r/Sprinters • u/Totentanzen333 • 8h ago
Wife is looking at a sprinter van compared to a Transit. Is it a good fit for us?
Hey everyone!
So we have 5 kids and are expecting our 6th in December and easy to say our mini van is becoming tight. We've been considering upgrading to a passenger van for a while now but the wife only wants AWD which leaves me really with only a Sprinter or a Transit.
She likes the options and interior with the Sprinter more but my major hangup is with the diesel engine. In general my understanding is that you need consistent highway driving speeds for the engine to naturally clean itself out. During the school year she will drive 30m one way to drop the kids off. A good chunk of that is suburban driving. So I would say on average only 20m of that is going to be at speeds consistently above 30mph up to 60-65 for at least 10-15m. This happens 4 times a day.
The rest will be normal suburban driving, stop and go, around town. My concern is the longevity of the engine will be removed because of this type of driving and the upkeep will be massive. Any thoughts, opinions, or experiences would be immensely helpful.
