Mercedes-Benz is presenting a new star that stands for freedom and independence at the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon: the all-new Marco Polo ACTIVITY recreational vehicle. Featuring modern design, the ultimate in functionality and excellent sleeping comfort, it is equally ideal for long trips or daily and urban use. The compact Marco Polo ACTIVITY recreational vehicle boasts exceptional versatility. With a highly variable interior, comfortable berths for up to five people, five engine variants and three drive types, it can be customised to individual requirements. As such, it is the ideal vehicle the whole year round for young families as well as for sports and outdoor activity enthusiasts.

The Marco Polo ACTIVITY combines leisure and daily use. The compact exterior dimensions, with a length of 5.14 metres and a width of 1.93 metres (excluding mirrors), combine with the electromechanical power steering to ensure great manoeuvrability and impressive agility. And with a height of 1.98 metres, it is able to enter all standard garages, multi-storey car parks, underground garages and car washes. At the same time, the Marco Polo ACTIVITY offers a standard of dynamic performance, comfort and economy on a par with a Mercedes-Benz passenger car, allowing the utmost flexibility and spontaneity in daily and leisure use.

Exemplary safety is ensured by a wealth of innovative driver assistance systems based on state-of-the-art radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors. The vehicle is equipped as standard with Crosswind Assist and ATTENTION ASSIST, which can warn of inattention and fatigue. Optional features include Active Parking Assist, COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST, Lane Keeping Assist and the LED Intelligent Light System. This is the first time that most of these assistance systems have been available in the compact recreational vehicle segment.

The Marco Polo ACTIVITY opens up a whole new way of enjoying freedom and spontaneity to the full. Start the day by driving to the office or doing the school run, quickly attach the mountain bike to the rear-mounted rack in the evening and exchange the urban jungle for the nearest forest, drive to the beach at the weekend for a spontaneous surf trip with friends and family or enjoy an open-air festival – the new recreational vehicle from Mercedes-Benz offers maximum flexibility and comes with comfortable overnight accommodation built in.

The Marco Polo ACTIVITY is equipped as standard with a three-seater bench with one-piece backrest and bed extension. The bench can be slid forward on rails. In this way, the capacity of the luggage compartment can be more than doubled in an instant to accommodate surfboards, paragliding equipment or even a bicycle inside the vehicle. Anyone who requires even more room, e.g. for carrying newly purchased shelf units, can also use the surface of the bed and the floor underneath the bed as load space. Under the bed are two drawers that can be removed, allowing items to be loaded through the resulting space.

When spending the night in the vehicle, the bench seat easily converts into a comfortable bed measuring 1.93 metres by 1.35 metres for three people. An additional sleeping facility for two people is offered by the roof bed under the pop-up roof on board the new Marco Polo. Featuring a cold foam mattress and special spring elements with high point elasticity, this bed offers a standard of lying comfort that is exceptional in the segment.

When the luxury roof bed is not in use it can be folded upwards at the front when the roof is raised. This provides plenty of headroom in the vehicle interior. At the same time, the two side ventilation slits in the concertina direct even more fresh air into the interior. The two standard-fit vent windows in the rear provide for an added supply of pleasant fresh air. They can be opened and closed electrically – a unique selling point for the Marco Polo ACTIVITY in the compact recreational vehicle segment. Curtains in the rear also come as standard. To allow the interior to be darkened completely, an opaque and washable curtain is available for the windscreen and the front side windows.

The Marco Polo ACTIVITY features a standard folding table with a scratch-resistant surface, which is ideal for sitting around in bad weather or for children to play at. In addition to an amply sized surface, the table also includes a bottle holder and two cup holders. More bottle holders, cup holders, stowage compartments as well as a total of five 12 volt power sockets are to be found on the sidewalls of the rear compartment, in the cockpit and in the luggage compartment. Ideal lighting is provided by a total of four reading lamps in the rear and two adjustable LED gooseneck lamps on the roof bed.

For spending many a pleasant hour outdoors shaded from the sun, the Marco Polo ACTIVITY offers the option of an awning above the sliding door, which is also detachable – a first for this segment. This means there is no need to have it permanently attached and allows it to be removed before driving through an automatic car wash.

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews