Mercedes previews next mid-size van’s interior

Mercedes has revealed the dashboard of the upcoming V-Class, a mid-size van that slots between the Renault-based Citan and the full-size Sprinter in the German automaker’s commercial vehicle lineup.Â

Designed to replace the existing Viano, the V-Class will follow the van industry’s shift towards more car-like interiors with a curved dash, an instrument cluster made up of analog gauges and a configurable thin-flim transistor (TFT) screen, circular air vents and a touch screen mounted on top of the center stack.  Buyers will have access to a mile-long list of options to customize their van’s cabin.

The V-Class will adopt a more dynamic exterior design that will be heavily inspired by the third-generation A-Class and the redesigned E-Class.  The passenger-carrying models will come with a healthy amount of chrome trim that will set them apart from their more Spartan cargo-hauling Vito-badged siblings.Â

Rumors indicate that the V-Class will ditch the current Viano’s six-cylinder engines in favor of downsized four-cylinder turbodiesel units, but Mercedes has yet to release any mechanical details about the van.   Regardless of what lies under the hood, power will be sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission.

More details about the V-Class will be available in the coming months.  Whether or not the van has been earmarked for the United States, where the market for compact front-wheel drive commercial vehicles is steadily growing, is not known.<![CDATA[
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