About AVIS Van Rental Sprinters

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a permanent fixture of the van market and can be rented from just 37 euros per day at AVIS Slovakia. We tried the version with the 316 CDI engine.

AVIS Slovakia offers Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans in two tunings of the CDI diesel engine. These are the Sprinter 314 CDI and 316 CDI versions with automatic transmission in L2H2 and L3H2 designs. The presence of an automatic transmission must be specially emphasised, as it is an absolute extra compared to competing offerings.

All Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, regardless of motorisation and length, are equipped with navigation, air conditioning, Bluetooth hands-free, cruise control, 360-degree parking sensors and a reversing camera for safe parking. It is always a three-seat design with a huge cargo space of 12, up to 14 cubic meters.

Tested model

We took a better look at the 316 CDI diesel version (120 kW, 163 hp, 380 Nm) with automatic transmission. It's up to six metres long, but thanks to a maximum permissible weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, you can drive it even with a normal Group B licence. This is very important because you won't need to hire a chauffeur when moving house or transporting garden materials, for example.

All Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, regardless of motorisation and length, are equipped with navigation, air conditioning, Bluetooth hands-free, cruise control, 360-degree parking sensors and a reversing camera for safe parking in the AVIS. It is always a three-seater version.

How to take over the vehicle

You can arrange to collect a vehicle from AVIS car rental either directly at a branch (see here for a list of branches) or via the internet. When ordering online, you can also take advantage of any discounts, if the car rental company offers any. You book your vehicle via a simple form, where you set the pick-up time, the drop-off time and here you can also pay the deposit, which may vary depending on the vehicle category. The deposit will be returned to you in full once you hand the vehicle back to the rental company.

Regardless of whether you filled out your order online or decided to come straight to the branch, you will need valid documents when you collect your vehicle. These will be presented to the staff who will guide you through the rental process without delay. If you haven't paid your deposit online, you can do so now, just use your credit card.

In our experience, the staff have a human touch, are friendly, willing to answer questions and will give you a thorough introduction to the rental vehicle. Your job is to take a good look at the car for any damage and if you happen to notice any, it's a good idea to report it to the rental company - they will write it down in the acceptance report and you will avoid unnecessary problems when you hand over the car.

We took delivery of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a short briefing on the functionality of the gearbox and hit the road to critically assess whether the rental Mercedes is worth the money.

The Sprinter is quite large on the outside, looking sturdy and challenging to drive. But all we had to do was get behind the wheel for the first time, start the engine and all doubts were gone in an instant. You feel safe in the Sprinter, you have an excellent view of your surroundings and the parking sensors and camera contribute greatly to driver confidence, making it unlikely that you'll hit another car or pole.

Cornering requires a little more care to avoid catching a kerb with the rear wheel, and in narrow streets you have to be careful of the rear overhang, which is increased by a few centimetres by the additional boarding edge. It is particularly important to keep it in mind when parking. However, manoeuvrability is at an excellent level, the car "obeys" to pedal presses and gentle turning of the steering wheel.

SUV-like interior

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a van, i.e. a work vehicle, but the interior has largely adopted key design elements from the brand's passenger cars. It looks as if it's been lifted from an Esus. In fact, the Sprinter uses rather hard plastic trim and harder seats, everything here is geared towards practicality and increased durability. It's a shame that the buttons on the centre console are small and far from the driver, but the main display is touchscreen and responsive.

We appreciate the abundance of storage for bottles, cell phones, documents and various large items.

Cargo space

The essentials are behind the sheet metal wall behind the front seats. At 14 cubic metres, the cargo area is not only huge, but also equipped to safely carry almost any load.

The walls contain a metal frame with numerous holes and ribs to which tie-down straps can be attached to safely secure heavy loads. The floor is completely flat and has a maximum length of 3,272 mm (L2 length) or 4,307 mm for the longer L3 version. H2 means a load compartment height of 1 940 mm.

The tailgate can be opened up to 270° and further access to the compartment is via the side sliding doors. The good news is that all doors can also be opened from the inside.

Consumption during our test

The manufacturer quotes the consumption of its diesel engine at 7.9-7.8 l/100 km, which may correspond to reality if the vehicle is not heavily loaded and is driven with low consumption in mind. The seven-speed automatic gearbox upshifts at 2,000 rpm, but the driver can also control the gearbox manually with the paddles behind the steering wheel. In practice, you should expect consumption to be around 11 l/100 km.

Returning the car to the rental company

Before returning your rental car, you should check it well and, above all, fill up its tank. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter from AVIS is only filled with diesel, the tank has a capacity of 71 litres. When you return the car, you will again be directed by an authorised employee who will take a reading of the odometer, i.e. assess whether you have exceeded the pre-paid mileage and check the condition of the vehicle. If everything is in order, you will sign the acceptance report, your deposit will be returned to you and the whole handover process will end.

You will then receive a satisfaction questionnaire in your email, which you should definitely fill in - it is the only way the car rental company receives feedback from customers.