Used 2022 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 Passenger

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a must-consider for anyone in the market for a new full-size van. It comes in Cargo form, Crew (with a second seating row), or as a Passenger van with seating for 12 to 15 people.

These three variants are then differentiated further by things like roof height, vehicle length, engine, payload, rear- or 4-wheel drive, and several other factors. There are thousands of permutations, providing somewhere within that Mercedes-Benz kaleidoscope an ideal van for virtually any potential buyer. A fourth Cab Chassis version is for businesses requiring the barest of bones.

Mercedes-Benz has worked on making the Sprinter easy to drive. That’s an important consideration when someone has to operate it every working day (and maybe over the weekend, too).

The steering doesn’t require too much effort. The suspension reacts as a cohesive whole. And a swiveling driver’s seat is on the options list, which can be great for drivers making frequent deliveries.

If there are heavy loads in a new Sprinter’s future, one of the diesel engines would be a better choice than the base gasoline unit. However, the smaller engines can still tow 5,000 pounds. The muscular turbodiesel V6 can pull 7,500 pounds.

The Cargo van is the proverbial blank slate for buyers, to be filled with Amazon packages, artisan furniture, arc welding gear, or whatever else. The doors open wide enough for a fork lift to load or unload a palette.

The main quandary for Passenger van buyers is whether to go for the 12-seater or the 15-seater. And they will probably want the higher roof, which allows a 6-footer to stand up inside.

Maximum payloads range from 3,307 pounds in the Passenger van to 6,812 in the Cargo.

Cabin materials are generally good. Not up to the lavish standards of Mercedes-Benz cars, but simultaneously hard-wearing and easy on the eye. One option that’s made it into the Sprinter is the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system. An onboard digital assistant is summoned by saying the words “Hey Mercedes” or “Hey Sprinter” then it’s ready to obey voice commands such as “find the nearest gas station.”

A passenger-side sliding door, and two rear doors that open out to 180 degrees are standard with the 2022 Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz offers a high roof where the maximum height is 111 inches with the Cargo and Crew models, or 114 inches with the Passenger version.

The standard wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) is 144 inches, with the option of a 170-inch wheelbase in the Cargo, Crew and Passenger models.

In common with other vans that have migrated from Europe, like the Transit and ProMaster, the Sprinter is more tall and narrow than squat and wide, making it useful for getting around city streets. And that 3-pointed star in the grille gives the van a certain prestige the others can’t match.

TURBODIESEL V6
Strong, durable and relatively easy on fuel, this engine is the best available in a 2022 Sprinter. Being a German company, Mercedes-Benz has put a lot of time and effort into making diesel engines quieter, cleaner, and far more refined than oil-burners of old.

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE
Only the Sprinter and Ford Transit offer the option of 4-wheel drive in a full-size van. As well as being great in bad weather, this system (with a high/low transfer case) could also be useful in a mountain rescue vehicle, if that’s what a new Sprinter buyer wanted to create.

Square one of the 2022 Sprinter range is the Cargo model with the standard-length wheelbase, standard roof height, gasoline engine, a couple of manually adjustable front seats, and an empty cargo area. It comes with 16-inch steel wheels, heated/power-adjustable side mirrors, keyless start, height-adjustable steering wheel, air conditioning, and cruise control.

Safety equipment includes a load-adapting stability control system, Crosswind Assist, hill start assistance, and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking.

There isn’t much info or entertainment to the infotainment system, since it consists mainly of AM/FM radio, four speakers, Bluetooth phone/audio streaming, auxiliary audio input, and two USB-C ports in the dashboard. Smartphone integration is not available at all.

The Crew version adds a second row of seating. The Passenger version starts out with accommodation for 12. And the Cab Chassis model is, yes, just a cab and a chassis.

Some of the more general options include automatic climate control, lightweight plastic floor, powered sliding side door, heated windshield, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and heated/power-adjustable front seats.

Among the extra driver assistance features are adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, active lane-keeping assistance, and a 360-degree camera system. It’s well worth adding these, not just from the point of view of avoiding or lessening the severity of an accident. They can keep the Sprinter on the road earning its keep and not in the repair shop costing money.

The infotainment system can be upgraded to the MBUX setup that incorporates a 10.25-inch touchscreen and voice control, plus satellite radio, navigation, and wireless charging.

Then there are the specialized things like seating for 15 in the Passenger model, RV bundles, heavier-duty springs and dual rear wheels to handle more weight, equipment for maximum towing capacity, or any number of niche items.

The base engine for a 2022 Sprinter is a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder unit turning gasoline into 188 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. That’s not much horsepower in the grand scheme of full-size vans, but it’s a respectable torque figure. This links up to a 9-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive is the sole arrangement.

At the 2500 level, Mercedes-Benz offers a diesel-fed turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine developing 161 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque. A 7-speed automatic transmission sends this to the rear wheels.

For the hardest work, though, a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 is available, generating 188 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. This also connects to a 7-speed automatic transmission, but 4-wheel drive is optional here.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t provide fuel economy estimates for full-size vans.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
188 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm
258 lb-ft of torque @ 2,500-3,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: N/A

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
161 horsepower @ N/A rpm
266 lb-ft of torque @ N/A rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: N/A

3.0-liter turbodiesel V6
188 horsepower @ 3,800 rpm
325 lb-ft of torque @ 1,400-2,400 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: N/A