For those uninitiated to the current van climate, the Mercedes-Benz Metris falls in-between the competition's van sizes. As the only true mid-size van in the United States, Metris is slightly larger than Ford's Transit Connect and Ram's ProMaster City, but slightly smaller than the full-size Transit and ProMaster. The Metris is also rear-wheel drive, which none of the competition can claim.

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We'll get the ugly out of the way early. Unloaded, the Metris cargo van is loud. This was not unexpected, as our test unit came as it would from the factory. Once a company upfits the van with storage racks and dividers, and loads it with tools or cargo, the harmonics are dampened greatly. You can also hear all of the mechanical bits quite clearly, such as the rear brakes, parking brake, turbocharger, and more.

We were also a bit annoyed with the adjustment mechanism of the seats. Our particular Metris had power lumbar adjustment, but manual everything else. That typically wouldn't be an issue; however, the placement of the backrest adjustment knob is just such so that changes can't be made on the go. In fact, we had to adjust the driver seat with the door open to even reach the adjuster. If only one person drives the van, this might be OK as a set-it-and-forget-it function. However, if the van sees multiple users, adjusting the seat each time will get old. According to the Mercedes-Benz vans website, you can build a Metris with power seats, but then you lose the option for power mirrors, which is equally odd.

And, lastly, we weren't in love with the infotainment screen. Yes, we get it; it's a cargo van. However, we'd still prefer a navigation interface that feels like it's from this decade. With no touch function, no satellite radio, and no Apple CarPlay, it was like venturing back to 2007. If you had to rely on navigation for your business, either in vehicle or on a device, this would be a major pain point. And really, it could be a very simple upgrade in the future. Beyond that, the sound quality from the stereo was actually quite good. We were genuinely impressed with what Mercedes was able to accomplish with just a couple speakers in such an empty space.

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Back to more things we loved: The power and torque from the 2.0L turbocharged I-4 engine was phenomenal. With 258 lb-ft of torque available at just 1,250 rpm, the van shot away from stop lights like a rocket. We now have an appreciation for why the Amazon guy rips around the neighborhood so quickly. Unfortunately, we weren't able to load up the van with its full—nearly 1-ton—cargo capacity (certain constraints bared us from loading up the 2,000 pounds of concrete we normally would have), but we can certainly imagine that even at full payload the Metris will willingly scoot along at a brisk pace. Our only knock against the great 2.0L engine is its thirst for 91-octane fuel. It seems to us that in the world of moving cargo, the ability to load up on the cheapest fuel possible would be a good thing.