PUTTING THE 4X4 SPRINTER TO THE MUDDY, HILLY, SNOWY TEST

You wouldn’t normally take a cargo van off-road. But how about a 4×4 cargo van? Even that seems a stretch, but Mercedes wanted to demonstrate the off-road capabilities of its new 4×4 Sprinter and to do so it invited a group of auto-journalists to B.C. where a fleet of 4x4s was available for some genuine off-roading.

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But alas, I was in Louisville, Ky., for the Mid-America Trucking Show. That’s alright, western editor Jim Bray to the rescue. Jim is a card-carrying member of the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada and does a lot of car reviews. He was initially uneasy about taking the Sprinter up the mucky B.C. logging roads but soon overcame his trepidation and couldn’t even get the thing stuck, despite his best efforts. Could a 4×4 Sprinter be a viable alternative to a pickup truck? Mercedes is banking on it.

Anyways, if you haven’t yet read Jim’s review, check it out here, complete with a comprehensive photo gallery.

And if vans are your thing, you can read my interview with Pablo De La Pena, head of Mercedes’ Canadian van division here.

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James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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