Hi all, I’ve had chevy express but am in the dark on the Metris. Opinions?

Again this is like walking into a kennel with a pork chop tied around your neck.?

Metris is called Vito here and they are a popular, well-regarded vehicle with lots of variants. The commercial van versions are commonly seen at trials events. Larger (sprinter) MB vans are also popular for bike carrying. No idea how they compare to the Chevy Express but the Vito is definitely better than the other european vans of that size and better than the Toyota. I drive a Hyundai H1 (iLoad) van and prefer it over a Vito.

Friend has a Metris for hauling bikes and likes it.  The Chevy Express/Nissan NV200 is much smaller. In the middle is the Ford Transit Connect and the Ram Promaster City.  Lack of a real USA dealer network for Mercedes-Benz commercial vans is the downfall.  You are buying a van from a luxury car dealer and are sort of a red headed step child. They then want to charge you the "If you can afford to buy, you can afford to fix it" service rates! I have a Sprinter, so am familiar with it.

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by nhuskys

metris is indeed the European vito.

Built in Spain,assemled in th US it is very much a van which is top notch. I have had  few of these and the latest version (447) is great. Nimble and fast if you do freeway miles its not necessarily the van for you but if youre somewher around back roads and not lots of straight roads there is no better van for its size. very economical despite performance. 3 lengths(over here) compact long and extra long. all 3 will fit 3 bikes but the longer versions get and extra row of seats and bikes.

Any specific questions please ask!!

16 hours ago, dan williams said:

Hi all, I’ve had chevy express but am in the dark on the Metris. Opinions?

Again this is like walking into a kennel with a pork chop tied around your neck.?

Lion cage with nothing round your neck is far more entertaining, if you’re lucky you’ll get a nice wet slurpy lick before being chewed to bits.?

Diesel engined vans like the Vito have had injector issues, the injector seat sealing washer burns through ( minutely) and allows burning gases to blow up the side of the injector which causes carbon build up and seizes the injector into the cylinder head injector space. Not helped by the fact that on some the rain water gets into the injector head space and rusts the injector body to the head. There are guys in the UK with all the specialist equipment just doing this repair alone. You can tell when a seals blown by the clicking noise that it makes. Be aware of this issue before buying, the seals cost peanuts but the tooling required to re seat the injector and/or replace the injector with new can be very expensive.

No USA Market vans in this class, are available as a diesel, all gasoline/petrol.  Already some info out about the problems with direct injection gasoline/petrol engines, like M-B uses in USA Metris.

4 hours ago, nhuskys said:

No USA Market vans in this class, are available as a diesel, all gasoline/petrol.  Already some info out about the problems with direct injection gasoline/petrol engines, like M-B uses in USA Metris.

I don't know if its the same engine, but i have a direct injection petrol in my Mercedes car (1.6, turbo, intercooled, about 150bhp). It's not the most refined engine in the world when revved, but it's very nice when driven smoothly and gives diesel-like fuel consumption.

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by trapezeartist

I went for the Metris. Used dealer parts runner so a good price with under 7000mi on it. Wife drove it and liked it. She said, "It's your money. Buy it if you want it." But I noticed last night she was on-line looking for accessories. ?

Enjoy! It's definitely a nicer and more roomy van than the Chevy Express/Nissan. I've driven them as a loaner, while my Sprinter was getting repaired. Keep an eye on the front tires for excessive wear, as that seems to be a major complaint. 

8 hours ago, nhuskys said:

Enjoy! It's definitely a nicer and more roomy van than the Chevy Express/Nissan. I've driven them as a loaner, while my Sprinter was getting repaired. Keep an eye on the front tires for excessive wear, as that seems to be a major complaint. 

Again Im comparing Mercedes car with Mercedes van, which may or may not be relevant. My C Class has an extreme castor angle so it knocks out the shoulders of the front tyres.

On 11/26/2018 at 2:30 PM, nhuskys said:

Enjoy! It's definitely a nicer and more roomy van than the Chevy Express/Nissan. I've driven them as a loaner, while my Sprinter was getting repaired. Keep an eye on the front tires for excessive wear, as that seems to be a major complaint. 

the latest version 447 is good on tyres, best van for this and i live in the city of roundabouts, great choice you wont be disappointed! Which model do you have?

On 11/26/2018 at 11:03 PM, trapezeartist said:

Again Im comparing Mercedes car with Mercedes van, which may or may not be relevant. My C Class has an extreme castor angle so it knocks out the shoulders of the front tyres.

yes the cars can be fwd. Only the basic vito is fwd, doubt thats for sale in us.

16 hours ago, nigel dabster said:

yes the cars can be fwd. Only the basic vito is fwd, doubt thats for sale in us.

Nothing to do with fwd. Mercedes just seem to have a liking for big castor angles. True of C Class, E Class, maybe others.

Talking of Mercedes Vito wheel angles, check out this

http://www.penso.co.uk/case_studies/vehicle-build-of-mercedes-benz-vito-taxi/

You can almost rear end yourself!

 

8 hours ago, goudrons said:

Talking of Mercedes Vito wheel angles, check out this

http://www.penso.co.uk/case_studies/vehicle-build-of-mercedes-benz-vito-taxi/

You can almost rear end yourself!

 

Just so it can meet turning circle requirements for a hackney carriage.

Expensive retro fit option, think it was over 10k.