Ideas on speccing a new UK medium wheelbase high roof

Hi everyone I am after hearing all about what is good and and is not so good regarding the optional extras for the UK Sprinter.

Vehicle
This vehicle will be a medium wheelbase, high roof panel van that will be converted to carry me on a stretcher.

Windows all round with LOTS of sound insulation as the noise in our current vehicle makes conversation difficult between me and my chauffeur\wife Privacy glass is a must but I would like the rear opening windows

I want the vehicle to look the part and to have the creature comforts of a car, I am looking at the 216 or 219 with the 7 speed automatic box and Blue efficiency pack.

Suspension is an issue as I find the van suspension very firm and firm is not good. From what I have been told air suspension costs a good deal of money but does not offer much regarding smoothness of ride but I am here to listen.

First van we had was the 5 cylinder 212 automatic, then this one which is a 213 sprintshift



My wife feels the 213 lacks the torque of the 219 Hence my concern regarding the latest 216 vs 219. The modern four cylinder engines appear to have the power, plus of course far superior economy but what about torque and will the new 7 speed gearbox make up for the difference.

I will be specifying the 3.692 ratio for the rear axle unless you folks suggest otherwise, my thoughts on this is that I do not need lots of grunt, low revs should be more quiet plus it should offer more economy.

Not sure about factory fit air con or heating as it might not be suitable for my needs

Rear view camera, radio, navigation etc should I opt for COMAND or are they overpriced and outdated? Is there an option that can allow me to communicate with my wife without shouting or struggling to hear what is being said?

Hopefully there will be lots of input, questions and the more we ask, the more it will stimulate my old brain box.

I wanted the van to be sprayed a nice metallic light blue but have been told the choices of metallic colours are extremely limited = grey, dark blue, black or maroon, but not all on the same vehicle.

A paint job too far

A paint job three far

I spent hours and hours pondering options and am quite happy to admit I enjoyed it!

A new 216 would be comparable to your 213 in terms of performance and noticeably more economical too. My 2010 416 is quite a bit heavier than your proposed variant and it returns 25 to 35 MPG (Imperial) although that does drop off a bit if only crawling around town. Feels faster than my old inline five 416, has automatic transmission too. I've speculated on here that a manual Euro5 2 or 316 might crack 40 MPG.

But you might not want comparable? I think Ozzy posted that he couldn't better mid twenties with his V6 automatic (another "skinny" UK build). I'm pretty sure the standard V6 final drive is AR2 (3.6) anyway, so have a think whether you might want to go AR1 (3.4). A passenger only 216 will be a light enough shell to cope with it. There are guys running around in 3.5t Sprinters with the V6 and AR1 combination.

You can also have electrically operated rear opening windows. Factory privacy glass is fairly spendy, you can definitely save quite a bit of money getting it done locally afterwards.

Cab aircon is good, better than your 213 but not going to cool the whole interior. There is a factory roof option in the UK aimed at passenger builds.

Factory heat options can be hard to understand. Best bet is diesel to air with seven day timer like a Webasto Airtop2000 (unbelievably... NOT an option in the UK). Can put you in touch with a very good supplier for that if interested.

COMAND is also spendy for what it is - you can get a lot more for your money with Pioneer or Alpine. The factory camera is worth having but do a deal for one over the counter into the vehicle purchase then get a sparks to fit it for you. Order camera wiring prep and Highline dash. You can get an adaptor to make your steering wheel buttons control your head unit. Have a look here for ideas on this front.

A lot will depend on your attitude towards retrofitment of options and the time and effort that may take. That's why a lot of buyers go with some of the so-so factory options - they're not interested once it's on the drive - fair enough. Some aftermarket solutions wipe the floor with the factory options though. Investigate, mix and match is my advice!

Colour. For a price you can have a shell taken off the line and painted any shade you want. I found the colour options initially promising then almost immediately underwhelming: out of the thirty or so optional greens only three were available to order on the system. The colour swatch book is ninety something percent irrelevant...?! Optional shade - where actionable from the book - is £600