Price as tested: €29,330
+ Massive space, quality cabin, comfort, economy and emissions
– Noise, stiff price tag
= Too practical for its own good?
The old Mercedes-Benz B-Class was always a bit of a curio. Yes, it was spacious and practical, but then so was the only slightly smaller A-Class, and being based on the original split-floor A-Class chassis left the B with a legacy of awkward handling and an uncomfortable, flat-floor driving position. Mind you, even with an eye-watering price tag for what was, essentially, a small five-door hatch, it sold pretty strongly, so a successor that stuck closely to the same format was always going to happen along.
Mercedes is replacing both the B-Class and A-Class in one year, and we’ll see the all-new A at the Geneva motor show in March, and in sale in Mercedes-Benz forecourts in the new year. The B precedes its smaller brother by almost a full year, but this time around, it’s mission is much more clearly defined. With the new A-Class becoming a lower, aggressively sporty rival to the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series, the new B has a simpler job; it’s to be the practical one; the one you buy when the kids’ legs are getting longer and boot space becomes more of an overriding concern than pin-sharp handling.
For all of which, the new B-Class isn’t a bad old thing to drive. The old one drove like a shopping trolley. You were just never convinced that any one wheel knew what any of the other three were up to. It just never felt right. The new B, riding on a platform that’s closely related to that of the new A-Class, so the old flat-floor is gone, which means you get a proper driving position. At last. And this time, you feel that the chassis engineers have done a decent job. It does roll a lot in the corners, but there is a suppleness to the ride (unless you go for the optional 18” wheels, when things get a bit knobblier) and a secure, grippy feel to the front end that bodes well for the smaller, lighter A-Class. Like almost all Mercs, the B-Class actually feels better the more you ask of it, but attacking a series of corners hardly seems appropriate in such an obviously family-centric car.
Thankfully, most of the other basics have been gotten right. There is a simply staggering amount of space in the back; with more legroom even than the E-Class saloon. The window-sill is a little higher than ideal when you’re carrying inquisitive young persons in the back, but the lightness and airiness of the cabin is very welcome. The boot’s massive too, 486-litres expanding to 1,500-litres when you fold the back seats flat.
Up front, there’s a smart new dashboard that lifts obvious cues from the SLK and SLS sportscars. Well, it lifts the airvents at any rate and they do raise the tone of a cabin that would otherwise look quite plain and, in some places, a bit cheap. The driving position is, as mentioned, far better than before now, with a proper footwell to stretch your legs and feet into, and a fully electronic parking brake to replace the dreadful old push-with-your-feet-pull-with-your-hands ‘Merican style one. One thing though; the awkward angle (and tension) of the throttle pedal will give you leg-ache on a long journey, so speccing cruise control is a must. Of course, you might think cruise would be standard on a car with this price tag...
Safety seems almost ludicrously high on the agenda. Even the most basic B-Class gets a lengthy list of standard safety gear, including ESP, ABS, Attention Assist that warns you if it detects you’re dozing off, hill-start assist, a bevy of airbags, including a knee bag for the driver and a helpful little thing called Collision Prevention Assist, which flashes up a warning light in the speedo if it notices you’re following the car in front too closely. That should be permanently lit, given the (bad) habits of most Irish drivers...
The primary engine for the B-Class in Ireland will be the 180 CDI diesel, which, unusually these days, actually matches its name by being 1.8-litres in displacement. There is a B200 CDI diesel which is essentially the same unit, but pumps out 134bhp to the B180’s 110bhp. Both hit a remarkable 115g/km Co2 emissions rating, which means you’’ll pay just €160 a year in motor tax, and funnily enough Mercedes claims identical 4.4-litres per 100km (4.6l/100km with the seven-speed auto box) for both engines. In fact, the B200 only betters the B180’s 0-100kmh sprint time by just over a second, so it hardly seems worth the extra outlay of €31,870 compared to €29,330 for the most basic B180.
It’s a decent engine too, feeling more than grunty enough in basic B180 spec for even enthusiastic back-road driving and on the motorway, there’s plenty of grunt to flow with fast-moving traffic. Motorways do show up the B-Class’ one major shortcoming though; noise. Above 100kmh there’s just too much wind and road noise for comfort, below that mark the engine can be heard gurgling away to itself on even a light throttle. It’s not an overtly intrusive noise from the engine, it’s more just there. Present.
Both variations can be had with either six-speed manual or seven-speed 7G-DCT dual-clutch paddle-shift auto transmission, which is fast becoming every bit as good as the benchmark Volkswagen DSG. Stop-start is standard on both transmissions, which helps explain the excellent economy and emissions ratings.
Of the two, despite the manual’s pleasingly easy-going shift (surely a first for a Mercedes) it’s the 7G one we’d recommend, with its lightning-fast changes, excellent sport mode and the fact that the column-mounted gear selector clears up some useful extra storage space on the centre console. On the opposite side, the typical Mercedes single stalk for controlling the lights, wipers and indicators remains, but it’s been slimmed down and made more delicate in appearance and touch. A shame; we liked the clunky simplicity of the old one.
So, the B-Class is pretty impressive in almost every respect, but one has to wonder; who exactly is going to buy it? The ‘Yummy Mummy’ brigade will doubtless have defected to the more stylish (if less spacious and useful) likes of the Audi Q3 or BMW X1, or even the more expensive Range Rover Evoque. The B’s high price tag and lack of seven seats will deter the upwardly-mobile family set (if indeed such a demographic still exists) and the more elderly buyer, for whom the B-Class seems to be ideally designed with its space, comfort and high seating position, are surely looking for better value for money these days.
Us? Well, it’s a good car, much more so than its predecessor, but we’ll wait for the lower, sportier A-Class, thanks.
Facts & Figures
Mercedes-Benz B180 CDI BlueEfficiency
Price as tested: €29,330
Range price: €29,330 to €38,575
Capacity: 1,796cc
Power: 110bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Top speed: 190kmh
0-100kmh: 10.9sec
Economy: 4.4-100km (62mpg)
CO2 emissions: 115g/km
VRT Band: A. €160 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 97% adult, 81% child, 56% pedestrian, 86% safety assist
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