Thanks Greenmanedlion, thats music to my ears! We are tempted to order without actually seeing one or driving one in the flesh but there are some some certain needs versus wants. We want to use the van for some many different uses so we are looking at getting the passenger van and just removing the seats so we can keep them if/when we need them yet have the space for dogs/cargo/camping etc. I know that the rear drive is with regards to being better for towing but I also wonder how it will handle the snow. We live in Colorado and thats pretty important. I guess with a good set of tyres it should do ok, maybe there's a possibility for a 4x4 down the road or conversion to 4x4 if Merc decide not to make one oem.