Bus Battle: Mercedes’ V 300 d vs. Ford Tourneo vs. VW Caravelle

By Michele Lupini - April 28, 2021

There’s no doubt—Merc’s bus tops the luxury pecking order, but there’s a definite sting in the Tail

The luxury bus market was all shook up as the world emerged from lockdown. Three major players all benefited from latest upgrades across various fronts, topped by Mercedes Benz’ classy V 300 d Exclusive. So we gathered it, the Ford Tourneo 2.0SiT Custom SWB Limited, and Volkswagen Caravelle 2.0BiTDI Highline 4Motion together for a look see at the latest lay of the acme microbus land.

All three of these top end people carriers bear impeccable pedigrees. All three carry six people in differing levels of luxury and engagement. And all three are powered by top-end two-liter turbodiesel engines. But how they go about it and how they land on the market, could not be more different if you tried. So, this one’s a pretty interesting shootout, all-round.

Building on that indelible legend, the highest-spec 2013 and 2020 International Van of the Year Tourneo Custom Limited quietly entered the market a few years back in response to demand for a powerful and more luxurious bus version of the ever-popular Transit. Known by some as the motocross bus, this top end Limited version recently benefited a significant makeover.

V 300d & Friends

Three Impeccable Pedigrees

The latest version of our metallic veld-grey Ford is set apart by new LED daytime running lights, but the rest is unchanged. It has some odd traits though — like those door locking pimples and a roof that’s, well, not quite finished.

The present flagship of Volkswagen’s top-selling van and bus range over the past six decades, this sixth generation Volkswagen Transporter range was recently upgraded to T6.1 spec and topped by this stylish Caravelle. It’s set apart by a striking new chrome trimmed bumper and larger radiator grille with a pair of crossbars that continue into the new daytime running light full LED headlamps.

That’s all finished by a new 7-inch Woodstock black diamond-turned alloy wheel design plus that creamy white-on-orange-gold two-tone paintwork of our sampler.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the deep heritage of the third bus in this stop. Following hot on the heels of a 2019 facelift that already refreshed and restyled its look while streamlining the cockpit, Mercedes-Benz also recently took its V Class a step further by introducing the V 300 d engine to the MPV it trusts will take the segment to even greater heights, while adding a broader choice, greater luxury and more individuality to its range.

Our metallic cherry red Exclusive line version came with striking 10-spoke 19-inch light alloy wheels complete with pressure monitoring. 19-inch wheels on a bus? Is that perhaps not a step too far? Anyway, our V 300 d had the standard panoramic sunroof and an Easy-Pack Tailgate to electrically close the rear door.