Mercedes Sprinter is QAV’s latest show-stopper

The clean, ‘green’ Mercedes Sprinter took centre-stage when Cambridgeshire audio-visual specialist QAV needed a new van.

The Ely-based company’s third Mercedes arrived, like its two predecessors, via Newmarket Mercedes-Benz dealer Orwell Truck & Van. A Long-bodied Sprinter 316CDI, it is powered by a low-emission 163hp Euro 5 engine.

QAV provides equipment for ceremonies, exhibitions, shows and conferences with anything from 10 to 2,000 delegates, all over the world. Its vehicles travel widely across Europe and the new van has already been as far afield as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Latvia.

“That explains why we chose the Sprinter,” says Transport Manager Marc Large-Flood. “Our Mercedes vans have proved themselves to be superbly reliable and stand up to high mileages with absolutely no complaints.

“It’s also very comforting to know that the manufacturer has excellent service coverage across Europe and beyond. We’ve never had to call on their help but wherever in the world we might find ourselves working, we know that if we were to suffer a breakdown Mercedes-Benz would have us back on the road very quickly.”

The new van has lined up alongside another Sprinter 316CDI , which is kitted out as a mobile workshop for use by QAV’s sales and installation team, and a more compact Mercedes Vito 111CDI Long.

The Sprinter’s smooth and flexible common rail turbodiesel meets tough new EU emissions regulations which came into force last October –Mercedes-Benz was the first van manufacturer to achieve these targets. As well as being cleaner, Euro 5 Sprinters are quieter and more powerful, and significantly cheaper to run.

“The Euro 5 engine was another major attraction,” continues Mr Large-Flood. “Not only does it help us to minimise our impact on the environment, it also gives us the capability of operating in central London, and other cities across Europe, with emissions restrictions, both now and into the future.”