Mercedes-Benz Commits Itself to #VanLife With Metris Weekender
Van culture is making a comeback. We know this because the media has glommed onto the topic as young adults continue to share stories about how not having a mailing address ( because they live in vans) is the best thing that ever happened to them.
While you’re unlikely to encounter these people all that regularly offline, the internet is full of them. And yet there’s no real consensus as to the appeal of custom vans. Plenty of people embrace the van life because they see it as an affordable way to tour the countryside; others view it as part of the minimalist movement, or simply as the best way to avoid becoming totally homeless.
Want more than a tent over your head while camping? Need a place to wait out the impending civil war? Simply feel the need to capitalize on a trend that’s growing in popularity on YouTube? Van living has you covered — and Mercedes-Benz is ready to help.
On Thursday, the company’s van division revealed the Metris Weekender at the Chicago Auto Show. The model is said to have enough room to sleep four, a highly adaptable interior space, and a second battery for watching TV before bedtime.
Europe has greedy hogged the small camper segment these past few decades, leaving Americans to deck out Ford Transits or keep saving up for that recreational vehicle. However, with many younger individuals too poor to even entertain an RV as a serious option, it may be time to begin shipping smaller alternatives stateside.
Mercedes joined forces with Ohio-based Driverge Vehicle Innovations to make the Weekender what it is. Upstairs, the master bedroom features a 2-inch memory foam mattress that can sleep two — with USB ports for charging devices. Downstair accommodations include a bench seat that can be collapsed into a second bed, more USB ports and swiveling front seats to make entertaining guests easier. A second battery is also standard, allowing occupants to draw energy without having nightmares about the van not starting in the morning.
As for the options, Mercedes is offering everything from audio upgrades to integrated solar panels. Want a mobile apartment with a patio? Order the pull-out kitchen and 8-inch awning. Need more space? There’s a tent you can attach to the back of the vehicle, effectively adding another room. You can even select between 200 available 3M auto body wrap materials if you don’t like the standard Metris colors. You just have to pony up the extra dough.
While customization is an important part of the Weekender experience, powertrain options are limited to the Metris’ 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. That comes with a seven-speed automatic, all-wheel drive and 5,000 pounds of pulling power.
Driverge Vehicle Innovations plans to build the Weekender in South Carolina, though it will still be sold through Mercedes’ American dealer network. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but Mercedes said the first 100 deliveries will include a free National Parks pass. Frankly, using the Weekender to enjoy the U.S. National Park Service seems like an excellent use of one’s free time. We just hope this encourages other European nameplates to start shipping their own campers our way — starting with the Volkswagen California.
[Images: Daimler]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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This ain't the "van life" of the '60s and '70s as remembered by Lie2Me and EGSE. That time it was mostly younger folks, often with disposable income (or parental money) who smoked weed and partied to Beach Boys or Jimmy Hendrix when they weren't getting laid on the mattress on the floor. There were upfitters making mini-motorhomes, and (at least where I grew up) Pagan MC members who drank PBR, partied to Steppenwolf and drove Chevy vans when they weren't on their Triumphs, but no-one remembers them. Now it's older folks, usually fairly well-heeled looking to be downsized tin-can gypsies touring the country in their Golden Years. This is the target customer base for the Metris and others like it. If anyone is into vans because they're trying to arrest their descent into homelessness they're certainly NOT buying these, they're getting clapped-out Chevy Astros, Ford E100s or soon-to-die fourth owner motorhomes. They park on side-streets near the gentrified neighborhoods they were priced out of and hope to stay one step ahead of The Law that shoos them away. Each of them are completely different demographics.
I would love to get one of these. Hope they sell well.