It’s not often that you see a 4×4 minibus, let alone a 4×4 minibus adapted to carry wheelchair-bound passengers.
However, that’s exactly what Hampshire’s Treloar College has just bought, to ensure that its students and staff are never left stranded, whatever the weather conditions.
Naturally, the vehicle concerned is a Mercedes-Benz 4×4 Sprinter, and as it’s specified as a 17-seater minibus, it’s a 516CDI model to ensure adequate payload.
The college’s 4×4 Sprinter 516CDI was equipped as an accessible minibus by specialist convertor Stanford Coachworks, of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, and joins another Sprinter 516 CDI, a standard rear-wheel drive model, delivered just two weeks earlier.
Both of the college’s new Sprinters have flexible interiors, each with up to 16 seats which can be moved, or removed entirely. The vehicles are used most often in a configuration with seating for five passengers and space for four students with wheelchairs, which can be safely secured to tracking in the floor. It is also equipped with no fewer than 10 electric power sockets inside, as well as wi-fi internet connectivity allowing students and staff to work on their laptops and tablets.
Meanwhile, the 4×4 model’s raised ride height, and all-wheel-drive chassis with advanced 4ETS automatic electronic traction control, mean it can take winter snow and ice, as well as the occasional off-road venture, in its stride.
College Transport Manager Mark Copping said:
“We had some problems during a bad winter a few years ago and since then have been discussing the best way to equip ourselves to deal with spells of adverse weather in the future. This vehicle is the outcome of that process.”
“We have students here for 50 weeks of the year and the college is in quite a remote location. We have to be able to get our staff to work in all conditions, as well as needing a vehicle that’s capable of getting students to the local hospital 15 miles away. It’s a demanding requirement but the Sprinter 4×4 gives us everything we need.”
Mr Copping ordered the 5.0-tonne gvw Sprinters after testing similar models at this summer’s Mercedes-Benz VanExperience LIVE, the manufacturer’s annual showcase of its full range of LCV products and services.