Mercedes-Benz is re-affirming its position as a leader in environmental engineering by scrapping its entire range of Sprinter van engines and replacing them with Euro V compliant versions.

The engines, which will start appearing in the UK from July, promise more power, yet better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.

Revealing the new range at the Mercedes-Benz van technical centre in Stuttgart, Prof Sascha Paasche, head of development, told Fleet News: “We are determined to be at the forefront of environmental technology in the automotive world, although it must be at an affordable price. If fleets cannot afford our new developments, there is no point offering them.”

Paasche proved his point by revealing that despite the promise of lower running costs – the new engines will return up to 4.5mpg more than the old ones – prices of the new Sprinter would remain largely on a par with the previous models.

Some variants will increase by £500, while others will drop by £1,030. CO2 emissions, meanwhile, drop from 232-304g/km to 214-264g/km.

Two engines will be available – 2,143cc four-cylinder and 2,987cc six-cylinder units.

The vast majority of vans will carry the smaller engine, which will offer power outputs of 95bhp, 129bhp and 163bhp.

But the secret of the extra power is in the increased torque figures at lower revs – 184lb-ft@1,400rpm, 225lb-ft @1,200rpm and 265lb-ft @ 1,400rpm respectively, meaning general torque figures are up by 10-15% over the old models.

There’s also a new gearbox, balancer shafts in the engine to provide better refinement, a twin-turbo system on higher powered variants and an exhaust gas recirculation system.