For four decades, Mercedes’ Marco Polo has helped travelers explore the world on their own. Join us on a road trip through the Scottish Highlands, in the camper van with the pop-up roof that’s made for glamping
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00On the road to the end of the world. With a camper van, you're at home even in the most remote places.
00:13Wow, what a view!
00:18More and more people worldwide are getting hooked on adventurous four-wheel travel.
00:26I am cozy.
00:30And I'm just enjoying a little moment of peace.
00:35You drive off and the vacation has already begun.
00:41You are on your own. You can go everywhere.
00:46For four decades, the Mercedes Marco Polo has let you explore the world on your own.
00:53To be able to connect with people and their culture like Marco Polo did.
01:00Exploring new cultures.
01:05Expedition vehicles that have grown increasingly luxurious over the years.
01:11And they've become progressively more unusual, always evolving.
01:16The whole world of mobility changes.
01:18Deep in the Scottish Highlands, Mercedes has organized an event where experts and journalists from all over the world can put the latest model from the Marco Polo series through its paces.
01:39I drive a 7.5-ton motorhome myself. I can't get to places like this.
01:44I'm thrilled. I'd love to keep one of these vehicles and keep on driving.
01:51Scotland was chosen for the new van's unveiling not only because of its stunning landscape.
01:58This is also where camping on four wheels got its start.
02:02A Scotsman built the first caravan back in the 19th century.
02:07Dr. Gordon William Stables was more or less the father of the van life.
02:13He ordered or commissioned a gentleman's caravan in 1884 because he was so connected to nature and was traveling all over the UK and he needed a vehicle for that.
02:28Ralf Wagenknecht works for the Mercedes van division.
02:31And that's no coincidence. He's an absolute van life freak. Traveling in a camper van is his greatest passion.
02:38Driving calms me down and gives me a feeling of relaxing.
02:45It's a different way of traveling. If you board a plane, then you get somewhere and you're just there.
02:52With your van, when you're driving there, you see how nature and the landscape is changing.
03:03You see on the horizon already the clouds hanging in the mountains of the highlands.
03:10They go up to 1,345 meters.
03:13It's getting a little bit more hilly, less people, and you see fewer cars coming your way.
03:23The journey gets more and more adventurous.
03:27It's like doing a traveling adventure.
03:31It's a lot of fun.
03:33Look at this.
03:36The whole lake is like a mirror.
03:39It's like an expedition.
03:42It's a lot of fun.
03:45It's a lot of fun.
03:48It's a lot of fun.
03:51It's a lot of fun.
03:54It's a lot of fun.
03:57It's a lot of fun.
03:59The whole lake is like a mirror.
04:02It's like an expedition.
04:05You never know what's around the next corner.
04:15Sheep.
04:18Next to it, a little lamb.
04:21That's crazy here.
04:24Have a look. I think that's the perfect spot to stop.
04:29He's found his dream destination on the banks of Loch Doin.
04:38Wow, what a view.
04:41Great.
04:43Look at this.
04:45That's really cool.
04:47Crazy.
04:49That's really awesome.
04:53For one night, he's at home in the middle of the wilderness.
04:57But he doesn't have to do without all the comforts.
05:04In a van that's equipped like a smart home.
05:09You can, by the touch of one button, control all camper features.
05:14You see what your water resources are.
05:17You can set the temperature inside.
05:20You can change the light.
05:21You can even open and close the roof.
05:25You just have to hold the button and then you already hear it.
05:30It starts to lift.
05:32And now you see here, you can stand up.
05:36It's easy.
05:38As soon as you have extracted the roof,
05:41there's more or less double the space than before.
05:46And even in rough terrain,
05:48the technology ensures superb sleeping comfort.
05:55In combination with the airmatic air suspension system,
06:00now you can level the car just by the touch of one button.
06:04And then even if the car is parked on uneven ground,
06:08you're sleeping completely leveled out
06:11and the blood is not rushing into your head
06:13if your head is a little bit lower than your feet.
06:16The bed is ready for a relaxing night
06:19in the middle of the Scottish Highlands.
06:31I slept very, very well.
06:33It's just a little bit early, but I'm still a little bit tired.
06:37But yeah, perfect night.
06:39I'll prepare some coffee now and then hit the road.
06:43Just a few simple steps
06:45and you've got a complete kitchen in the smallest of spaces.
06:49From the fridge to the stove to the sink,
06:52decades of development have gone into every little detail.
06:58And you just have to bring your table up front
07:05and then you're ready more or less to drink your morning coffee
07:10and do your breakfast.
07:19The only downside is that you've reached the shore of the pristine lake
07:24with a diesel engine polluting the air along the way.
07:28Although some journalists at the event seemed quite happy
07:32to journey through the Scottish Highlands in combustion-engined machines.
07:41Sustainable or not, I wouldn't want to drive a vehicle like this electrically.
07:47And with a conventional diesel, a real combustion engine,
07:50I can easily get anywhere.
07:52How are you going to electrify all that?
07:54You'd have to turn the whole infrastructure inside out to make it possible.
07:59Mercedes, however, is working flat out on Van EA,
08:03a platform for developing a completely new standard for electric motorhomes.
08:07After all, camper vans are a promising market of the future.
08:14Exactly 40 years ago, Mercedes launched the first Marco Polo
08:19and it defined a new segment of compact camping vehicles.
08:25They named it after the legendary Venetian explorer.
08:30We called that concept when we started it Marco Polo
08:34because Marco Polo was for sure famous that he travelled all over the world
08:40exploring new cultures and areas nobody has been before
08:45and Marco Polo is the ideal car for that.
08:49That first Marco Polo was based on the T1 Transporter.
08:53In 1996, the Vito with its pop-up roof became the basis for the camper van.
08:57This concept was further perfected starting in 2003 with the Viano as the base model.
09:02And since 2015, Mercedes has been transforming its V-Class into Marco Polos.
09:07But not much has changed in all these years.
09:10Here we see the 40-year-old Marco Polo, the first one we built
09:15and the concept has never changed since.
09:18We have a bed downstairs and you can unfold a bed in the roof
09:24and you have the kitchen unit here.
09:27But the Marco Polo has now become a little more luxurious.
09:31With that beautiful porcelain-coloured kitchen and wardrobe
09:40with that black lacquer contrast and then you have that yard deck flooring.
09:46Everything got just more elegant over the years.
09:50The most significant things that changed is the experience you have.
09:54It's getting more and more going in the direction of camping
09:59camping in style.
10:02But van life is no longer just about vacations.
10:06Many digital nomads have discovered the camper van as an ideal workplace.
10:11And car makers worldwide are working on mobile living.
10:15Volkswagen is developing a fully electric tiny house on wheels.
10:19And the Cybertruck, the new SUV from Tesla, can also be bought in the US
10:24with a camping attachment where you can sleep comfortably
10:26and also have a relaxed day at work.
10:33The whole world of mobility changes.
10:37Not only the van life but also the cars become a second home.
10:42So you are on the road, you are driving to work
10:46or you work while travelling in autonomous driving.
10:50I think there are a lot of changes coming.
10:54And I wouldn't expect that everybody is living in a camper in a few years.
11:02But it's one of the options.
11:05Working from home on Loch Doin in the Scottish Highlands.
11:09A tempting prospect.
11:12What role can the mobile home on four wheels play in our lives?
11:17Following in the footsteps of Marco Polo for 40 years
11:20and still blazing a trail into the future.