Mercedes Marco Polo reviewed: better than a VW California?

If you think of a campervan, chances are whatever image springs into your mind has a big VW logo on the front. Volkswagen vans have been the campers of choice for decades, but in 2025 there are some alternatives – including those with equally distinctive badges.

Volkswagen does still sell its own van – the new California – but Mercedes has got in on the game too. The Marco Polo is based on the V-Class people-carrier, making it around the same size as the California – and it aims to be an even posher way to go glamping. But is it any good – and is it worth the hefty price tag? We spent the week with one to find out.

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Like most campers of this size, the Marco Polo follows a trusted format. You get a rising roof with fabric sides, to give standing room and a bed up top. Inside, there’s a sliding rear seat that also forms a second bed, swivelling cab seats, and a furniture unit down the side comprising sink, hob, fridge, and storage.

It’s a very similar to the previous-generation Volkswagen California and many other small campervans, though the latest Cali has minimised the kitchen in favour of more flexibility. It’s a sensible layout that works really well – but it’s not the Marco Polo’s key selling point. No, that’s the luxury on offer.

It already has a good base to work from. Being based on the V-Class people carrier, rather than the more humble Vito van, means the Marco Polo gets a posh, car-like dashboard with a huge swathe of screens running across the middle. It gets a powerful diesel engine, a smooth nine-speed automatic gearbox, and comfortable air suspension which has a trick to play once you park up.

Driving it feels almost like driving the regular V-Class – the only real difference is that you sit much higher, due to the swivelling mechanism on the front seats. None of the creaks and rattles you typically get from even posh campervans are present here – the only noise you’ll hear going along is from the items you’ve put in the cupboards.

When you’re parked at your campsite of choice, getting set up is a breeze as there’s a special Marco Polo app on the infotainment screen that controls everything. The first thing you’ll want to do is the air suspension’s party trick – it can actually level the van for you. That’s a feature you typically only see on very large, extremely posh motorhomes – so to have it on a campervan, and save the trial and error of awkward levelling wedges, is a really cool feature.

The side awning winds out easily and the roof pops up electrically. All you need to do from there is swivel the cab seats around, switch on the gas and you’re ready to camp.

The Marco Polo’s furniture all feels incredibly well-built – the drawers have soft-close features, the sink gets a bespoke washing-up bowl, even the controls for the gas feel a cut above. However, there are a few areas where you can tell this is a conversion, unlike the Volkswagen California which is built by Volkswagen itself.

The VW gets bespoke storage for things like its camping chairs and table, while the Marco Polo has them loose in a storage compartment under the rear bed. The VW’s blinds also feel like they fit better, but the Mercedes hits back with the quality of its furniture and some more luxurious touches.

There’s also more storage inside the Marco Polo. Three big drawers and a large cupboard – versus barely half that in the California – make the Marco Polo a much better bet for long trips away.

When the time comes to sleep, you can choose between the downstairs bed – which folds down electrically – or the upstairs one. We picked the latter, and though it looks thin and uncomfortable, it sits on clever coiled plastic springs which are sumptuously supportive. We had an utterly fantastic night’s sleep.

The price for such a good night, though, would buy you rather a lot of nights in a five-star hotel… The Marco Polo starts at just under £90,000. Our model had the air suspension, side awning, table and chairs and metallic paint – all optional extras – and so came in at over £98,000.

Now that’s a tough sell. Even specifying a Volkswagen California to the max, you struggle to get it over £90,000 – and even that’s a vast sum of money for what will, essentially, be a toy for weekends and holidays. Because while you totally could drive a campervan every day, you probably wouldn’t want to – the Marco Polo may be very comfortable, but it’s also incredibly heavy and you’d soon grow bored of the coffee mugs rattling while you’re just trying to crawl through traffic.

It’s especially difficult if you start looking at larger, more flexible motorhomes. For that kind of money you can easily get a coachbuilt model with four berths, a proper washroom, full-sized kitchen and standing room throughout – and you don’t even have to jump brands, because the Mercedes Sprinter is a popular base vehicle.

However, if you’ve got the money to spend, and want a camper that’s small but ultra-posh – something that can explore tight roads, fit into multistorey car parks but still host wine and cheese night – then the Marco Polo is among the best of the breed. How does it compare to a VW California? Well, the Cali feels less like a van to drive – you can have it with a plug-in hybrid engine, its twin sliding doors make it very flexible as a daily driver, and it’s equally comfortable to spend the night in.

As a camper, though, the Marco Polo beats it into a cocked hat – it has more facilities, and the Cali’s lack of storage makes it really difficult to recommend for longer trips.

So should you buy a Mercedes Marco Polo? If you want a small camper and aren’t shy about paying for the best, go for it. If you’re after something less plush for day trips and the occasional overnight, get yourself down to your local VW dealership – you may save yourself a few thousand quid.

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