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Road Test

Mercedes-Benz B-Class (05-) B170 SE 5dr MPV

Test date Tuesday, October 11, 2005  Price as tested £19,980

The advertising campaign for the new B-class asserts that ‘all roads lead to B,’ but it’s just as certain that Mercedes can trace the road back from B to A. The original A-class did many things for Mercedes, but most of all it guaranteed that the brand would never be looked at in the same way again.

It showed that Mercedes was fallible but hugely resilient, and it also showed that Mercedes was prepared to thrust its prestige image downmarket. The mould-breaking A-class has since grown into a hugely effective vehicle, but Merc’s apparent desire to fill every niche continues with the B-class, which takes the basic design tenets of the A-class (space efficiency, flexibility, multi-purpose orientation), inflates them half a size and applies a mildly sporty veneer. Indeed, the B-class uses the A-class’s platform with its ‘sandwich’ floor construction and compact engine and transmission installations, in this case the mid-range, torque-optimised 1.7-litre petrol four that develops 116bhp and 114lb ft of torque teamed with a five-speed manual gearbox.

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