1 Feb 2011
A THOROUGH facelift, tail-end tidy and interior revamp coincided with a generous price reduction, making the freshened Vito van a tempting proposition for tradies, delivery drivers and travelling bands alike.
Mercedes upgraded its four and six-cylinder turbo diesel engines, improving the performance and driving down the fuel consumption, with the best fuel economy of 7.4 litres per 100km available from the 2.2-litre four-cylinder.
Electronic stability control (ESC) became standard on all models as did dual airbags, while side curtain airbags were optional, rendering it a four-star vehicle in terms of safety while the closely-related Viano people mover, with its standard curtain ‘bags scored five stars.
In addition, all Vitos came standard with ABS (on discs front and rear), three-point seatbelts for all seats and brake lights that flashed under extreme braking.
Other standard features included air-conditioning, remote locking, dual sliding doors, a tilt and reach-adjustable steering wheel, electric heated mirrors and 16-inch steel rims, while cruise control and Bluetooth were standard on all except the base 110.
All models got revised interiors, with durable fabric, new control buttons on the upper control panel and a new colour display sound system with auxiliary input.
All Vitos sent their power to the rear wheels, with a choice of 70kW/250Nm, 100kW/ 310Nm and 120kW/350Nm four-cylinder diesels, with a new six-speed manual transmission as standard gearbox (featuring idle-stop), or an optional five-speed automatic.
3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel models were available only with a five-speed automatic and produced 165kW and 440Nm, while consuming 8.6L/100km and emitting 226g/km.
