The vans vehicle category is almost as old as the automobile itself, even though the term “van” didn’t exist at the time. One of the first representatives of this vehicle type worldwide was the 1896 Benz Combinations-Lieferungs-Wagen (combination delivery vehicle) from the then Benz & Cie. The small coach-like vehicle with its removable box body was based on the “Victoria” passenger vehicle, albeit initially equipped with a 2.5-hp one-cylinder engine and a payload of 300 kilogrammes. And so the first “van” was delivered to the Paris-based Du bon Marché department store. The vehicle’s driver sat on a meagrely upholstered pedestal. There was neither a windscreen nor a fixed roof. And those looking for a steering wheel do so in vain. Instead, the Combinations-Lieferungs-Wagen was fitted with a vertically positioned steering crank handle. The only protection against rain was from a small roof lip protruding out of the box body. In accordance with the state of the art at the time, a three-speed transmission with chain drive transferred the power to the rear wheels, and instead of the electrical horn commonly used today, the driver squeezed a simple bulb horn.
Just like the workplace of truck drivers, the evolution of the van cockpit reflects the technical progress made over the decades. The new generation of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter today demonstrates in a special way how drivers and co-drivers alike can efficiently and ergonomically perform their tasks in great comfort. Keyless Start, powerful air-conditioning systems, back-friendly seats, as well as the optional 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission and the MBUX multimedia system are just a few details with which the Sprinter relieves strain on its users day in, day out. However, the van driver’s workplace in the first delivery vans looked more like a coachman’s seat, plus these ancestral predecessors of today’s light-duty commercial vehicles even drove like horse-drawn coaches. The spartan driver’s workplace on the outside of the vehicle developed only very slowly into the modern cockpit with numerous comfort features familiar from passenger cars.
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