Mercedes Marco Polo Latest Info 2017

[Tony hylton]

Is the kitchen equipment aluminium and factory fitted?

My 2005 marco polo, the kitchen construction was of the same material Westfalia have always used.
The poptop bellows are excellent ,I could not fault it.
The upper bed is a dream, the earlier plastic "fingers" which supported the bed were a faulty design and caused to premature failure,all replaced out of warranty by the plastic manufacturer,"free". Poptopcampers were selling them for 5 euros each.
The rear swivel compartment containing the gas bottle is neat but a gimmick, one can not access from the inside ,unless you clambered over the seatback and had no luggage in the way, never the less, always got a kick out of showing people.
The interior table sits in the sliding door, easy to pull out and an improvement on my previous T4 which was installed under the rear seat and heavy!

Hope my T5 lives up to this, I am loving it, and can not wait for our winter trip to Portugal, my knees are loving the 7 gear automatic, must confess I like the "s" option.

 

[Roger Boeken]

I don't understand : the marco polo was available when I decided to order my cali in octobre 2015, I did compare them, have been reading reviews and decided to go for cali.. Why are all of you you all of a sudden considering to look at marco polo now? I'm afraid the grass looks always greener on the other side of the fence. Mercedes did its homework and made a cali lookalike.. But for me it is a mercedes limousine that pretends to be a camper but supposed to sell to people that wil never use it as a camper..
The round sink is too small for any dishwashing other than a coffeecup
The rails in the floor extend too far from the bottom floor and catch too much dirt..
Why bother about the nice yacht style floor if you put carpets on it ?
The bed is even smaller than in a cali..
No table in the sliding door , no chairs in the tailgate, so that will take all space in the back if you need them
Many of you wish the cali ocean had manual roof, what to think about back seat that needs inflation and only transforms in to a bed with electric motors ? You need to remove the headrests however by hand..and the bed is not as flat as in the cali.
Some reviewers mention electric instead of piezo ignition of the gas as an improvement .. another thing that won't work without electricity.
You wil never find in any brochure specified free height from ground for marco polo..or that it can wade trough 30 cm of water.
Indeed it is 10 inch longer but hard to find that back inside, I believe it is in the hood..
Of course there are some little details that are attractive (kitchen covered in 2 parts , seats can be turned without opening doors).. but for me it is still not beating the cali overall.

 

[Julian_Camper_Man]

Damn good limo though! Simple things like the picnic table and chairs will probably snooker the MP but so many other plus points I am still tempted! Combined with the generally poor customer service from VW it is worth a close look which I will do in the New Year and report back!

 

[Digger]

The grass always seems greener but seldom is. Bling is not my thing.

 

[Gary&Heather]

I must admit this is our third California we were just about to order a new T6 but in the end couldn't really do it not really that comfortable with VW the way it is at the moment shame really.

 

[Tony hylton]

Summer only vehicle.
Unless I'm missing something.
1Leisure Battery as an extra.
No Diesel Parking Heater.
No waste tank.
Does not appear to be any in-built Charger. Well can't see it mentioned in the brochure.

So not the ideal vehicle for all year round use or wild camping without some additions to the factory spec.

Yep ,my 2005 model came with diesal heater, probably the same one Westfalia have been fitting to Californias, prior their takeover by Mercedes.

Summer only vehicle.
Unless I'm missing something.
1Leisure Battery as an extra.
No Diesel Parking Heater.
No waste tank.
Does not appear to be any in-built Charger. Well can't see it mentioned in the brochure.

So not the ideal vehicle for all year round use or wild camping without some additions to the factory spec.

yep comes with diesal onboard heater probably same type Westfalia have been fitting to Californias prior takeover by Mercedes.
Alsoa waste tank for grey water,
Well my 2005 model Marco polo has it installed.
Paul any idea why westfalia was sold to Mercedes was it a hostile takeover?

 

[kave]

It seems MB would have no problem selling more MP's than Californias. I guess VW sells all they can produce. In Sweden MB has a real bad reputation, with all road salt they rust away. Nothing like the MB's of the 80's.

 

[aBusAndBeyond]

I wouldn't expect Mercedes' customer service or build quality to be any better than VW's. I had two brand new AMG products that had serious engine faults and for the few months the faults were being addressed I had appalling customer service. At one stage I had been running around in a courtesy car that wasn't even taxed!! As said above... certainly not built like they used to be.

 

[WelshGas]

Yep ,my 2005 model came with diesal heater, probably the same one Westfalia have been fitting to Californias, prior their takeover by Mercedes.

yep comes with diesal onboard heater probably same type Westfalia have been fitting to Californias prior takeover by Mercedes.
Alsoa waste tank for grey water,
Well my 2005 model Marco polo has it installed.
Paul any idea why westfalia was sold to Mercedes was it a hostile takeover?

No idea I'm afraid. But there is some information here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfalia

 

[Ambler]

Rather ironic that many are questioning the rusting abilities of the MP against the California.

 

[Digger]

Maybe because structural rust desroys the vehicle. VW roof issue is not rust and cosmetic. That said it is a disgrace VW have not fixed the design and sorted the roof for once and for all.

 

[Roger Boeken]

Typical marco polo : take a look at

go to minute 7:00 : 2 inches of water on the road makes them stop and they need a map (not GPS!?) to find another road...
No cup holders in the front cabin, only an ugly bump inbetween the front seats that makes it very difficult to go to the back of the car. No dedicated buttons on the control unit for standheater or fridge. No GPS with intuitive touchscreen but switches and buttons..

 

[GrannyJen]

I must admit, every time I see these video's I fall back in love with Albert.

He looks the part. Ready to tough it, ready to get dirty and throw it off, nothing precious, no frills, work with what you have and for all the problems the what I have has been pretty impressive so far.

 

[zeratul]

I don't understand : the marco polo was available when I decided to order my cali in octobre 2015, I did compare them, have been reading reviews and decided to go for cali.. Why are all of you you all of a sudden considering to look at marco polo now? I'm afraid the grass looks always greener on the other side of the fence. Mercedes did its homework and made a cali lookalike.. But for me it is a mercedes limousine that pretends to be a camper but supposed to sell to people that wil never use it as a camper..
The round sink is too small for any dishwashing other than a coffeecup
The rails in the floor extend too far from the bottom floor and catch too much dirt..
Why bother about the nice yacht style floor if you put carpets on it ?
The bed is even smaller than in a cali..
No table in the sliding door , no chairs in the tailgate, so that will take all space in the back if you need them
Many of you wish the cali ocean had manual roof, what to think about back seat that needs inflation and only transforms in to a bed with electric motors ? You need to remove the headrests however by hand..and the bed is not as flat as in the cali.
Some reviewers mention electric instead of piezo ignition of the gas as an improvement .. another thing that won't work without electricity.
You wil never find in any brochure specified free height from ground for marco polo..or that it can wade trough 30 cm of water.
Indeed it is 10 inch longer but hard to find that back inside, I believe it is in the hood..
Of course there are some little details that are attractive (kitchen covered in 2 parts , seats can be turned without opening doors).. but for me it is still not beating the cali overall.

Agree. I also had the option of ordering the new Marco Polo because it was available in Belgium when I ordered my T5.2 (jan 2015). I did a test drive, compared everything, in the end chose the Cali. A couple more reasons I remember:
- Too long and the extra space is in the engine compartment.. more than 5m is too long for many parking spaces, garages, ferries etc.
- Impossible to have more than 4 seats in the kitchen version or 5 seats in the beach-equivalent (I wanted the 7 seater beach)
- lower overall height - a lot less storage space
- lower clearance
- more expensive (especially the options)
- ugly curtains instead of sliding blinds

The biggest advantages I saw were
- Euro 6 (Cali was still Euro 5 at that time).
- Lower co2 (but for campers in Belgium it doesn't matter..)
- Better fuel consumption

 

[RoB5urf]

I couldn't resist any longer so had a look at a few MP vids. I was worried I might regret ordering a Beach. I needn't have a worried. The MP looks very fancy but I prefer practical and I think the California wins on that count. For example, in the MP Activity what's that table console thing all about? It seems overly complicated to me. IMO the whole is less than the sum of the parts.

 

[Teejay]

Typical marco polo : take a look at
go to minute 7:00 : 2 inches of water on the road makes them stop and they need a map (not GPS!?) to find another road...
No cup holders in the front cabin, only an ugly bump inbetween the front seats that makes it very difficult to go to the back of the car. No dedicated buttons on the control unit for standheater or fridge. No GPS with intuitive touchscreen but switches and buttons..

If that is a corporate video its terrible. At 0.53 a hot drink arrives, from where neither of them moved!
A 10 minute video that only has something useful at about 8 mins. in The rear door looks hydraulic rather than electric, my Volvo was hydraulic it takes getting used to the slowness. The table and chairs take up all the rear room, that can be resolved with these: http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/helinox-chair-one-d3112068?id_colour=3609 or similar.

Rear hatch would be very useful for me though.

Doesn't float my boat, but would've investigated them as we did many of the converts at time of purchase.

...message ends...

 

[HectorPascal]

Over a year ago, we liked the look of the Marco Polo - and being Mercedes people through and through, naturally gravitated towards it. We were told by a Merc dealer that there were no plans to import a RHD version so that was that. Very pleased at this development and we will be testing one out asap. I can't imagine they will be much more than VW price-wise. Now, to register our interest on the Mercedes website and see what happens.

 

[Kmann]

Where is the awning … must admit the more I look into it, it gets less and less attractive. Or the more I love my California!

 

[Rich20]

I will be sticking with my Beach thank you. Nothing here for me.

 

[2into1]

It's perhaps useful to lift ourselves from all the personal likes and dislikes and remind ourselves what prompted this thread: that in a huge and developed market (Germany we are led to believe), the balance of consumers are choosing the Marco Polo offer over the California. For VW, with it's 50 year heritage of campervans, that is a massive turnaround, and the bigger picture needs studying.

Something serious has shifted. Seeing the headline, you expect the VW production line to be gathering dust, but we all know it is running flat out.

So what must have changed is demand for small premium campers. VW can't make any more, so Mercedes have profited from the shortfall.

Does that mean Mercedes buyers are settling for second best? I doubt it. I think they are looking at desirability (the product and the brand), the value AND availability, and deciding the Mercedes provides the best answer for them. If Mercedes UK get their offer right, why would UK customers come to a different conclusion?

 

[kave]

That video (and horrible music) made me even more repellant of mb, id the customer base over 90 or what? So, even though it is longer than a Cali it doesnt have room for chairs in the rear door so they take up all luggage space?

 

[Herman]

Marco Polo? Yes, it looks almost as good as a Transit and I just love all that piano black plastic, especially with the white leather upholstery. Why didn't Mercedes use gold plate instead of chrome and finish the job properly?
I just wonder why there are so many T5 and T6 vans on the road in UK compared with Vitos. Surely all those fleet managers can't be wrong?

 

[Roger Boeken]

It seems MB would have no problem selling more MP's than Californias. I guess VW sells all they can produce. In Sweden MB has a real bad reputation, with all road salt they rust away. Nothing like the MB's of the 80's.

Indeed if you look at the delivery times people mention here on the forum( like 10 months) it must be VW cannot follow the demand, the order book is full..
There have never been more alternatives for cali and the newcomers are fighting for their share of the (still growing ) market, newcomers always attract more attention than the settled values like cali. How many of these alternatives will still exist ten years from now ? What will be their value on second hand market ? How easy will it be to find spare parts or accessories ? Even for a T1 you can still buy all parts to bring it in top condition again. Bad luck for example if you bought a hymer 'cape town' (T5 based) , it was only on the market for 1 year ! A rare collectors item already.

 

[calicasas]

Is it based on the long wheel drive chassis? If so, that would be a downer for many. (the pricing on the pdf suggests it is from a v quick scan).

My understanding is that this is a SWB, but the Merc SWB is longer the the VW SWB equivalent, so a little more room inside. Not sure how much longer though....

 

[owen_h]

My understanding is that this is a SWB, but the Merc SWB is longer the the VW SWB equivalent, so a little more room inside. Not sure how much longer though....

Merc sell the Vito in 3 lengths which they badge Short, long and extra long. The Marco Polo is on their 'long' chassis.
In comparison to the VW range it's between VWs SWB and LWB.