Mercedes V-Class Airmatic: wrestling for air sovereignty

The V-Class received the major facelift last year. But good things obviously take time. That is why one of the most important innovations for the Stuttgart space cruiser is only now coming: From autumn, the Swabians will be offering the V-Class with the Airmatic air suspension for a surcharge of around 2.000 euros and want the VW T in particular with this system, which is still unrivaled in vans 6.1 Put in place.

An air spring is nothing new in itself. It has been around in cars for decades, and it has already been offered for the rear axle in the V-Class. But for the first time, Mercedes is equipping both axles with the air-filled rubber bellows on the Transporter in a fine thread, thus achieving several positive effects at the same time.

On the one hand, the V-Class should now also iron bad roads as smoothly as new roads, especially backbenchers with sensitive stomachs will then drive more relaxed. On the other hand, the steering feel is a little more concrete and precise, so that something like driving pleasure could arise even on country roads.

Automatic level control goes hand in hand with greater suspension comfort and better steering feel: No matter how heavily the V-Class is loaded and what kind of slope it is driving over, the ground clearance is always constant and the driver is immune to unpleasant surprises.

But that doesn't mean that the ground clearance is also fixed. As you know it from GLE & Co, you can vary it at the push of a button: The Airmatic then raises the V-Class up to 30 km / h by almost four centimeters, so that you can also take a field or beach path under your wheels. And when the space cruiser flies over the motorway at more than 110 km / h, the car automatically lowers by one centimeter. This increases stability, reduces wind noise, reduces air resistance and even lowers consumption a little. However, you have to cover quite a few kilometers before you have removed the surcharge in this way.