{"id":7670,"date":"2015-07-31T10:58:52","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T10:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=7670"},"modified":"2015-08-06T08:32:58","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T08:32:58","slug":"rac-goes-automatic-with-first-uk-spec-new-vito","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/7670","title":{"rendered":"RAC goes automatic with first UK spec new Vito"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RACThe RAC has just taken delivery of the first right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz New Vito<\/a> to roll off the German marque’s production line.<\/p>\n

The van, which bears the private registration plate P1 RAC, will be used by RAC\u00a0Patrol Ben Wilson, who has just been crowned as the RAC’s Patrol Ambassador of the Year.<\/p>\n

Vitos have been a fixture in the RAC fleet since 2005, and the organisation remains a fan of the model. One reason for this is that it is available with rear-wheel drive, which is unusual in this size of van.<\/p>\n

The RAC\u00a0prefers rear-wheel drive as it provides superior traction for towing, using the fold-down\u00a0towing trailer fitted as standard\u00a0to\u00a0RAC patrol\u00a0vans.\u00a0The Vito’s compact size\u00a0makes it well suited to urban use,\u00a0where the van can safely access\u00a0multi-storey car parks\u00a0when the light bar is folded down.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, although AA vans use a similar fold-down towing frame,\u00a0the AA doesn’t seem to have the same preference\u00a0for rear-wheel drive: it has\u00a0just taken delivery<\/a> of\u00a0500 new front-wheel drive VW Transporter vans for its fleet.<\/p>\n

\"RAC

Rear-wheel drive provides superior traction when towing, especially in the wet or when going uphill<\/p><\/div>\n

Getting back to the RAC’s new Vito, a fairly high\u00a0level of specification has been chosen.\u00a0\u00a0The van is a 116 CDi long wheelbase, 3.2t model, powered by a 163 hp Euro 6 BlueTEC engine. Power is transmitted to the wheels via\u00a0Mercedes’ optional 7G-Tronic Plus automatic gearbox. This is unique in the van sector for being a (traditional) torque converter automatic with seven gears and is an interesting choice, for the RAC.<\/p>\n

The vehicle carries the RAC’s distinctive orange livery, and has been racked out by Bri-Stor systems to carry a full inventory of 500 tools and parts that each RAC patrol carries, as well as fuel and a special folding trailer for cars that require towing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The RAC is currently in talks to acquire a further 42 New Vitos, all of which will be equipped with automatic transmissions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The RAC has taken delivery of the first right-hand drive New Vito. The van will be operated by the firm’s Patrol Ambassador of the Year, Ben Wilson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[1935,73,855],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7670"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7675,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7670\/revisions\/7675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}