Many electric vans have been shunned by businesses and private buyers because they don’t have enough range for anything other than urban activities. However, with a reasonably large new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) 113 kWh battery pack, the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter should easily provide over 200 miles of range in normal operation, which opens up a new realm of possibilities.
It doesn’t have an official EPA range estimate because the EPA doesn't test commercial vehicles. In Europe, however, it is rated at 271 miles on the WLTP cycle. Our estimate, based on the known optimism of the WLTP test cycle versus the much more accurate EPA range rating, is that the eSprinter should give you around 220 to 230 miles.
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The eSprinter is an electric van that makes sense
With a larger battery than the 100 kWh pack that Rivian puts in the Amazon delivery van, the Mercedes eSprinter has enough range to meet most daily needs and can also be DC fast-charged for rapid range replenishment.
If you want the 113 kWh battery, you have to get 170-inch wheelbase high-roof eSprinter, which costs starting at just under $72,000. That gets you the standard output motor with 134 horsepower, but for an additional $3,340, you can upgrade to the 201-hp motor like the one in the EQV we tested a few years ago. Torque for both motors is the same at 295 pound-feet.
Mercedes also offers a smaller 81 kWh battery, which you can have in the same big boy body or the shorter 144-inch wheelbase model with the lower roof. That version is about $10,000 cheaper, but it’s nowhere near as roomy and not as good at carrying tall items like refrigerators upright.
To test whether the big eSprinter with the new battery is cut out for a longer-haul life in the US, Kyle Conner from Out of Spec Reviews subjected the van to a 70-mph highway range test. After 177 miles of highway driving, it had 1% battery left, and even though it was only delivering half of its nominal power, it was still able to maintain 70 mph.
With 1% remaining, Kyle pulled off the highway and kept driving it on the slower roads around the charging station. By the time he reached the charger, the state of charge had dropped to 0% with 179 miles on the trip meter. Keep in mind that this was only highway driving at a constant 70 mph—the EPA test involves a mix of highway and city driving, the latter of which is far more efficient in EVs—so the result is more than admirable.
We also found this more in-depth review of the eSprinter by TFLEV, where they show more of its features, talk about how it drives and rate it for practicality. It’s unsurprisingly way smoother to drive than a combustion engine Sprinter, helped by the near silent running of an electric motor. One cool fact they point out is that it has composite rather than metal leaf springs for the rear suspension, helping it deal with the extra weight from the battery pack.
It's a clever solution, one that enables the eSprinter to offer the highest range of any U.S.-market electric van. If you need to put serious mileage on your electric van, it's the one to get.
