Looking at the current Citroën Berlingo, Volkswagen Caddy, Renault Kangoo Combi and the like, it is clear that passenger vans are the new minivans. This message has come out loud and clear to all kinds of customers and all kinds of brands; to the point that Mercedes-Benz has decided to make the leap to the compact MPV market with its new T-Class.
As you may well know or as you may well have imagined, the T-Class is the alternative to the Mercedes-Benz Citan that is more suitable for the private customer and better prepared for family use. In other words: with this model, the Citan has dressed up to rise up the scale of the German firm to receive the rank of Class and claim another letter of its alphabet.
Therefore, the Mercedes T-Class becomes something like “the rich cousin” of the new Renault Kangoo Combi, with which it shares a platform, technologies and engines. It also retains, of course, the same body base, so that its dimensions are practically identical: the T-Class measures 4.50 meters long by 1.86 m wide and 1.81 m high, with the same configuration. 5-seater interior -although the brand announces that a 7-seater variant with a total length of 4.90 meters will arrive in 2023-.
Nor is it surprising that the aesthetic differences between both models focus on the front of the vehicle (very similar in this case to the Mercedes Citan, with optional LED lighting for the headlights), the rear (where the optics and the plate of the gate hardly change) and wheel designs (available in sizes up to 17 inches).
A “Premium Citan” for the whole family
The passenger compartment presents a level of materials and finishes higher than that seen in the Citan: it is enough to verify that the T-Class presents soft-touch coatings in different sections of the doors and the dashboard, in addition to better-made upholstery.
What does not change is the analog instrumentation (which, yes, incorporates a 5.5″ color screen for the on-board computer) and the 7″ central screen that gives access to the MBUX infotainment system, compatible with Android Car and Apple CarPlay. We can charge our phone in the corresponding wireless tray, and it is appreciated to have physical controls for air conditioning, which are the same as the Renault Kangoo Combi.
Access to the second row of seats is via sliding side doors, which leave plenty of room for people of all ages and sizes to pass through. The three rear seats are the same size -which allows three child seats to be placed- but not totally independent, since the bench is divided into two asymmetric sections; and they also do not offer longitudinal displacement.
The T-Class incorporates a tailgate as standard and offers a double-leaf door as an option. The loading mouth, very wide and rectangular, with a threshold located just 56 cm from the ground, gives access to a 520-litre trunk up to the luggage compartment blind with the five seats in use, which reaches 2,127 liters if we fold the second row of seats In this case, the load plane is perfectly flush and with very little inclination above the horizontal; furthermore, all interior surfaces are carpeted and there is no “veneer” in sight.
The vehicle has longitudinal roof bars that can be placed in a transverse position in a very simple way to transport luggage with a maximum weight of 80 kg. And if we need to pull a trailer, the maximum weight allowed is 1.5 tons.
Only diesel or gasoline; the electric will be called EQT
As expected, the range of engines responds to the collaboration agreement with Renault and, therefore, is similar to that of the Kangoo Combi, although there is no hybrid or electric variant (the latter will arrive at the end of the year as an independent model, called Mercedes-Benz EQT). The T 160 and T 180 petrol models are based on the same 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged block, with respective outputs of 102 hp and 131 hp. For its part, the 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel engine gives rise to the T 160 d versions, with 95 hp, and the T 180 d, with 116 hp. Both the two diesel mechanics and the more powerful gasoline allow us to opt for the 7G-DCT automatic transmission if we prefer it to the 6-speed manual gearbox.
The brand has not yet announced the official price list in Spain for the new Mercedes-Benz T-Class, which it will do next May on the occasion of the start of its marketing. The first units will be delivered from June.
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