There are clear MPV conventions inside the cabin. Mercedes has dispensed with the expensive old B-class’ ‘sandwich platform’, choosing instead a more ordinary underbody arrangement for the new car that has liberated low-level cabin space. So you sit fairly snug in the B-class, almost as low as you would in a normal five-door, but in a fairly upright, bent-legged, MPV-like driving position. There’s plenty of surplus headroom.
Rear passengers enjoy a little more space and comfort than they would in a normal five-door hatchback, with particularly impressive footroom available under the front seats. Provision for a fifth occupant is poor, though. There’s no seven-seat option, and even on flagship versions Mercedes will charge you extra for sliding second-row seats, a ski hatch and a folding front passenger seatback, all parts of its £515 Easy-Vario-Plus option.
So you might quibble over the generosity of this car’s standard specification (cruise control’s an extra, too). And yet the B-class’ cabin creates an impression of tangible richness, quality and value-for-money anyway, comprised of tactile and substantial plastics, chunky and expensive-feeling new switchgear, smooth leathers on the primary controls, and metallic trim flourishes like the air vents and interior doorhandles, which are attractive on the eye and cool to the touch.
At last, one of Daimler’s transverse-engined breed has the kind of interior to make it at least feel like a fully-paid-up, invulnerable Mercedes-Benz. This B-class may be no more impervious to use and the passage of time than the last, but it certainly strikes a much clearer and more convincing impression of quality from the get-go.
Cosseting refinement would probably be next on your wishlist for the perfect baby Benz. If it is, don’t buy a B-class Sport. While other versions may be better in this department, our test car was neither quiet-running nor particularly smooth-riding. Its low-profile runflat tyres crashed quite noisily over broken surfaces, and although its ‘amplitude-selective’ dampers brought better compliance over longer-wave crests and through compressions, the B 200 CDi Sport was disappointingly short on basic rolling comfort for any premium-brand family five-door – modern or otherwise.
Mechanical refinement is better, but still not brilliant. Although well-behaved in the broadest sense, Mercedes’ 1.8-litre turbodiesel engine is a little coarse at low speeds, and under wide throttle openings. Throttle response is good and in-gear performance plentiful, but in our test car it came accompanied by a slightly flatulent whooshing from the far side of the front bulkhead; the kind you’d expect of an aged W124 saloon with a hole in its manifold.
Is the B-class ‘Sport’ fun to drive? Not much. Which isn’t for the want of grip or lateral body control, both of which are as strong as you could wish for. The car’s dynamic shortcomings are buried slightly deeper. Press on down a particularly testing country road and you’ll find that the car’s vertical damping deteriorates, losing control of the movements of its tall body on the rebound stroke. Both a VW Golf and a Ford Focus would be more tied-down.
The bigger problem, however, is that the B-class Sport just isn’t very easy to gel with. The variable-ratio power steering quickens suddenly off-centre after a large ‘stability zone’ at the straight-ahead, which makes carving a smooth, accurate cornering line a bit of a guessing game. There’s also insufficient feedback though the steering wheel rim, and a little too much unpredictability about the car’s damping generally, for a keen driver to find much to really please.
Join the debate
smarttony
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
There is a Comfort Suspension No cost option on the B-Class configurator, if that floats your boat. And £265 for cruise control is a bit steep!
Juzoik
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
Am i the only person that hates the recent trend of 'bolt on' sat nav units??? looks like an after thought or worse still an aftermarket unit. urrgghhh
catnip
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
"....with a whole in its manifold". A whole what?
Back to the car, what really is the point of plenty of surplus headroom?
Fidji
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
The engine seems very good - 0-60 in 9.5s and 64mpg in a car this size is pretty good. I'd like to see this engine in the A-Class.
Will86
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
Make it a bit lighter, lower the centre of gravity and loose the odd proportions. Fit smaller wheels but keep the interior and build on the economy and emissions. The new A Class could be rather good.
toptidy
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
I really feel that Mercedes are lowering the tone of their brand with the fwd A and B class - they should have put them in wth the Smart brand and kept just the proper Mercs, i.e. C class upwards, as Mercedes products.
It looks like an MPV, doesn't seem to drive that well and the performance is nothing special either.
And why release a model with Co2 of 121mg? Surely Mercedes engineers could have found a way to get it down to 120?
Cannot see these being a huge success, unless there are that many budget-restricted buyers desperate to get something that has a Mercedes badge on the front.
Mind you it is a little cheaper than the Diesel Civic tested recently, but I would still buy a 1 series!
Johnny English
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
"For a £1300 premium over ‘SE’ trim, ‘Sport’ also buys you a reversing camera, tinted windows, sports seats, 18in wheels with Goodyear runflat tyres, bi-xenon headlights and LED daytime running lights."
Now, why on earth would I want a reversing camera or tinted windows as part of a 'sport' pack? I am seeing a trend of manufacturers putting irrelevant items in some of their trim levels and option packages. The cynical view says they are looking for more excuses to justify higher prices...
TegTypeR
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
The shame of it is, if Mercedes are aiming this car at young upwardly mobile families then most of the models sold are going to be in this somewhat substandard "Sports" specification.
I am surprised they have got it this wrong (although I don't doubt some of this is down to the run flat tyres) with the new model considering the poor reviews of the previous generation model.
[quote Johnny English]Now, why on earth would I want a reversing camera or tinted windows as part of a 'sport' pack? I am seeing a trend of manufacturers putting irrelevant items in some of their trim levels and option packages. The cynical view says they are looking for more excuses to justify higher prices[/quote]
Completely agree. It also goes to show "Sport" is nothing more than a badge and trim level and that no real engineering thought has gone in to making it more "sporty".
catnip
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
[quote TegTypeR]I am surprised they have got it this wrong (although I don't doubt some of this is down to the run flat tyres) with the new model considering the poor reviews of the previous generation model.
[/quote]
Are Mercedes new to run flat tyres? It has taken BMW many years to engineer their cars suspension systems to work properly with run-flats, and of course they've dropped them from MINI and the lower models. Maybe Mercedes just haven't got to grips with them yet (no pun intended).
As for the sport pack, so many manufacturers think that front fog lights and rear tinted windows are 'sporty'. I just don't get it.
Overdrive
Re: Mercedes B200 CDI Sport
Never been a fan of the B-class, which I've always thought too expensive for what it offers. And this version doesn't change my view on bit. Merc's current line up is pretty good on the whole. But the B is a dud.
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