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Old 10-28-2017, 03:28 PM   #1
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Anybody towing with a Mercedes Metris?

I going to get a new tow vehicle and I need a van. I know that a Ford Transit with the 3.5L Ecoboost will do the job, but the Transit won't fit in my garage - big headache. The Mercedes Metris will fit in my garage and will be much easier to park etc. I'm mainly concerned about the ability of their 2.0L to adequately tow my 21'. Anybody towing with a Mercedes Metris?
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:07 PM   #2
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The torque and HP doesn't come close to the small Ecoboost.

258/208 vs 375/325
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:28 PM   #3
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An interesting vehicle, I especially liked the two speed reverse. I am thinking you are going to get the best answer to your question on a specific Metris site. I would suggest www.metrisforum.com as a starting point.

U.S. sales are about 6,000 vehicles per year, this combines the commercial and passenger models. Not a lot of these vehicles out there. I am a bit familiar with them as my sister owns a 2017 model, no towing however. Like most vehicles used for towing it is very important that you get a model equipped with a towing package. You are getting close to the 5,000 lb tow capacity and the 500 lb tongue weight rating. Not sure if Mercedes is using the new J2807 standards. It is important to have everything configured at the highest level for a safe tow.
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Old 10-28-2017, 05:46 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cvanzan View Post
I'm mainly concerned about the ability of their 2.0L to adequately tow my 21'.
The 2.0 L engine is a turbocharged diesel, so it won't be directly comparable to a typical 2.0 L, which is a non-turbo gas engine.
Like most small diesels, it has substantially less peak power output than common gas engines in similar vehicles... but some people are apparently happy with that.

The Mercedes 2.0 L has lower peak torque than the larger diesels in the Transit van and Colorado/Canyon, but higher power... it will be able to move the load, but will require higher engine speed than those other diesels, and will have lower performance than the gas engines (even the non-turbo gas engines) in the same vehicles.

Although the much larger Mercedes Sprinter van has a 3.0 L turbodiesel in North America, it usually has a 2.0 L in Europe... probably this same engine.

Whether performance is acceptable or not would depend on your expectations.
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Old 10-28-2017, 05:59 PM   #5
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From the Metris web page, do they have a diesel too?
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:18 PM   #6
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Ack!

I thought they did... but the diesel must have been caught in the great German diesel disaster. Many apologies for the confusion, and thanks to Bob for catching my error. I really should have checked my memory of the specs, even on the little phone screen.

Okay... so the comparison would be a Ford EcoBoost 2.0, as used in vehicles such as the Escape. Performance will still be better than the small diesels, but only if you're willing to let it run at the engine speed needed.
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Old 10-28-2017, 10:05 PM   #7
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Thanks for the replies.

I've spent quite a bit of time on the Metris forum and it sounds like you're in for a load of problems if you don't get the full OEM tow package and electronics . I suspect that the 2.0L is just fine around town but at 60mph - maybe not so much. The Mercedes dealership here in Seattle did offer a "test tow", which I'll definitely take them up on before committing.
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Old 10-31-2021, 01:43 PM   #8
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The Metris peak torque is at 1250 RPM. This is amazing for such a small engine. The 2021 models are 9 speeds. Should tow a 19ft with some safety factor.
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Old 11-07-2021, 02:08 PM   #9
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The US Postal Service has purchased thousands of RH drive models of the Metris. I was told by a mail carrier that problems are starting to crop up. They are going into their third year now.

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Old 11-07-2021, 07:56 PM   #10
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The US Postal Service has purchased thousands of RH drive models of the Metris. I was told by a mail carrier that problems are starting to crop up. They are going into their third year now.
I wouldn't worry about a few anecdotes, particularly related to a huge deployment like this (a small fraction of USPS vans but still many thousand of them), but anyone interested might want to do a web search for something like "USPS Metris issues".

I did a search and read everything that came up in the first couple of pages relevant to issues, and found only one recall which was not exceptional for recent vehicles.
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Old 11-07-2021, 09:11 PM   #11
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I own a 2018 Metris passenger van. 2/3 of its mileage has been in towing our Airstream Basecamp which was probably some 900 lbs. lighter than how we will use the 21C though, the final weight is yet to be determined. The torque curve of the Metris never ceases to amaze me.

The Basecamp got towed by the Metris as well as our 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. The Jeep has some 40 more HP, and the torque is near the same as the Metris, but with the Metris, the torque begins way down the rpm curve and holds even for what seems like forever. The tongue weight of the Basecamp varied depending on how much fresh water we carried. The more water, the lighter the tongue weight. I have seen 485 lbs on the tongue and it did not affect towing for a 6,000 mile excursion from California to Florida and back including a near torrential downpour that started west of New Orleans and lasted to Dallas.

We decided to pick up our new 21C in 10 days with the Jeep because it is AWD and we have winter wheels available to swap out for it. Were it not for potential snow, I might have opted for the Metris.
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Old 11-08-2021, 06:29 AM   #12
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I considered a Metris before I got the Ranger. We like small vans, but distance to the closest dealer was a no go.
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Old 12-13-2021, 12:08 PM   #13
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We have been towing our Escape 19’ with a 2018 Metris for over 2 years. We have had 4 adult passengers and a lot of camping equipment in the van while towing our Escape with water and black tanks filled.

I drive 55-65mph on the freeway and it runs fine with the wdh with sway bars. However when climbing a mountain, it struggles a bit. I make sure to keep an eye on the temperature gauge and on hot days I roll down the windows and turn off the AC. The Mercedes is a work horse and gets the job done. Just make sure to take it easy drive like a grandma.
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Old 12-13-2021, 12:12 PM   #14
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We got a lot of compliments
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Old 12-13-2021, 02:57 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtbmitch View Post
The Metris peak torque is at 1250 RPM. This is amazing for such a small engine. The 2021 models are 9 speeds. Should tow a 19ft with some safety factor.
Click image for larger version

Name:	Mercedes Metris GVWR GCWR.JPG
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https://www.mbvans.com/content/dam/m...s-Brochure.pdf

2600 lb payload, which means even with a 500 lb tongue weight you can still load 2100 lbs of passengers and gear.

GCWR 5000 lbs more than the GVWR means you can fully load the van and still tow the full tow rating.
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Old 12-13-2021, 08:48 PM   #16
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What engine do you have? The 3 liter common rail diesel?
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Old 12-13-2021, 10:03 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by brroberts View Post
I considered a Metris before I got the Ranger. We like small vans, but distance to the closest dealer was a no go.
After speaking with a friend w/Sprinter saying it took a month to book an appointment with local Mercedes dealer it wasn't hard to go Ford again after a perfect experience so far with the 2019 Expedition/30K miles- both with EcoBoost 3.5 engines.
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Old 12-13-2021, 10:08 PM   #18
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Now we have the Mother-In-Law suite
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Old 12-14-2021, 02:01 AM   #19
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Now we have the Mother-In-Law suite
Wow, that’s amazing you use your camper van as your tow vehicle! Sweet rig!
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Old 12-14-2021, 02:14 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Upfisk View Post
What engine do you have? The 3 liter common rail diesel?
The Metris is not available with that engine. It is called the Vito in Europe, where it is available with various diesels, but none are that large; here only the M274 turbocharged gasoline engine is available, as discussed at the beginning of this thread.
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