Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer 116 CDI L2 Select Review

If you need more than the seven seats that most MPVs and SUVs have to offer, you’re limited in your options. But the Mercedes Vito Tourer presents a decent compromise, because while it wears its van roots on its sleeve, at least that van is a refined and capable option. The strong diesel engines blend good power and economy – we just wish the back seats were a bit more versatile.
 

Big families demand big versatility from a car, but sometimes an SUV or even an MPV isn’t up to the job. If you regularly find yourself needing more than seven seats to transport family or friends, then you’re going to have to turn to the van-derived MPV market and models such as the Mercedes Vito Tourer.
 
The Vito is the German brand’s medium-sized panel van, but the Tourer name indicates that this is the people-carrying variant. If it looks familiar, that’s because the same bodyshell is shared with the Mercedes V-Class, but that is sold as a premium model with upmarket features inside and out. In contrast, the Tourer caters for buyers in need of practicality, with a nine-seat layout, clear glass and a harder-wearing interior than its posher sibling.
 
While the Vito has been available for a lot longer than some rivals – this third-generation model was originally launched in 2014 – a round of updates announced in 2024 have kept it fresh. Most obvious on the outside is the addition of a new front bumper with a deeper grille, while the in-car tech received a makeover to bring the Vito into line with Mercedes’ passenger cars. Additional connectivity solutions and fleet telematics have also been added, while safety kit has been given an upgrade, too.
 

There are two lengths of Vito Tourer on offer in the UK, called L2 and L3 (there’s a shorter L1 available in Europe), and both come with nine seats laid out in three rows of three. You can swap the twin front passenger seat for a single one at no extra cost, which might be handy if you only need eight seats, because the three-abreast layout can eat into elbow room for the driver, resulting in a slightly cramped driving position.
 
There’s a floor-rail system in the back of the Vito Tourer that allows you to mount the benches in different positions, but the seats are really heavy (there’s a single chair and a double base in each row) and they don’t move without a lot of effort. If you’re feeling particularly strong, they are removable to take advantage of up to 6.6 cubic metres of space in the L3 model.
 
During our time with the Vito Tourer, we simply folded the seat backs down to boost interior space, especially because we didn’t have a big enough area to store the seats when removed. All of the seat backs fold individually, and the outer chairs are simple to operate, with levers on the side that let the backs drop in one motion. The middle ones are a bit fiddlier, with a fabric strap on the shoulder.
 
Access is a breeze through the sliding side doors, including to the rearmost row, while families of quadruplets can rejoice at the fact that the outer chairs in both rows have Isofix child-seat anchors.
 

Up front, Mercedes’ latest MBUX infotainment features, and the high-resolution screen gives the cabin a boost. There are circular air vents, as seen in the passenger-car range, and gloss-black trim gives the dashboard a lift, but there’s no avoiding the hard-wearing plastics that appear virtually everywhere else. However, that’s par for the course for a van-derived MPV such as this.
 
On the road, the 2.0-litre CDI 116 diesel packs a decent amount of power and torque. The nine-speed automatic might seem like overkill, but it helps to keep the engine in its power band, and while the shifts are slow, they’re pretty smooth. The weight of the seats helps to settle the ride of the Mercedes at higher speeds, although that large boxy body does cause big bumps to shudder through the vehicle.
 
In town, the Vito Tourer’s sheer size means it’s not the most manoeuvrable car around, but the steering is light and the tall driving position and big windows offer a fantastic view, while a reversing camera is standard to help with backing this five-metre-plus machine into spaces. Just remember to give yourself enough room so that the large tailgate can be opened without hitting anything.