Mercedes-Benz Sprinter's: Maisto (M.C. Toys) Mercedes TN van, Greenlight Mercedes Sprinter van, and Siku Mercedes Sprinter pickup

Another formidable player in the European van category, and one of the best-known, is the Sprinter van.  Even before adopting the Sprinter name in 1995 the Mercedes large van has had a long history in commercial van sales in Europe and now in the U.S.  Here are three different versions from Maisto in the pre-Maisto MC Toys version, the Greenlight version used from the defunct Malibu International brand, and the Siku version with a pickup bed.

Maisto Mercedes TN van

As Europe was starting to grow back from the devastation of World War II there was a market for a home-grown van without having to go the expensive route of importing U.S. made vans that were not designed for narrow European streets.  Mercedes, a company most recognized for the prestige luxury cars, somehow got into that calling with the TN van line.  While it shared some styling elements with the car line this was a model of its own with a more boxy look and using a ladder frame that allowed for chassis cab models with dual rear wheels.  Even more interesting is four-wheel drive models using components from the G-wagen SUV's.  The famous Mercedes diesel motors proved quite well for van duty with a 2.4L SOHC turbocharged I-4 that produced 95 horsepower through a 4-speed manual transmission.  Even the interior despite the basic look has that Mercedes car-like look.

Many have made the famous TN van, including the Matchbox TV News Truck, but this Maisto version is nice and clean and even offers an interior that cannot be said of current Maisto 1:64 castings.  I found this nice and simple yellow version with Marine Club along the sides and it looks really good.  The front has a black band grille with three-pointed star and adjoining headlights and signal lights.  The hood has cowl vents and additional vents detailed just below the front grille.  The sides show a panel truck look with basic wheels that look good here (with a working suspension) and oddly a door handle for the sliding rear door placed at the rear-side of the door for soem odd reason.  The rear looks almost generic with dual panel doors, detailed hinges, and square taillights.  The interior has seating for two with the basic steering wheel and dashboard layout with not much detail.  The dashboard layout looks very familiar with controls from the Mercedes car-line and the shifter placed on the floor between the front seats.  The rear cargo area is a blank space, as is the plastic base.  Other than the body roll typical from the van it handles quite well.

Greenlight Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

In 1995 it was time for Mercedes to upgrade the van and by that time the smaller Vito van line appeared, so Mercedes redesigned the van from top to bottom and called it the Sprinter.  This was epic as it is the most iconic van worldwide even in the U.S. where it was sold as Dodge, Freightliner, and now Mercedes products.  The van now features a more aerodynamic look shared with the car line and even features styling elements seen with the Mercedes AAV SUV concept that previewed the ML class SUV in 1997.  The van also offered a tall roof for the first time allowing humans to stand up inside the rear cargo area of the van.  The dashboard layout still has the car-like look with upgraded controls, HVAC, and dual airbags.  The powertrain is a 2.7L SOHC I-5 turbodiesel that produces 120 horsepower through a 5-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels.  The vans still continue today and pushed companies like Renault, Ford, and Nissan to make tall vans of their own.

This Greenlight version appeared in the first releases of the Motor World line and it was the elephant in the room of sports cars with plastic bases and details a bit on the lower par with other Greenlight models.  The reason for this is that Greenlight purchased the castings from the defunct Malibu Internationals line, and with that they managed to reuse most of the 1:64 castings and transform them into the Motor World line.  Now the Sprinter van is highly popular with collectors.  The version shown here features the Goodyear tires deco with blue, yellow, and white three-tone and a nice steel wheel imprint behind the logo.  The front has flow-back headlights with round lamps not necessarly needed, grille with three-pointed star, and a lower gray bumper.  The sides feature a nice panel truck look with tall roof that also has a stamped ribbed pattern.  The door handles are properly done and the steel wheels are nicley done and the tires are just big enough to handle the weight of the vehicle.  Did I mention this van has a lot of metal in it!  The rear has dual panel doors and simple taillight design.  The interior has seating for two with a nicely-detailed dashboard that has all of the right controls in a simple design.  As in the Maisto TN van the rear cargo area is empty, but unlike the TN van you can see the cargo area from behind the rear seats.  The base shows off the drivetrain, frame, exhaust, and even the fuel tank and spare tire.  After a few tire and an ambulance versions the Sprinter disappered from the Greenlight Motor World line.

Siku Mercedes-Benz Sprinter pickup

Now to the next-generation where even more replica's of the Sprinter van appeared, and no one had more fun making variants out of the chassis cab model is Siku.  The second-generation model is more of an evolution from the first Sprinter with more flowing headlight design and larger taillights at the rear.  The dashboard now has a more upright look to it and still features familiar Mercedes controls.  The powertrain is a new 3.0L SOHC turbodiesel V6 that produces 187 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission.  A 4x4 model was also offered for the first-time as an option.

Siku has made plenty of Sprinter models so I went for the pickup version.  It uses a blue single cab design with seating for three inside with plenty of visibility outside.  The dashboard is nicely done with correct control layout and 4-spoke steering wheel.  Even the roof uses the high-roof setup for this chassis cab model.  The front has silver headlights, black grille with three-pointed star, and lower black bumper, while the steel wheels are just as nicely done as the Greenlight version.  The difference here is the rear section where a small gray bed resides; not as deep as a traditional pickup bed or dump truck, but it allows for dumping ability as the bed tilts up and back and has a tailgate that swings up instead of down.  Again a weird bed layout, but I guess it works for some.  Also note the additional details below the bed and just ahead of the rear wheels for the hydraulic bed lift controls and other features.  While not as exciting as other Sprinter variations it has a nice simplistic charm to it and works well in a city or farm layout.