The Vito 120 V6, The Vito 190 improvement(?) & the Future for the Vito.

[Leakster]

Does anyone know why Merc' haven't kept the good bits of the 120 V6 when they came up with the 190?

Is there any news of a "Proper" improvement of the excellent 120 V6 before they stop producing the Vito and just make the ridiculous Pick-up?

Come on Merc', please speak to your enthusiastic business users before they wander down to the VW Distributor.

 

[BTB 500]

The V6 option died with the W639 Vito/Viano; presumably they considered there wasn't enough demand for it. Nobody else makes vans with more than 4 cyls any more.

I guess you mean 119 rather than 190 ... the W447 119 is of course nearly 40 bhp down on the old W639 122

 

[Leakster]

I beg your pardon. Yes, I meant the 119.

It's very annoying that they've taken apart a good formula for a great working vehicle, capable of long daily use. Then replaced it with something with less grunt than my wife's diesel BMW 1series! (Sorry, girls, I'm not being sexist, I love her car too)! What was wrong with the V6?

So, back to my original question. Is the Vito being gradually de-natured with a view of phasing it out?

 

[BTB 500]

Absolutely not - they've only just launched a brand new version, which I expect will sell very well. Like I said, they presumably looked at sales of the V6 W639 and decided there simply wasn't enough demand to justify developing/certificating a W447 version. The new 119 has the same torque, just a few less horses. And better economy, and better emissions. Which is what the vast majority of customers want.

There was actually a rumour of a version with the V8 CDI, but unfortunately it came to nothing. Brabus did offer the W639 with a 6.1 litre petrol V8, so it would have been technically possible.

 

[Leakster]

You're right that the 119 should be very sexy and a suitable replacement for the 120. I have waited, bated-breath for this new one. Appraised one as soon as one came available at our local branch. I Have to say that I was disappointed to find that some of the simple, small but good things about the 120 had been dropped. Not only the power/torque argument, but stuff like no double armrest on the front seats. No ability to fold the mirrors at will. (Just try it if you're doing over 27mph on a narrow road with a Transit coming at you......"Oh, damn, there goes another broken mirror"!

I simply love the 120 Dualiner format. I see you have one, therefore you know how good it is. But I find it very surprising that Merc' don't seem to be interested in the enthusiasm of their customers and the keeping of the good things. Meanwhile, VW are learning these things and are overtaking Merc' in this area. Just take a look at the Modern, top-of-the-range Transporter. It's soo tempting.

I also hope that they keep working on the Vito, because it really is worth it. NOT another stupid, impractical pick-up..... Thanks for listening.

 

[parksie14]

I have a 2 yr old 122 , when it came to putting together the spec most things like folding mirrors & arm rest were an option as far as the power plant goes?? Merc are no different to VW in using turbos on 2.0 litre blocks, it's a sign of our times??

 

[BTB 500]

When I got my 120 it was because nobody else made anything similar. I didn't look at any other van (VW had already dropped their nice 5-cyl 2.5 by then).

Now the Vito 119 is a 187 bhp 2 litre 4-cyl, and the VW T6 is a 201 bhp 2 litre 4-cyl (with optional 4WD too). So I would certainly consider that when looking for a replacement.

 

[jimfred]

Me too Bill, but as our V6 only has 36 k on the clock and is almost in as good condition as when we bought it 41/2 years ago, you will not see me in a VW for a while. We have a 116 w447 auto, its very good but, the V6 is just something else.

Mark

 

[BTB 500]

Yup our 2007 120 has just gone over 80k miles and *hopefully* has a decent amount of life left in it yet!

 

[jonny705]

I drove a new T5 when I hired one to pick a bike up, it was only a 2l engine, and I suppose a basic one but new, and I could not believe how gutless it was , really noisy, terrible road noise through wheels , just was astonished TBH as had always heard how great they were .


My friend has a 4x4 version and has spent around 50k on it, Custom paint, wheels, custom intercooler/exhaust from Germany, re-mapped, all interior re-done in leather with seats /bed to his spec basically everything , can also start it from his phone and heat it up remotely!
But 50k on a van?


Vito 120 has the best /most reliable auto box in any van, and as its quite a heavy vehicle, nice to have loads of torque to get it moving from standstill, you only have to tickle accelerator and it launches off , also rear wheel drive which I prefer.


Loads for sale that have done 250k still for top money ,and still getting used as reliable taxis, so I think if I loved it over the next few years , would try and buy the latest low mileage model I could afford , plus I have done so much work to the van, feel I could fix it if anything bad crops up-plus you know all its faults .


Think they will become quite desirable in a few years as not loads about.

 

[Gaz-M]

As above captains seats and folding mirrors were not a 120 spec they were an option.

Captains seats not available due to side airbags now.

I also loved my 120 and the stupid power (remapped) for a van, but my new 116 with 7G auto box will do 47MPG, the V6 most certainly would not have!

That was my biggest issue with the 120, it was not good on fuel! Aswell as starting to need injector seals and other bits at just over 100k miles I decided it was time to go for a new one. I still got strong money for the 120 though, and sold it within 24hrs!

 

[BTB 500]

Yup the most I've ever seen from my 120 was 31 mpg on a long run (to Germany). Overall it averages about 25 mpg.

 

[Tim203]

I drove a new T5 when I hired one to pick a bike up, it was only a 2l engine, and I suppose a basic one but new, and I could not believe how gutless it was , really noisy, terrible road noise through wheels , just was astonished TBH as had always heard how great they were . My friend has a 4x4 version and has spent around 50k on it, Custom paint, wheels, custom intercooler/exhaust from Germany, re-mapped, all interior re-done in leather with seats /bed to his spec basically everything , can also start it from his phone and heat it up remotely! But 50k on a van? Vito 120 has the best /most reliable auto box in any van, and as its quite a heavy vehicle, nice to have loads of torque to get it moving from standstill, you only have to tickle accelerator and it launches off , also rear wheel drive which I prefer. Loads for sale that have done 250k still for top money ,and still getting used as reliable taxis, so I think if I loved it over the next few years , would try and buy the latest low mileage model I could afford , plus I have done so much work to the van, feel I could fix it if anything bad crops up-plus you know all its faults . Think they will become quite desirable in a few years as not loads about.

A friend of mine just picked up his4 motion
T6. The road noise is so bad he just spent £200 on Dynamat . After £40k you'd think that's enough!

 

[rizzer]

We have two 120 dualiner compacts, one done 100k and the other 55k, they are 2009 so age wise should be looking to change, but there is nothing out there to match the get up and go of the V6 so like others have said we'll be keeping them for a bit longer yet.