Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo - Vanlife in Poland's Vineyards (ENG) - Test Drive and Review

Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo is a camper van based on the V-Class. In this episode I’m taking it on a tour of some vineyards in Poland’s Lower Silesia region. My partner and I will sleep in the Marco Polo, cook, taste wines, but there’s a good chance we’ll also get a taste of the less glamorous side of van-life. Let’s see how we get on!
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↔ Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo dimensions:
✔ length: 5140 mm
✔ width: 1928 mm
✔ height: 1980 mm
✔ wheelbase: 3200 mm
💲 Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo starting price: 75 000 euro
💲 Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo 300 d 4MATIC price as tested: 105 000 euro
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#MarekDrivesENG #vanlife #MarcoPolo
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Marek Drives reviews are independent and based on personal experience with cars provided by car manufacturers for media to review. No carmarker has any influence on what is being said in the review, nor are they given a preview. No carmarker pays me to do these reviews. My sponsors are you - the viewers, Channel Members, and occasional non-carmaker entities, whose sponsorship is always clearly marked.

[@devil5741]

With pleasure I looked at the review ... of Poland 😍 very beautiful! You and Anna have a nice presentation of useful information, which is usually boring. Watched from beginning to end. By the way, it was also interesting to hear an assessment about the chemical storage of "nuclear waste" 🤭 I think if you made a review of ... a bowling ball, I would also look at it! Thanks for your work and have a great weekend!

[@markdean3217]

I need to visit Poland ❗️👍🏻

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Definitely worth checking out.

[@MrAndrei4777]

Have a good vacation Marek!

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Thanks. We took a week off after we finished filming this episode to rest properly :)

[@ianstewart2723]

This was a great review. Fantastic scenery 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Glad you enjoyed it. Do you ever rent a campervan?

[@ianstewart2723]

@@MarekDrivesENG I’ve never rented one but I’m a big fan of the original VW Camper.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

I've only seen the original. Probably wouldn't want to spend too much time in one though. Sometimes it's better not to meet your heroes :)

[@takuan650]

Enjoyable and interesting review. Good to see what I don't need.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Camping is an acquired taste :)

[@kevinn1158]

Phew, I was not ready for a full frontal Marek showering shot... thanks Marek.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Good I didn't include unzipping of the tent :)

[@kevinn1158]

@@MarekDrivesENG LOL

[@laupakhin]

Nice to see something a little bit different from your usual reviews Marek, and the Polish countryside is looking beautiful too. As somebody who is only borrowing this camper, how did you find setting up camp and packing it up? Did you find it was relatively quick, or did it take a while to put everything back in place?

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Having done this several times, I now more or less know what to pack, and what to skip. The second and third vineyard setups were a couple of minutes longer, because I needed to use levelling ramps. Otherwise you stop, pop the roof and the awning, and that's it. We slept upstairs, so that saves us the trouble of converting the rear seats and the boot into a bed. That would require taking out a lot of stuff, and leaving it outside or moving it somewhere else inside the car. Not the most convenient. I imagine if I owned this car, I'd find a way around it, but for us the easiest way was to keep one of those IKEA under-bed storage bins in the boot as our wardrobe on the top level, and bulkier items (like toilet, pressure washer, levelling blocks) in the lower part, as seen in 4:42

[@jacobgreenmanedlion1863]

I own a Metris (gas-engined US market Vito) I use as a mobile office (i have fold down table and a headrest mount for a tablet; it works kinda); Perhaps it speaks for being in the US but I recently placed an order for a middle-wheelbase Sprinter to replace it for use as an office and to add the ability to serve as a weekender. I can’t imagine using my van as a camper.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Yes, Sprinters are a popular conversion base. You don't need to cut the roof open to stand up :) As I said in an earlier reply to someone else, I'd like something like a Sprinter footprint, but maybe with a slide-out section on the side, like on those American motorhomes. Something to give you more space inside, when you're parked.

[@The_Hero_Is_Back]

Yes, we own a 6.4m Ducato-based van (with a bathroom). More of a van than a car. Fuel economy is 8.5-9.5L/100km in summer if you stay under 100km/h and off motorways. If we didn’t want the bathroom, we would look at an electric van conversion. They’re looking viable these days.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Bathroom vs. EV? Battery size or weight restrictions? EV camper van? I suppose if one travels 200-300 km a day it makes sense. And if there's at least 7-11 kW overnight.

[@The_Hero_Is_Back]

Good question. We try not to use the van as a car. It’s more like a studio apartment on wheels that we can move around. Once parked, we walk, cycle or use local transport. If we had a smaller van, we’d probably use it more like a car for road trips.

[@autowiewiorka771]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@rc666]

For that money i'll stay at a nice hotel. I was a scout so no more need for less than basic camping.

[@mert2mert]

Hey Marek. I’m sure you’ve seen Hymer Venture S. I’m not a caravan or RV person but It’s the one and only vehicle I’d love to own. Please find one and make a review video, I’m begging you please 🙏😁

[@MarekDrivesENG]

I see how it's appealing. We don't get those here in Poland.

[@mert2mert]

@@MarekDrivesENG I’d love to watch that review from a person whom I appreciate like you. Please if you get a chance film it for me because we don’t have them in Turkey too.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

BTW, check out what Potato Jet bought during covid. This one's got an interesting bed situation. It goes up opening the whole garage. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5y3oZxmnreqfa8

[@grallon1]

Renting a Marco Polo in a few weeks in Munich. My question is, How do you get to the upper sleeping quarters? Is there a ladder? Stand on the seat? Plus the weight capacity of the upper area? thanks,

[@MarekDrivesENG]

No ladder. You get up on the front armrests, and then backrests. AFAIR top bed weight limit is 200 kg. It's quite narrow (110-120 cm?), so if two people sleeping upstairs are of big stature, their problem will be width first, then weight.

[@raeldor]

Can the AC also be run off the camping battery? I'm guessing probably not.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

No. There's just basic ventilation, which is better than nothing, but not great. AC requires the engine to be on. Only heating works, when the engine is off. It sips a tiny bit of diesel.

[@officialflorint]

3:50 but there’s aircon too right

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Nope. I'd have to turn the car on, and there's limited air exchange between the cabin and the top bunk.

[@budowaambrozji]

I have experience with campervans. They can be much cheaper

[@christianronn5301]

The same sort of money as a california or marco polo will buy you a very nice purpose built motorhome with way more space inside.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

This is an off the shelf compact solution based on an already expensive vehicle. Surprisingly enough the Grand California costs about the same (if you don't go crazy with the options). Depends on what you want and need. We toyed with the idea of a semi-integrated camper van during early days of covid lockdown. We wanted something manageable in terms of size, but with reasonable interior space and built in bathroom. In the end nothing came of it. I think I'd like something like a Sprinter footprint, but maybe with a slide-out section on the side, like they have on those American motorhomes. Something to give you more space inside, when you're parked.