• Pricey to buy, not too bad to run
• Fuel economy reasonable
• Depreciation should be minimal

You might have to stump up a lot to buy a Marco Polo in the first place, but it shouldn’t be as prohibitively expensive to run in the long term. That’s because the donor Vito van is designed for hard commercial use with little down time and reasonable running costs, and the camper is likely to hold its value very well.

Official fuel economy is 34.4-36.7mpg for the latest 2024 V300d according to the WLTP, with CO2 emissions of 216-202g/km. In our testing so far we’ve struggled to match this efficiency – achieving between 25 and 32mpg depending on how hard we were driving – but given the bluff shape and considerable 2,631kg weight (without driver or other passengers), anything in the region of 30mpg in the real-world is likely to be a good result.

Servicing and warranty

While early 2.1-litre models had two-year service intervals, it’s recommended the 2.0-litre engine goes in for a service every 12 months or 15,500 miles, whichever comes sooner. You can get an official Mercedes-Benz service plan to help spread the cost – which you might want to consider, as Mercedes servicing prices are rather stiff, and the Marco Polo is no exception.

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The standard warranty is for three years only, but mileage is unlimited in that period. Official Mercedes extended warranty cover is also available if you want further reassuring at an extra cost.

Reliability

• Van roots bring sturdy build
• Vito donor van is reliable
• Technology is largely tried and tested

We’d rate Mercedes Marco Polo reliability as likely to be good; being based on the sturdy Vito medium-sized van brings some rugged running gear built to endure a tough life as a delivery courier for builders and businesses lugging heavy goods around. As with all Mercedes vans, the Vito always performs impressively in the annual FN50 van reliability survey.

Our thinking is: if it can cope with that, a camping weekend in Devon should be a walk in the park. That said, there is some evidence from owners’ forums that not all of the interior fixtures and fittings are completely bombproof – so maybe don’t let the kids run riot inside completely.