Verdict
The Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo is certainly a classy piece of kit.
Everything in this ’van feels beautifully made, the beds are very comfortable, it’s great to have an onboard water tank and the level of base-vehicle specification is hugely impressive.
As an overnight vehicle, it ticks every box.
But start to spend longer in it and – as with the VW California – weaknesses show.
Having to remove everything from on top of the fridge each time you use it becomes a chore, as does needing to fit cab blinds every night.
Buy a Marco Polo with these caveats in mind, and you’ll likely be hugely impressed with your purchase.
But for longer trips away, other conversions from smaller British and Continental brands make a better buy.
Pros
The electrically operated cushion support in the rear seats means that you’ll also get a comfortable bed
There’s a handy unit at the front of the kitchen that houses a mains socket, a USB socket, light switches and more
It’s sophisticated, stylish, well built and loaded with cachet
Cons
You’ll need to use blinds in the cab at night, but they take quite a while to fit
The top-loading fridge can be inconvenient
The Volkswagen California is an iconic name in motorcaravanning.
But early last year it received a new rival in the UK: the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo.
They’re both high-end campers with an almost identical layout – there are differences, however.
While the VW California is built in-house and sold via the company’s Van Centre network, the Marco Polo’s conversion is subcontracted to well-respected brand Westfalia.
The latter is also sold through franchised car retailers. The Marco Polo can offer that aspirational three-pointed-star badge on the front, too.
The Marco Polo is based on the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, which was launched in the UK early in 2015, after replacing the aging Viano MPV.
Our testers spent several days away in the Marco Polo, before reaching their full verdict.
How does it compare with the VW California, which with a similar specification costs around the same price?
How does it compare with models by smaller converters?
And how does it fare as a base for tours longer than a couple of nights?
Here’s how we got on.
There’s plenty of headroom available when you’re standing in the kitchen to prepare food
Living
A two-seat sofa makes up the lounge space in the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo, along with the two cab seats, both of which can be swivelled.
You’ll dine at the brown fold-out table which is hinged onto the side kitchen unit.
To erect it you simply need to lift the top and fold down the somewhat flimsy-feeling leg to support it – the table can be slid back beside the seats when it’s not in use.
The upholstery looks smart in its Black Lugano leather finish. Despite the dark colour, the lounge feels bright thanks to the excellent artificial illumination available here.
Ambient lighting can be operated via a switch on the right-hand side of the kitchenette, while small lights above the rear seats can be illuminated in three levels of brightness.
A diesel auxiliary heater is a £1385 cost option, but worth it to keep you warm during cooler weather.
It can only be run for 60 minutes, however. An overnight version (with no maximum heating period) costs £2660.
Kitchen
There’s plenty of headroom available when you’re standing in the kitchen to prepare food, because the Marco Polo’s roof rises at the front.
There is a reasonable amount of worksurface available, particularly if you flip down the heavy glass lids that cover the appliances beneath, but chances are you’ll also need to use the dining table.
As for the spec: you’ll find a Dometic gas hob with a pair of burners and electric ignition, a circular sink with a single tap that can be raised up and down, and a Westfalia fridge box, which is operated via the cab control panel.
The coolbox is reasonably roomy, at 40 litres, but it has a lift-up lid. While this saves space, you’ll need to clear the worksurface above every time you want to retrieve something – the same issue affects the California.
Operating the gas is a bit of a faff, too. First, the main gas shut-off valve needs to be opened – it’s located on the top of the gas cylinder, which can only be accessed via the vehicle’s tailgate. A secondary gas shut-off valve, underneath the fridge, then needs to be switched on.
There’s a reasonable amount of storage in the kitchen, though: there’s a cutlery drawer below the sink, and below that is another deep example ideal for pots and pans.
One further good-sized drawer sits below the hob, with a sliding-doored cupboard below that.
All drawers have positive catches, to prevent them opening in transit.
Washroom
The Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo doesn’t have a washroom, so there’s no rating here.
There is room to store a portable toilet in the kitchen cupboards.
Alternatively, you could carry one in the rear load bay – although you’ll need a toilet tent if you don’t want to use it in the ’van.
Beds
Raising the roof is effortless: it’s electrically operated via the control panel in the cab.
The upper bed is fixed to the roof, via hooks, to keep it out of the way during the day – to lower it you just need to release them.
A safety net is available for the roof bed to prevent occupants falling out during the night. This bed can sleep two adults up to a total weight of 200kg.
They’ll need to climb into it via the lower seats (which must be locked in position at the time). As such, it’s more suitable for children.
Reading lamps are available up here, too, on bendable stalks. Other more unwelcome illumination is let in by the light-coloured fabric of the sides of the pop-top – occupants may be woken by it at sunrise.
Making up the downstairs bed is also a reasonably straightforward process: simply slide the (rather heavy) seat unit forward using the handle by the sliding door, then drop the seatbacks electrically via the switches on the front of the unit. They can be dropped independently, too.
Once you’ve done that, additional switches allow you to electrically adjust the contours of the cushions for comfort.
Finally, you need to top it with the foam pad. It’s a couple of centimetres thick and adds quite a bit of comfort – a clever idea, but you’ll need to stash it somewhere during the day.
There are black-out blinds in the back, but the windscreen requires stick-on curtains, which also need to be stored when not in use. Fitting them is a bit of a faff, and involves employing the suction cups.
With the roof bed down, occupants of the bottom bed get approximately 90cm of headroom.
The floor to the base of the upstairs bed measures 135cm.
Storage
There’s a fair bit of storage available in the Marco Polo – most notably beneath the bed at the very back of the ’van, where there’s loads of space to store levelling ramps, hoses and so on.
To the left of the fridge is a door that opens up to reveal a small wardrobe. It’s reasonably narrow, but has a hanging rail and could certainly hold a few shirts or other items. Accessing it is a little awkward with the seats up, though.
A further shelved cupboard is available at the very back of the ’van, with additional access when the tailgate is open.
Extra storage space is provided by a drawer that slides out from beneath the rear bench seat.
Another storage locker in the roof at the very back has a door that swings down on cords: it’s ideal for storing light clothing or the cab blinds.
A panel in the base of the rear seat unit can be opened, to accommodate long items such as skis through the ’van.
Technical Specifications
| Payload | 760 kg |
| MTPLM | 3200 kg |
| Shipping Length | 5.14 m |
| Width | 2.25 m |
