Features
The seating layout of the V-class is clever: in seven-seat form, the second row consists of two individual chairs, with a bollard in the middle which rises at the press of the button and releases two airline-style trays, one for each passenger. In this configuration, there is loads of of leg, head and shoulder room for two adults, with both seats sliding forwards and back. The third row consists of three seats, which the middle row can mirror should an eighth occupant be required. All the seats tip, slide and remove without lengthy fiddling around with tools. The middle row can be turned round 180 degrees to face the third-row occupants. We took four children to Cornwall in one, and given the preponderance for car-sickness, didn’t fancy any rearwards-facing passengers, but it’s a mighty fine arrangement for adults in conversation.
The boot is cavernous, which is the biggest godsend a manufacturer could give to a stressed family of six trying to pack for a week of surfing, camping, fishing, football, swimming, tennis, sandcastles, self-catering, sailing and kayaking. We unfailingly have a massive domestic when packing to leave on our annual jaunt, but this time, we threw everything in the back, had room for more, told the kids they could bring what they wanted for their seats, and off we went, Just like that.
Oh, and the V250 d has hill-start assist, Mercedes’ great infotainment system on a large touchscreen, a split tailgate so you can drop stuff through the window, nappa leather, heated front seats, different air conditioning zones, sidewind assist system, collision prevention system, cruise control with variable speed limiter and blah but it’s the space which just makes this an unbelievable purchase.