, it still feels suitably high-tech thanks to twin 12.3-inch displays covering infotainment and driver information. These are high-res, bright, responsive and actually quite easy to use.

You can touch the screen or use the central touchpad controller to navigate the infotainment, and if you don’t fancy using Mercedes’ (excellent) built-in sat-nav you can always bypass it with standard, wireless, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Though the screen is easy to use, the same can’t be said for the touch-sensitive steering wheel. It has way too many controls and they’re impossible to differentiate by touch - it’s needlessly complicated.

It feels really premium thanks to high-quality, soft-touch materials throughout. That effect is amplified at night by rather glitzy ambient lighting, though there are some areas that betray the van origins, such as the awkward clip-on cupholders in the rear or some of the incidental switchgear. Generally, though, Mercedes has done a stellar job of making the V-Class posher than a van really has the right to be.

It definitely feels a cut above a Multivan, though the Lexus LM has it beaten with even plusher materials - not to mention its standard TV.

The V-Class is offered with two diesel engines, both four-cylinder, 2.0-litre units. The 220d has 163hp and the 300d has 239hp. Claimed fuel economy is around 40mpg for both, but that’s a pipe dream unless you’re doing very gentle motorway miles. Expect around 35mpg on a cruise in normal conditions, and about 30mpg if you’re just schlepping around town.

Driving the 300d, we averaged 35mpg on the dot on a 300+ mile drive from Peterborough to Cornwall, taking in mostly motorways and A-roads.

CO2 emissions are high as well, ranging from 192 - 199g/km. Company car tax on a V-Class will be correspondingly pricey, as will first-year road tax - and all models are liable to pay the expensive car supplement in years two through six, as well.

A VW Multivan or Ford Tourneo Custom both offer plug-in hybrid options that are much better suited for frequent city driving and make far more cost-effective company cars. It’s a shame Mercedes doesn’t offer this, though the all-electric EQV is an option.

Euro NCAP hasn’t crash-tested the V-Class since 2014, where it scored five stars - but that result is well out of date now. Slightly more relevant is the testing it performed on the Vito van, which scored an outstanding five-star rating for the effectiveness of its safety provision - though this focuses on active and passive safety features instead of crash testing.

That being said, all versions come with plenty of safety equipment - autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, crosswind assist, speed limit warnings and matrix LED headlights. And gratifyingly, you can switch the most annoying bong - the speed limit one - off, simply by holding ‘mute’ on the steering wheel.

Mercedes came second in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, and Mercedes vans - which this is one of, really - frequently perform well in commercial vehicle reliability rankings. Despite its high-tech interior (and hefty list price) the V-Class is fairly mechanically simple.

Though there have been four official safety recalls, the last of these was in 2015, so there’s nothing particular to note if you’re buying new or nearly-new. Just bear in mind if you’re buying used that these tend to do starship mileage as part of taxi or private hire fleets, so insist on a comprehensive service history.