At County we have been strong supporters of the Mercedes Sprinter van since it replaced the Mercedes T series vans back in the early 1990s. Ahead of coming legislation we've had a look at how the new Sprinter stacks up with a Euro 6 engine.

The Euro 6 Sprinter carries a hefty £1,120.00 premium on the 3.5T range which is enough to put off all but the most environmentally conscious. That's before you add in AdBlue consumption costs.

The current Euro 5 engine offered big gains in terms of power and economy improvements over Euro 4. Unfortunately gains with Euro 6 are less impressive. The current Euro 5B 313CDi Panel Van delivers a combined figure of 34.9mpg. The Euro 6 engine only raises this slightly to 35.8mpg which will take a lot of miles to return the extra investment.

More impressively CO₂ emissions for the Euro 6 engine are just 206g/km down from 213g/km on the Euro 5B and 227g/km on the previous model.

On the downside payload is also reduced for the Euro 6 van by 34 Kilos thanks to the AdBlue tank and dosing equipment.

The good news though is this latest model is one of the smoothest, quietest vans you will have ever driven and it has no doubt benefitted from the technology now employed on the larger passenger car models fitted with the latest Blue Tec engines, such as the ML & GL models which we also have on fleet.

With this latest model comes an array of innovative safety features as Mercedes push forward with their ambition to be the leaders in safety in LCVs. Adaptive ESP has been standard for some time and having witnessed this feature first-hand in a controlled test, you really have to wonder why this is not mandatory on all vehicles. It can literally save your life! This has now been joined by 'Cross wind Assist' and 'Driver Assistance Package'. The latter is a £1,090 optional extra and includes yellow and red flashing lights in the wing mirrors to warn of objects in the blind spots, a  lane departure warning to help keep the driver from wondering without indicating and a warning on the dash if the van is too close to the vehicle in front.

The Sprinter interior retains its durable looks and is a very comfortable environment to spend driving. Our vans are fitted with a full height steel bulkhead, Bluetooth, cruise control and electrically adjustable heated door mirrors. We have also fully lined the load area to protect your goods (and van interior) and tie down points are positioned throughout.

The Sprinter is likely to remain as our large van class leader for some time to come but expect to see other derivatives join the fleet throughout 2014.

Sprinter is not just a van for all seasons, it’s a van for all reasons! Our rates.