THERE'S been plenty written about the two new people-movers Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce in Australia next year, and both the five-seater B-class and six-seater R-class are obvious extensions of the A-class hatch and S-class sedan family. But in an automotive world overflowing with people-movers and off-roaders that can cram in up to eight occupants, it might surprise some to learn that Mercedes-Benz has just launched another seven-seater model. It's called Viano, it's based on the Vito van and, priced from $62,000, it delivers all the features you'd expect from Mercedes, like first-class safety, climate-control air-conditioning, the choice of turbo-diesel or V6 engines and even, in the top-spec $69,000 Ambiente, leather trim.
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Mercedes-Benz Vito van
Released: February 1998
Ended: March 2004
Family Tree: VianoThe Vito range arrived in Australia in 1998 as an addition to the Mercedes-Benz light commercial vehicle line-up. It opened up a whole new dimension in LCVs with its compact dimensions and turbo-diesel and petrol engines. Globally between 75,000 and 90,000 first-generation Vitos were sold a year. The second-generation Vito range (pictured), upon which the Viano is based, went on sale last year.
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