Here’s Mercedes-Benz’ Other Funny-Looking Doorstop-Shaped Car: The Vaneo
My current automotive fascination with those extremely wedge-shaped, one-box vehicles has been piqued recently. It started earlier this week when I was writing about Porsche’s experiments with shoving 911 engines into vans. One of those vans was the Volkswagen Sharan, a one-box van with a dramatically angled front end. These types of cars, often called “doorstops”, never really took off, but they do have a certain appeal, being striking and offering excellent interior space.
This design has seen some success, and that might be why these wedge-shaped machines keep appearing. Today, I learned about another one, the Mercedes-Benz Vaneo. It’s like a bigger sibling to one I already knew.
Before getting to the Vaneo specifically, let’s look at this vehicle category, affectionately known as the “Doorstop.” It’s an interesting design layout, used for everything from vans to microcars. This form seems uniquely adaptable, perhaps because its unusual shape means it scales well. Examples of Doorstops range from large minivans, such as the Oldsmobile Silhouette, to city cars like the Renault Twingo or the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. They go all the way down to microcars and quadracycles, like the Ligier JS4 or the Dutch Canta. Some might even go as far as to include bullet trains like the Japanese Shinkansen as the most extreme example.
I think I was unaware of the Vaneo because I probably mistook its pictures for an A-Class:
It’s very different, even though the front end is similar. The Vaneo used the A-Class platform from 2001 to 2005, but it has a sliding door, a longer wheelbase, and is about two feet longer than the A-Class. The drivetrains were similar, with 1.6 to 1.9-liter inline-four engines providing between 81 and 123 horsepower.
I’ve always liked the quirky little A-Class, and the Vaneo just seems like a more developed version of that concept. It’s small outside, roomy inside, and tall, almost like a Japanese Kei-class vehicle. Look at this one! You can fit trees, dogs, and ladders in there! There’s also a cooler, and a slide-out floor! That’s a really clever design!
Here’s a commercial showcasing the Vaneo:
That’s a soothing commercial, isn’t it? I also like how the brochure shows what looks to be a loaf of bread trapped under a net, for your safety.
This is probably German wildes Brot, or “feral bread,” a type of wild, untamed bread for daring sandwich-makers.
Mercedes compensated for the short hood, safety-wise. The entire drivetrain, already canted, was designed to drop down below the front-seat passengers in a collision:
Why am I drawn to this minivan? It wasn’t particularly successful, is not unusual, but it seems like such an honest and clever solution to the basic “haul people and their stuff” problem. I find myself quietly impressed.
Look, it even had upholstery that looks a bit like movie theater or casino carpet:
And look how flexible that interior is! Wow!
In America, Mercedes-Benz is known as a luxury brand. Yet, they are one of the few premium brands that sell in America with a brand identity flexible enough to include vans like the Sprinter and Metris. Why is this?
Suggest a Bentley or Maserati minivan to people, and they look at you like you’ve sprouted a dozen salamanders. But a Mercedes-Benz van? Somehow, that’s acceptable. It’s one of life’s great mysteries, like wondering if and when the next attempt to sell a Doorstop-shaped vehicle will appear. I hope we don’t have to wait too long.
