Home Of The Sprinter & Metris

Home Of The Sprinter & Metris

鈥燦ational MSRP pricing is shown and is intended for informational purposes only. Prices do not include taxes, levies, fees, freight and delivery charges, insurance and license fees, as well as any other products or services not listed that may be available to you through your selected Mercedes-Benz retailer. Vehicle prices subject to change without notice. Dealer may sell for less. These prices do not apply in provinces with total/all-in pricing requirements. Please contact your local retailer directly by phone or in person for exact pricing details and total prices applicable in those provinces. 2019 Canadian Black Book Best Retained Value Award winner, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 - Full-size Van category. Some vehicles are shown with optional equipment available at extra cost. Some optional equipment may not be available individually and/or on all models. For current information regarding the range of models, standard features, optional equipment, and/or colours available in Canada and their pricing, please contact your nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz Vans dealer.

There鈥檚 more head and shoulder room in the first row too, so the 125i is a little less claustrophobic. In overall cabin space, it has elongated (shrunken 3 Series) sedan proportions rather than having that boxy hatchback vibe. With key touch points, both offer slick, upmarket multifunction steering wheels, the Merc unit more comfortably contoured than the almost comically chunky BMW design. Neither car is generously comfortable or roomy in the second row, but, given the aforementioned quirks of the A250 Sport鈥檚 front seating, it鈥檚 the BMW that offers the most natural format for moving four adults for long trips. The transmission tunnel does eat into middle position foot room, although, frankly, there鈥檚 not enough space across the back row to fit three adults anyway. The 125i offers around 360 litres of boot space with second row seating in play, which is 19 litres more than that of the A250 Sport.

With their 60:40 split-fold rear seats folded, the BMW again wins the cargo-swallowing bragging rights, its 1200 litres of volume supplanting the Benz by 43 litres. Fancy cost options or not, the BMW edges ahead here by offering a more commodious and liveable interior. Both have direct-injected 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder engines, the BMW鈥檚 160kW (at 5000rpm) surpassing the Benz鈥檚 power peak by five kilowatts, which arrives 500rpm higher (5500rpm) in the rev range. So, on paper at least, they鈥檙e slightly different animals, each driving torque to an opposing end of the chassis using markedly different transmission systems. Benz has a choice of three (Comfort, Sport and Manual). The Benz has the stronger sporting pretension, its engine the brashest in note, that signature rev-matching 鈥榖latt鈥?during upshifts adding sonic fanfare. But Sport mode is often the shrewdest choice because Eco mode is so damn lethargic. Like so many dual-clutch equipped small cars out there, the A250 Sport is begging for a middleweight not-too-lazy, not-too-eager drive mode. So often (and wrongly) considered the lower-rent transmission design, the BMW鈥檚 eight-speed, like any well-sorted torque convertor auto, is so seamless that it makes dual-clutch feel downright agricultural. Particularly in low-speed and stop-start driving.

It鈥檚 less lazy, more 鈥榓t-arms鈥? and is noticeably more driveable tied it its respective engine, which quickly proves to be a thing of lag-free sweetness and flexibility. From 1350 through to a 6000rpm cut-out, the 125i pulls like a freight train, though unlike the A250 Sport its responses are amply alert in Comfort drive mode, but without the rpm-hungry histrionics the Benz displays in Sport mode. Activating the BMW鈥檚 own Sport mode produces a nice flexing of the muscles and heighten of responses. Its upshifts are just as crisp as the Benz鈥檚, with the added benefit of offering the driver both wheel- and console-mounted gear shifters (the A250 Sport makes do with paddle shifters). Though the BMW has the more fuss-free around-town persona, they鈥檙e both a hoot on the march. Neither struggles off the mark, though the rear-driven 125i hooks its rubber to the asphalt a little more assertively than the Benz, which is a little keener to break traction. For rolling punch, too, the BMW mans the action stations when overtaking and embraces lane-changing opportunities slightly quicker.

Neither feels the confidently quicker device, and like their identical acceleration the claims for fuel consumption are an identical 6.4L/100km. Both returned markedly thirstier eight-something figures, though, again, neither was measurably more frugal. By measures stopwatch or fuel bowser, then, it鈥檚 a dead heat. And while both get the pulse racing to equally brisk beats, the BMW is patently the more driveable choice across the broader on broader experience. And thus, once again, it gets the nod. Both protagonists offer bona-fide hot hatch power and pace, though as middle-rung variants of their respective premium range - each offering hotter performance models - surely the most finely struck ride and handling balance will shine the brightest here. The Benz backs up its sporting pitch with a deft combination of sharp front end and fantastically connected steering that clear, linear and supremely accurate. Point the A250 Sport into a corner and its easy to place the hatch exactly where you want it.