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Metris 2016 sales through November

8K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  JM2715 
#1 ·
According to one Canadian automotive website, Metris sales in 2016 are 5,151 units in the U.S. and 1,159 units in Canada.

(http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2015/1...benz-metris-sales-figures-yearly-monthly.html)

Looking at the other sales data that combines MB Sprinter, Freightliner Sprinter, and MB Metris sales together, those number look to be in the right range.

Not a pretty start. I would have the passenger version in my driveway right now if MB hadn't restricted the options they offer us. I don't expect them to bring in the camper or the V-Class, and I could deal with RWD only even though I live in New England, but what is the justification for the fixed "bus seats" in the 2nd and 3rd rows? Comparably equipped Vito's in Europe and Valente's in Australia come with "Comfort Seats" in all rows, the option of the 3rd row folding down into a bed, and a longer list of accessories that includes things like a rear table.
 
#3 ·
At least it appears it twice as popular in Canada, based on our population. But Mercedes does not advertise anywhere, and even though we see them here in Quebec, as DHL vans, etc, people still ask us where we bought these vans.


Maybe if we put a bow tie and some Astro emblems on them, they would sell better. But Mercedes needs to put more effort in marketing of these vans, or at the very least stocking parts, we have 11 of them here, and everything we need, we need to order and wait.. and wait some more, and not speciality items.


I just hope that Mercedes does not give up on this segment, as I have been waiting 13 years to be able to buy a new German commercial van in this segment, we had many of the 118' Sprinters, but they too got pulled. Love the Metris, even with all the things I don't like about it.
 
#22 ·
100% agreed, but the only reason why we would not see Diesel in our NAFTA countries is because of VW resent diesel engine scandal. What I do not understand is the rest of the good options luck of availability, such as 4X4, Distronic, comfort seats, LED lighting package, power rear gate, and much much more. Most of us current owners would gladly pay for them. It does not make any sense. They bring S class, E class and C class fully loaded, but they are scared to bring V class and our Metris/Vito with all available options. Makes no sense. In Europe V-class triple sales numbers this year vs 2015. Daimler does not believe that they can compete with Toyota, Honda and KIA on the Van market. They are scared to disrupt their US SUV sales.
 
#5 ·
Hello:
I have been lurking for a couple months with the intention of purchasing the passenger version before the end of the year. But I have to say after following this site for that period I am hesitant. Between design flaws, issues and even dealership concerns I want to make sure it is a wise decision. If everyone would be able to go back and do it again would you still buy your vehicle? I have been driving the same truck for 17 years and I am not one to change vehicles often. With that being said I ran into a Metris at a gas station and it really peeked my interest. That is how I started to research it and ran into everyones here informative information here on this site. I was hoping this was going to be the one since it really seems to fit my current needs. I just don't know what to do. I have no one I know that has one to get any information from.

Any information from anyone would be helpful and greatly appreciated as I try and make my decision.

Thanks,
John
 
#11 ·
It's too early to tell if the van will turn into a pain in the ass to own/maintain. But, I bought it for the same reasons? It had to fit in the garage. The Transit Connect and NV200 are too small. Sprinter, too big (and too expensive). I might have gotten a Transit, but I couldn't find any in California that weren't basic white and missing most useful options. Although it was a stroke of luck to find the well equipped blue cargo van that I purchased.

I love the way the Metris drives. You'd never know it has a 2.0 litre engine. And, it's awesome in parking lots; very maneuverable. I hope I'm this satisfied in 10 years.
 
#7 ·
I personally own 2, and a Sprinter, our company has switched to the Metris as the main conversion platform. I would not say that the Metris has any design flaws, but rather its a great mixture of a true European commercial platform, mixed features that make it better suited as light duty commercial van.


As a 8 Passenger, while its not us plush, or option filled as any other Minivan, it excels in areas that regular minivans cannot even compare, for example, I can transport 8 full size adults, in comfort, regardless of what seat they sit in, no complaints for car sickness, even fully load with 8 people and gear, suspension is unaffected, it does not wallow or look like a gypsy wagen, with ass down and front up in the air. The rear drive platform, combined with clam shell rear doors, ample head space, makes for a ideal cargo carrier. Yes, no fold in the floor seats, no rear DVD, etc. but its a van in the spirit of the VW Bus, its practical, spacious, fuel efficient, powerful ( ok, very unlike my series of VW Buses ), fun to drive, and with loads of character.


As a Cargo van - its the ideal size for any small business, or as a camper van conversion, it will fit into a garage with a poptop conversion ( we do the conversion and its a perfect fit inside even the older garages ), load capacity is unreal, turning radius.. turns on a dime.


I would suggest that you find a good dealer that understands these vans, that you purchase this van keeping in mind its funky, Europeaness, its a vehicle that is designed in the spirit of vehicles offered to us decades ago, simple, practical, reliable, with no nonsense sensibility.


Again, we bet our whole business model on this platform and the success of it, and personally I cant get enough of it. I have been lucky enough to have access to any and all vehicles on the market, here and in Europe and having to choose any vehicle from our garage. Since the Metris came out, I always choose our Metris, over any other new Benz product, over our 911 collection, over my Sprinter 4 X 4. Its just that wonderful, for my preference.


Also, I will mention that its even better then our Sprinters when it comes to driver fatigue, I can spend a whole day on rough Montreal roads in the Metris and feel great when I come home, where as my Sprinter ( keeping in mind its a 4 X 4 ), does beat the body up a bit.


Perfect size, excellent comfort, good fuel economy, very attractive pricing, good ingress, comfortable seating, easy to use controls, great handling in snow ( we run Conti winters and Gislaved nordfrost studded ), between the 2, here in Quebec the Gislaved are better. East to load and unload, great van.


Items I don't like; shifter ( its a electronic column mounted ) - its really a personal thing, hard plastic cup holders ( easy to rectify with dense foam, cargo van without a divider, to use as cargo, is a bit loud. And I wish the rear view camera was mounted like the Sprinter, above the cargo doors, not lower by the licence plate, the view is limited.


Hope this helps. And yes, I would prefer a CD
 
#8 ·
John, I as well am waiting for the right sign. I don't want to give up my B200, but the Metris is definitely next in line for many reasons...especially if 4MATIC becomes available.
 
#9 ·
Agree with others on the marketing..almost none. I found out about it looking at the ford transit....just happened to stumble on a internet ad. Don't see any design flaws at all...a couple of minor issues yea. They are building a plant in SC to build them here so they are committed and will be getting their act together.
 
#10 ·
It's not a perfect vehicle- but none is. It has a few design issue- as all new designs do. But many have been fixed already.

I would buy it again. The only vehicle I vacillate with is the bigger Sprinter. But this is a much better compromise given my desire for driving quickly. It's a Mercedes. It won't be the cheapest vehicle you ever buy. But you get things no other vehicle has for that price. That Mercedes has such loyal buyers in spite of the relatively high operating costs says something, I think.
 
#16 ·
If anything it'll be the 2.1 that is in the Sprinter.
 
#17 ·
All:

Thanks for everyones input. Most things that everyone likes is what draws me to the Metris. Genisis, the things you pointed out are attractive to me. The fact that it is simple and practical are things I like about it. I am a supervisor in a high end home building company so carrying spare stuff is needed all the time. The loaded mini van the neighbors wife drives just isn't going to cut it. I also like the utilitarian feel the Metris gives off. I dont need dvd, fold away seats. Those are just things I would be paying for that I have no use for. The kids opinion? well not so much, all I hear is "you want a mini van??" lol I tell them I am getting to old to climb in and out of the back of 4wd F250 not to mention everything needs to be covered or brought in during inclement weather and the fact that a loaded F250 is about 60k, well thats just not gonna happen now.

Hearing you mention the old VW bus is kinda funny. Although I am a bit younger than the era of driving around in a 60's/70's bus I always thought those were cool vehicles. Maybe your onto something there.
Lastly I still need to cart a couple kids around for a bunch more years and tons of gear every weekend so this just seems like a good fit. Like I said, I had my truck for a long time, so I need to make sure that its thought out. But with any vehicle, It wont be great at all aspects of life, just trying to cover as many bases as I can.

Once again, thanks for everyone's input and their contributions to the site.
I will keep you posted.
John
 
#18 ·
Hello Fishtales; I would say that the Metris sounds like a great vehicle for you, even though I am only 44 or maybe its not "only" anymore...lol, we had VW Buses back in Europe as work vehicles and later in Canada, all the way to till our last new one in 1997 ( we just retired it to a light summer duty ). So I had my 1960's VW Buses, my later T3 ( Vanagon style ) and my T4 ( Eurovan ), and I have to admit, that the same character that these vans had, the Mertis exhibits. Now my last Van was the local schools favorite vehicle, from students to teachers, I was known as the owner of "Kermitt Foo foo's owner", as the factory color was light met green ( same as 1998 VW Beetle had ), now one of our Metris is black Met, with black out windows, and I run 19 inch blacked out wheels, so the kids now call it "Darth Vader", and oddly, non of think of the van as a Minivan, most love it for is simplistic "Bauhaus" approach.


I believe that as a combination family hauler, business vehicle its perfect, even though we are in the Van conversion business here in Quebec, back in BC I still have a Swiss Timberframe company with my partner, and we just ordered 4 vans and 2 more Sprinter 4 X 4's to replace all our trucks ( mostly Duramaxx and 2 older Sprinters ). We found that for 90 % of what we do, the Metris fits the bill, and the other 10%, the Sprinter 4 X 4 can handle it for us, as for clients, even in the early years, they preferred when we pulled up in a Mercedes Sprinter, then the Harley Edition F350 our competition had, as we appeared more in tune with not only the home we are building, but the clients could better relate to their vehicles ( Audi, BMW, Mercedes ), and when I mentioned how efficient they are, and in fact much less expensive then the F350, they loved it, as I always tell them, we put efficiency over cost cutting, to offer top quality at a decent price.


Not sure about the USA, but my good friend and partner in the Van business, is a Merc-Frieghtliner store owner ( here in Canada ), and he did mention that at least in Canada, they are selling more and more to cities, as well as to business's, companies that 10 years ago would not buy a Mercedes van, now have no issues with it, here our school board, city vans, Police, etc are Sprinters and I am sure Metris will follow along shortly.


Good luck with your purchase, and hope to see you here on the forums as a owner.


regards,
Daniel
 

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#21 ·
At the last Dealers meetings, Mercedes Benz Canada stated for now, due to complexity to navigate the chicken tax, they (Mercedes ) would like to test the waters in the USA, but they are not actively marketing the Metris, until a more suitable supply chain is secured. The Metris' lower price, makes it more difficult to hide the costs, of assembly, disassembly, and final assembly, compared to the Sprinter. The slim margin for the manufacturer, leaves little to no room for marketing.


Mind you, I have not ever seen a Sprinter ad, in the last decade, so I assume the objective is the same for the Metris, to develop the commercial vehicle sales through trade shows, etc. I


Biggest issue that I can see are the dealers, most have no interest in commercial vehicles, the dealers that take on the Sprinter- Metris as a separate division, are always very happy with the results ( at least here in Canada ), so, if we can follow this model, I am sure sales will organically grow.
 
#24 ·
Not surprised by the XC90s gains, we were waiting for the redesign, just not big enough on the inside, that's where the Metris comes in. The older XC90 was usually Volvos biggest seller, even with a 12 year old design at the end.
 
#26 ·
I know a lot of people love diesels, "I used to". But these new diesels have a major Achilles' heel. If they get a little water in the fuel its going to be crazy expensive. My buddies ford truck just crapped a fuel pump. The cost is about $8000. They had to replace everything in the fuel system. The truck has less than 70,000 miles. A buddy that has a diesel VW said he has been hearing horror stories on those as well. You can google it...it's happening. I'm sticking with gas.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Namely due to the feds. Emission control has become such a hot topic and such stringent requirements being in place make having a bulletproof diesel system like years' past is tough. Running such tight parameters with the sensors in a system that is run by compression throws faults more often than is wanted. Then, as a safety measure that is required by the feds, albeit something that can be worked around (possibly voiding warranty), is so many starts until kicking it to limp mode. Combustion systems have a little more room for error and wider parameters. Wanna to be a multi-billionaire?? Find a way to filter diesel exhaust fumes into 'clean' exhaust in a system that works without fail, requires less attention (say once every couple of years instead of DEF fluid every several thousand miles), and isn't cost-prohibitive to purchase to the consumer. You find out that secret system, you will be very well off, my friend. :)
 
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