 I have the 4x4, 3 liter engine, 144 base, low roof passenger van. we use it for vacations only. at 26,000 miles the average mpg is 19.3. the van is a little noisier than an SUV but nothing unexpected for a commercial 12 seat vehicle. it is functioning perfectly with only routine maintenance, the air filter and oil change at 20,000 miles. it is not cheap, dealer charges 350$, but without voiding the factory warranty, you can buy the oil change kit from the dealer for 175$ and do it yourself in 15 minutes as everything is very accessible.  the van is much more stable than it looks but you can feel the lateral wind stronger than in an SUV. the engine is powerful, a lot of torque even at 80 miles per hour. on cruise control it runs uphill on highway almost without increasing the engine rpm. in this aspect it is better than all our other vehicles (Toyota Highlander, Honda CRV and BMW 525 xi). I would trade some of that extra power for a little better mpg at high speed as we drive it day or night, summer or winter, camping in isolated areas where autonomy is of concern. the mpg variates greatly with speed, at 60 miles/hour mpg is 22 or better, at 80 miles/hour mpg 17.4. it is somehow fun and easy to drive having the huge windshield and the very high driving position. I sometimes use it even in the city as my commuting vehicle. the 4x4 mode is very capable but a little tricky, in order to connect it you have to be on horizontal ground, stationary or moving at less than 3-4 miles per hour. it only takes 2 seconds to switch but you have to do it before you start climbing. if you did not anticipate correctly the difficulty of the road ahead and you are already driving uphill, you can not switch to 4x4 unless you find a flat portion. the sales person advised me to use only genuine Mercedes diesel exhaust fluid in order to avoid future NOX sensor problems and sometimes drive it at higher speed to allow sensor auto-cleaning. the DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) is 12$ for a bottle that lasts approx. 2000 miles. in my recent vacation in Europe I saw several Sprinters used as shuttle buses in suburban areas, running well at over 600,000 miles (1 million kilometers). with correct maintenance I hope ours will last the same :-)  Update: at 48,000 miles the average mpg is 18.8, still running great with only routine maintenance.  parts are not expensive but labor is. if you want to avoid paying for repairs, pay attention to the fuel you use: ultra low sulfur, biodiesel max 5%, (I saw  chevron and shell gas stations selling 20% biodiesel, which is not recommended by the manufacturer).