Difference between Mercedes and Peugeot

We have 2016 Broadway and are considering trading up for a new Bourton. The Bourton is about 10k dearer than a Broadway (although it has extra features) and I have been told that it “drives better”. Can anybody tell me specifically how it is better and would it have fewer rattles? It seems to be a little lower (good) but a little longer(bad)!

I've had two Fords, a Peugeot and currently Mercedes that I've had from new in 2011.  Apart from the benefits of having a proper auto box in the Merc, they all drive the same.  The suspension on the Mercedes is very soft when not moving and rocks in the wind.

I've had many more problems with the Mercedes base vehicle that with the others having had to de recovered with failed fuel injectors at three years old and handbrake seized on at four years - the MB dealers maintenance regime is appalling.

I bought this van as at the time it was the only option for the fixed bed layout we wanted.  Now that layout is also available on Peugeot and Fiat and in my opinion the extra for the Mercedes is not worth it and if you read on the forum problems that Merc owners have had over the last two years....

It’s hard to describe the difference in driving experience, BA, but perhaps using the analogy of an off the peg suit compared to a tailor made job will give a feel for what I’m getting at.

Our Merc was a 61 plate and the Peugeot a 17 plate so neither are current models. The auto Merc was smoother in all respects and I’d say those vans are not called Sprinters for nothing. Being RWD, the turning circle was better than the Peugeot and it had the advantage of added grip on muddy sites. It was more comfortable in the cab area and had better visibility. In short, more car like to drive than the Peugeot and it was a fair bit quieter. The rattles were all in the conversion, not the base vehicle.

We had very little trouble with the Sprinter - the starter relays had to be replaced at 5-6 years old. Servicing and parts were no dearer and possibly a bit cheaper than the Peugeot. Given the choice, I’d have another Merc rather than the Peugeot/Fiat any day.

TW has most relevant experience of not only the difference between the Merc Auto and Peugeiot manual, but also of having changed now to Fiat (torque converter) Auto.
I must say, our Fiat AlKo drives really smoothly and is quieter than our car...but that's a cheap shopper/parker...
I have also tried the Fiat 180bhp Auto on a much larger MH and found it very easy to drive.
I'm sure that when we change (with the same brand we would then be choosing between Merc, Fiat and Iveco) we would have an auto as they all have slush boxes.

I have driven a couple of new Mercedes Sprinter vans, we hire the XLWB version in work from time to time to move specialist kit around,  the cab/engine & possibly the chassis ( or is the Bourton on an Alko)is what I assume the Bourton is based on?

The Mercedes is definitely more refined altogether than my 66 plate Ducato, a previous Boxer or the modern Transits.

Whether that additional refinement is worth an extra £10k depends on how highly you value the extra refinement and whether you have a further spare £10k.....

Although in theory it will be worth more when you sell it...?

To put some perspective on it, in an average year we will spend 2920 hrs in the van and of that we will be driving for 48 hrs that's 1.6% of the time spent in the van when you may feel you get benefit for paying an extra 12% on the purchase price. Alternatively you could buy over 150 quite expensive meals for two.

Peter Brown wrote:To put some perspective on it, in an average year we will spend 2920 hrs in the van and of that we will be driving for 48 hrs that's 1.6% of the time spent in the van when you may feel you get benefit for paying an extra 12% on the purchase price.  Alternatively you could buy over 150 quite expensive meals for two.

Or ten weeks away in the med in a nice hotel for a change 

I guess it depends how much value you place on having the Merc. I'd pay the £10k.

Incidentally, when I look around at white van man out on the road, the number of Merc Sprinters seems to far outnumber Peugeot/Fiat vans even though they are cheaper. Does that tell us something?

Tinwheeler wrote:I guess it depends how much value you place on having the Merc. I'd pay the £10k.

Incidentally, when I look around at white van man out on the road, the number of Merc Sprinters seems to far outnumber Peugeot/Fiat vans even though they are cheaper. Does that tell us something?

Not to mention most front line ambulances.....

I’d have to be very excited by the layout/conversion on a Fiat/Peugeot or Ford to change back from our 2017 Mercedes. However, I before buying it I was looking at the new model Bouron but was seriously put off not by the Mercedes but by the electrical conversion problems highlighted on this forum - not sure if they have been entirely resolved by A/S and Sargent.

David

Peter Brown wrote:

 - the MB dealers maintenance regime is appalling.

 For balance, I have found exactly the opposite, have used three different MB dealers in  Crawley, Exeter and Truro and found them all very good, two exceptional.

I would be guided by Tinwheeler.  I can only base my experience on older models (2012) and found the Mercedes infinitely better in terms of rattles and draughts than both our peugeot and fiat based vans. The mercedes also had a proper smooth auto box which apart from the layout was a major reason for choosing it. Now of course Fiat have caught up on that.

I have never driven a new Fiat or a new Sprinter so cannot compare them, I do feel that although it may cost more initially the sprinter will always be more desirable in the long run because of its exclusivity and may hold its value better.

Don't the two quotes below contradict each other?  I'm looking through the window at the Sprinter based Malvern we've owned for nine and a half years - it still ticks all of our boxes and since I put the maintenance of the chassis into the hands of my local garage has been reliable plus AS no longer make a conversion that suits our needs so no plans to replace.  If we did look to replace it would be Malvern v Broadway FB or Broadway EK v Broughton, the Broadways would be on Fiat auto and would be the choice for both price and serious problems with the MB/AS interface over the last few years.

Tinwheeler wrote:I guess it depends how much value you place on having the Merc. I'd pay the £10k.

Incidentally, when I look around at white van man out on the road, the number of Merc Sprinters seems to far outnumber Peugeot/Fiat vans even though they are cheaper. Does that tell us something?

groundhog wrote:

I have never driven a new Fiat or a new Sprinter so cannot compare them, I do feel that although it may cost more initially the sprinter will always be more desirable in the long run because of its exclusivity and may hold its value better.

I can’t see a contradiction, Peter. 

My comment was referring to commercially used vans of which there seem to be a majority of Sprinters and minority of Peugeot/Fiat. GH's post referred to motorhomes where the reverse is the case.

Peter Brown wrote:Don't the two quotes below contradict each other?  I'm looking through the window at the Sprinter based Malvern we've owned for nine and a half years - it still ticks all of our boxes and since I put the maintenance of the chassis into the hands of my local garage has been reliable plus AS no longer make a conversion that suits our needs so no plans to replace.  If we did look to replace it would be Malvern v Broadway FB or Broadway EK v Broughton, the Broadways would be on Fiat auto and would be the choice for both price and serious problems with the MB/AS interface over the last few years.

Tinwheeler wrote:I guess it depends how much value you place on having the Merc. I'd pay the £10k.

Incidentally, when I look around at white van man out on the road, the number of Merc Sprinters seems to far outnumber Peugeot/Fiat vans even though they are cheaper. Does that tell us something?

groundhog wrote:

I have never driven a new Fiat or a new Sprinter so cannot compare them, I do feel that although it may cost more initially the sprinter will always be more desirable in the long run because of its exclusivity and may hold its value better.

On the contrary we are agreeing the Mercedes is probably worth the price. 
The question was which drives better and I have not driven either in the latest form I can't answer that. 
Given they were equal I would still buy the Mercedes for the exclusivity. Like you though Peter I will not be buying a new van anytime soon as our eight year old one is now fully settled so why go through the process again. 
I do not believe build quality is any better today and arguably worse

Hi Everyone
              Well I have a Mercedes, I do not know why but I never fancied a Peugeot,Fiat or Citroen base vehicle the early ones all seemed dated and later ones had recalls on dashboard problems and as I tow a trailer I wanted RWD so that left Ford or Mercedes. I was looking for a late Pollensa on a Ford chassis but never found one ,instead going for an AS Surrey, my first Mercedes it was manual but it drove like a dream well pleased and no problems, sold it to buy a Gloucester as we wanted a fixed bed The Gloucester was an auto to be honest I think the gear ratio's were better on the manual could cruise at a nice speed in top gear,Had an engine management fault on the Gloucester cst quite a lot to put it right it had only done about 17.000 miles,we sold the Gloucester now 10years old running well but the interior was getting shabby and parts were unobtainable, we now have a brand new Mercedes very smart loads of built in extra's, this I hope is the forever MH taken out a service plan  ,next service to pay for will be in 6 years time, as said before all the big fleets run Mercedes Sprinters good for 200.000 miles plus even the cash strapped NHS after many attempts to buy a decent ambulance buy sprinters, mind you now Fiat have a decent Auto box I can see AS dropping the Mercedes
Alan

We have recently changed from a manual Peugeot Motorhome to a AS Bourton on the new style cab layout. Having an electronic push button handbrake and gear change on a steering wheel lever takes some getting used to but the engine and technology is far superior and in our opinion was worth it. So far we are very happy with the Bourton’s features and quality.

[quote="Tinwheeler"]I guess it depends how much value you place on having the Merc. I'd pay the £10k.

Incidentally, when I look around at white van man out on the road, the number of Merc Sprinters seems to far outnumber Peugeot/Fiat vans even though they are cheaper. Does that tell us something?[/quote]

It tells us that MB fleet have a competitive lease arrangement.