The first Sprinter broke Mercedes naming convention entirely, the brand's first product ever sold under a name instead of a code.
Lead trim: 214 / 314 / 414 (M 111) · up to 154 hp
Mercedes-Benz SprinterW903 · 1995–2006
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FactThe first Sprinter broke Mercedes naming convention entirely, the brand's first product ever sold under a name instead of a code.
The first-generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (T1N platform), launched in Europe in 1995 to replace the T1 Transporter of 1977. It had lower aerodynamic drag than the T1, an engine moved 290 mm further forward to free cabin space, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and was the first Mercedes-Benz product to carry a name rather than an alphanumeric designation. Its most powerful diesel, at 90 kW (120 hp), was the strongest in its class, and it was voted International Van of the Year for 1995. It was restyled in 2000 and 2002, with standard electronic stability control from 2002. Engines ran from the OM601 diesel four and the OM602 five-cylinder turbodiesels to the 2.1-litre OM611 CDI, the 2.7-litre five-cylinder OM612/OM647 CDI and the M111 petrol four. In North America it arrived for the 2002 model year as a Freightliner and from 2003 also as the Dodge Sprinter, with the OM612 (OM647 from 2004) and a five-speed 5G-Tronic automatic. Volkswagen sold re-badged versions as the LT, and a Sprinter Classic was built with GAZ in Russia until 2020.
Collectors Spotted in the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
8 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 208 CDI / 308 CDI / 408 CDI (OM 611) | 2000–2006 | 2.1 L Inline-4 | 81 hp | 148 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 208 D / 308 D / 408 D (OM 601) | 1995–2000 | 2.3 L Inline-4 | 78 hp | 112 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 210 D / 310 D / 410 D (OM 602) | 1995–2000 | 2.9 L Inline-5 | 101 hp | 184 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 211 CDI / 311 CDI / 411 CDI (OM 611) | 2000–2006 | 2.1 L Inline-4 | 108 hp | 199 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 212 D / 312 D / 412 D (OM 602) | 1995–2000 | 2.9 L Inline-5 | 120 hp | 203 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 213 CDI / 313 CDI / 413 CDI (OM 611) | 2000–2006 | 2.1 L Inline-4 | 127 hp | 221 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 214 / 314 / 414 (M 111) | 1995–2006 | 2.3 L Inline-4 | 141 hp | 155 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 216 CDI / 316 CDI / 416 CDI / 616 CDI (OM 612 / OM 647) | 2000–2006 | 2.7 L Inline-5 | 154 hp | 243 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the 208 CDI / 308 CDI / 408 CDI (OM 611) trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This Sprinter made history in the lineup: it's the first generation to offer a front-wheel-drive van option, after decades of rear-wheel-drive Sprinters.
Dodge and Freightliner Sprinters for North America were reassembled from kits shipped to Ladson, South Carolina.
The first Sprinter broke Mercedes naming convention entirely, the brand's first product ever sold under a name instead of a code.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Chevy pitched the Astro as the anti-minivan, telling buyers life was too big for one, while it rode on a rear-wheel-drive truck frame.
The IIHS rated the Astro Poor in a 1996 crash test, yet 2001–2004 Astros later had the lowest driver death rate of any US passenger vehicle.
The boxy, unglamorous Astro quietly posted one of the best real-world safety records in America: IIHS found 2001-2004 models had the fewest driver deaths per million vehicles of any passenger vehicle on US roads.
The third-generation Tourneo Connect, released in Europe in October 2021, is a rebadged fourth-generation Volkswagen Caddy, assembled by Volkswagen in Poland.
Ford beat the 25% "chicken tax" by importing the Transit Connect as a passenger van — rear windows and seats included, then stripped out and recycled once it landed in the US.
Ford spent years in federal court over the second-gen Transit Connect: in June 2019 the US won its appeal, and judges ruled the van was cargo-only — ending Ford's workaround for the 'chicken tax.'
GM sold a rebadged Nissan NV200 as the Chevy City Express for four years, then killed it in 2018, citing weak sales and the fact that its parts weren't even compatible with GM's own parts catalog.
Its name is a pun: "S-Cargo" means "Small Cargo" but sounds just like escargot — French for snail, the shape the whole van was built to resemble.