Mercedes-Benz Metris Worker
Earlier this year Mercedes-Benz rolled
out the Sprinter Worker, a stripped-out, no-frills version of its full-size
van. Now it's applying the same treatment to the smaller Metris.
The Metris Worker boasts a payload
capacity of over 2,500 pounds and a tow rating of 5,000... and little else.
Which is sometimes all a professional needs to get the job done with a minimum
of fuss, or things to break.
The no-frills version of the vehicle
sold overseas as the Vito or V-Class will also swallow 186 cubic feet of stuff.
That makes it more capacious than smaller vans like the Ford Transit Connect
and Ram ProMaster City, while more compact than the full-size Transit,
ProMaster, or Sprinter.
Power comes from a 2.0-liter
turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 208 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of
torque, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission to
return 21 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway.
The Mercedes-Benz USA Vans Division will
offer the Metris Worker in both cargo and passenger versions, the former
starting at just US$ 25,995 and the latter at US$ 29,995.
That makes the Metris Worker the cheapest
Mercedes you can get in America, undercutting the US$ 32,050 base price of the CLA
by some margin. There are optional packages available as well, but we wouldn't
be surprised to see most fleets ordering these as bare-bones as they come.
