We finally had a chance to check out the Marco Polo this week. The local dealers don't have any but a friend who works at the Mercedes plant showed us around a couple owned by the staff there. Earlier in the week we also looked at an Ocean at the dealers.
Some initial impressions:
At a first glance, the Ocean appears more van-like while the MP is a more car-like. The default driving height in the Ocean is higher, but the seats in the MP are height-adjustable as standard and I think get to a similar height as the Ocean at max.
There are many many differences in the 'cockpit'. The most obvious is that the automatic gear options (park, neutral, drive, reverse) are controlled by an 'indicator-like' stem on the steering wheel in the MP but via a conventional gearstick on the Ocean. The automatic has sporty, comfort and eco settings on the MP as standard. Many options are controlled via a touchpad on the MP.
The absence of a central handbrake in the MP (it has a small electronic handbrake pull switch instead) makes rotating the front seats really easy. It also leaves a very sizeable wasted space between the front seats which would be ideal for something like a combined moveable buddy seat/storage/step to get into the roof bed.
As is already obvious from the photos, the MP has a much swisher interior. This isn't necessarily an advantage, as it gives the impression that style may have triumphed over substance. But the actual quality/strength of the fittings seem comparable in both. For the cupboards I had a preference for the Ocean, in terms of useable space and thinner-yet-strong materials. The MP wins out with the three separate lifting sections of the worktop. I don't think the MP cupboards are aluminium like in the Ocean; they seem a bit of a wood-plastic combination in the MP. I came away with the impression that the Ocean is a very solid and well-made (well, apart from the unmentionable) 'no nonsense' vehicle. The MP's fittings, at least in their latest swanky form, still need to prove themselves in that regard.
The table in the MP is similar in design to the Ocean but I get the impression it is slightly shorter, which has pros and cons. Well, the only pro I can think of is that it is easier to walk around the table with the side door shut. Most owners of the MP complain that the table 'stop' position leaves it too far away from the rotated front seats (yes, there is that much space in the MP cabin), and many have modified the location of the stop to rectify this and to allow proper access to all the cupboards. I preferred the table in the Ocean. It seemed a bit more robust to me.
The light wood-effect 'yacht' floor gives the MP interior an airy feel and is actually very hard and smooth, and said to be easy to clean by owners. We also looked at a cheaper TPO plastic floor option but because the surface isn't smooth it might be harder to keep clean, and the grey shows up muddy footprints. I don't recall much about the Ocean floor except that the demo model showed a lot of bootprints, so I guess it is also grey.
The rear seat is one area where the MP wins for me, being more comfortable with its inflated side mouldings. On the other hand, it is slower to make into a bed as the mouldings have to deflate, and it doesn't have the neater hinged headrests of the T6.
The boot... yes, the camping table and chairs really do occupy a good half of the boot area under the bed extension in the MP. They hang down in their basket making it difficult to reach the clearer boot area behind the reat seat. This is a bad design decision. The only upside is that there is a saving of 240 euros or so by omitting them in the configurator. The Ocean is such a neat solution in comparison.
There is an issue with the availability of a bike-rack for the MP. The dealers say there isn't one specifically made for the new MP, but owners claim to have managed to source a couple of options. This isn't a problem for the Ocean. An electrical pre-fit of the trailer hitch is only 198 euros in the MP though, and it is much cheaper to add the hitch afterwards, apparently, than at the time of buying the vehicle.
The MP has 2 batteries while the Ocean has 3. Some MP owners find the mapping of devices/sockets to the two batteries a little strange (I can elaborate if anyone is interested).
The MP has more USB sockets as standard, including in the upper part.
The MP can be specced with the manual roof.
The MP has the separate opening rear window (although it needs a bit of a simple DIY fix to open it from the inside).
All the interior lights in the Ocean are graduated in intensity. I think only some of those in the MP are like this.
Window tinting is standard on the MP (useful in a hot country like Spain).
There are 5 'free' colour choices in the MP ('pebble grey' -- a kind of beige, navy blue, British racing green-ish, red and white) as opposed to 2 for the Ocean (red and white).
I think ACC is a less expensive addition on the Ocean than the equivalent 'Histrionic' system on the MP.
Heated front seats are standard on the Ocean but an option on the MP.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, static air heating is also standard on the Ocean, and an expensive extra on the MP (but easy to retrofit professionally at under half the price).
I'm not sure if the Ocean has automatic parking (both finding a parking spot then doing the parking automatically) but the MP does and it is amazingly precise, if not a little too perfectionist for my liking. It certainly leaves the van right in the centre of the spot. This isn't standard but comes as part of a reasonably-priced parking package which also includes a 360 degree camera. Nearly everyone parks in underground garages here which can be a bit of a nightmare, and I see the 360 camera as a huge help. It is based on 4 cameras (front, rear, 1 on each wing mirror), images from which are collectively pieced together to create a compelling bird's eye real-time view of the car's actual environment, along with a superimposed view of the car.
Talking of garages, the slightly lower height of the MP means it fits into most parkings. Set against this is the longer length, which, amongst other things, takes it into a higher price category on Brittany Ferries (annoying for my annual trips to Blighty).
These are my main impressions but if anyone wants to know any more, feel free to ask.
I haven't yet driven either the MP or the Ocean. This morning I did get to drive a Class V with the 220d engine + automatic gearbox, which is what we're looking for if we plump for a MP. This was a real pleasure to drive. I was ambling along thinking I was doing maybe 70 km/h and was amazed to see I was doing 100. It is extremely quiet too and I noticed no roll at all when cornering. Apart from the driving height, it has a car-like feel when driving. The only comparison I can make is with a 2011 T5 Cali with DSG that I drove earlier this year. Again, it was a superb drive. It seemed just a tiny bit noisier (but still quiet) and I noticed a bit of a roll, but that could just have been the way I was driving it. I slightly prefer the higher driving position of the Cali.
In summary, both seem to be fantastic vehicles and I would be happy with either. Competition is a great thing but in this case a combination of the best bits of each would make for something truly exceptional....
I specced up an Ocean and an MP with similar add-ons and they come to almost the same price. We get dealer discounts of 15% or higher over here but that has to be set against 21% VAT and 9.75% on initial registration of the vehicle.
In the end, it might just be the roof issue and the fact that the Merc is locally-made that swings it towards the MP for me.
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