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SERIEN ARCHITEKTUR UND AUTO • ARCHITECTURE AND AUTOMOBILE

or an architect it sounds familiar, be it when talking to clients or specialist planners:
“Does it always have to be the Mercedes of …?!” Obviously, the brand has succeeded
better than anybody else to connect a high-quality standard, combined with an exclusive
character, with the name Mercedes. “The best or nothing.” This advertising slogan set the
benchmark correspondingly high. Consequently, my anticipation was equally great when
I received the message from AIT that SCOPE may now also serve as a testing laboratory.
The synthesis of the arts, the most extensive elaboration of a task for an architect, is rarely
implemented. In the automotive world, this seems to be a standard requirement for the
sector of compact motor homes. A car, which manages the balancing act between busi-
ness limousine and leisure time vehicle, sounds like utopia and would be a real blessing
for architects who often practice their profession during their time off. The Mercedes Marco
Polo, a V Class converted into a motor home by Westfalia, should help the situation. The
first impression in front of the office in Stuttgart: modern appearance and high-quality pro-
cessing. No longer the appeal of a rust-ridden craftsman’s vehicle with outdated post-mod-
ern design. The simple change of the model’s name does not do justice to the result. Both
on the outside and the inside, there is no mistaking that a completely new car has been
developed. Especially the sporty front with its big cat-like LED headlights is convincing. A
Das Interieur wirkt einladend und stimmig. • The interior is inviting and consistent. declaration of war to the main competitor from Wolfsburg, who seems to be relaxing in
their camping chair. There’s no better way to put the car to a serious test than head for
Hinsichtlich des Schlafkomforts blieben Wünsche offen. • Wishes regarding the comfort remained unfulfilled.
Ticino and Lago Maggiore. Having arrived in Bosco Gurin, the highest village in the Canton
of Ticino at an altitude of 1504 above sea level, we were already impressed with the agility
and vehicle dynamics. Despite its size, the motor home car is almost as easy to drive as a
standard car, even on winding mountain pass roads in the Val Grande the Marco Polo is
amazingly manoeuvrable. If necessary, the driver assistance system is there to help.
Especially worth mentioning is the 360° camera, which shows the car from the Google
perspective. 190 PS ensure enough torque, both in the mountains and on the motorway.
It generally seems that Mercedes has done a great job with the transmission, the automatic
smoothly changes gear in all situations. Since the trip took several hours, we had enough
time to discussed the design of cockpit and control units in the centre console at great
length. The design vocabulary is a matter of taste and probably appeals to parametrism
supporters rather than minimalism fanatics. However, the control positioned on top off the
cockpit clearly illustrates, representative for the entire automotive industry, the problem
with the functional approach to requirements of a digitalised vehicle. Although the digital
features shall facilitate the operation of the car, the control unit looks too complicated; this
also manifests in the undetermined combination of rotary knob and touch panel. Since
the Marco Polo is a motor home, it provides all necessary elements for “survival”: kitchen
unit with a sink, two-flame gas cooker and drawers, a 40-litre refrigerator, cupboard mod-
ule, 38-litre fresh water and 40-liter waste water tank and even a camping table with two
chairs. There are four sleeping places, two in the fully automatic pop-up roof with a slat
frame and two on the convertible rear bench.

Résumé: vehicle suited for spare-time activities with exclusive appeal

Regarding its size and flexibility, it should be mentioned that the Marco Polo was able to
easily accommodated all our utensils. We were able to stow away our complete climbing
equipment, slackline, the Kubb game, an additional barbeque, hiking shoes and sticks,
backpacks, bags and clothes and still had plenty of room in the front. The main need for
improvement we identified was with the sleeping comfort. Two people can comfortable
sleep in the pop-up roof despite its limited width, but the warm air from the vehicle heater
Fummelei beim Abdunkeln des Cockpits. • Fiddling when blacking out the cockpit.
did not reach us up there - with about 6° Celsius at night a marginal experience. We don’t
know if the list of equipment also includes an optional air supply hose for the roof area.
The rear bench is design for utmost comfort while driving, whereas we did not manage to
sleep down there for any lengths of time due to the hardness despite the one-centimetre
thick “comfort padding”. In conclusion, we very much liked the general impression of the
Marco Polo. Design and technology seem markedly more modern as compared with com-
peting models. The low tail is extremely practical, but we did not really like the tail view
with the folded window. The pop-up roof is hardly conspicuous, but due to the folding
mechanism it was not possible to fully integrate it into the vehicle’s outline at the tail. It
would be nice, if the black plastic side flap concealing the water and power connection
was painted in the colour of the car. All in all, this can be understood as criticism on a
high level. With the Marco Polo on the basis of the V Class, Mercedes has produced a not
exactly low-priced but truly successful vehicle, which impresses with high quality and
excellent road behaviour. People looking for a business vehicle that is also suited for
leisure activities and guarantees a certain exclusivity in the local car park will not be able
to avoid having a closer look at the Marco Polo.

050 • AIT 9.2017