FIRSTDRIVE MERCEDES B-CLASS:ON PAPER, A premium family hatchback from Mercedes has always made sense. There are plenty of people out there who aspire to having the three-pointed star on their driveway but either can't justify the cost or simply don't need a saloon car. Given the growing trend towards downsizing and a younger aspiring generation of owners, a small, more affordable Mercedes should fly out of showrooms.
The reality has been somewhat different. It’s hard to find a definitive reason for it, but fewer buyers than expected have bought into the idea that the benchmark brand for the corporate chief executive sits as well on a small hatchback.
And given its brand pedigree, Mercedes needs to not only match the rest of the hatchback pack – a tough enough ask – but better them if it wants to live up to the expectations inherent in one of its cars. The flagship S-Class, after all, has been a motoring pioneer, offering a vision of the new technology that will work its way down to the rest of us plebs in a decade or so. It’s motoring innovation in action. So the B-Class must at least be the most innovative in its particular market. Right? Alas, it’s simply not the case.
Changes to the new model are significant, from the new multi-link suspension in the rear to the decision to ditch the sandwich platform of the outgoing model. The steering has also been changed to a electro-mechanical system.
But is that enough to wow the crowds? Just as buyers approach some Asian brands expecting to have to compromise and are pleasantly surprised, so they approach a Mercedes hatchback expecting it to be something akin to an small S-Class. It’s like a Michelin starred chef trying to compete with a price-conscious lunchtime sandwich round.
Few customers consider the fact that, when you build a luxury saloon, adding the latest whizz-bang features is arguably easier because the customers are less inclined to gripe about the consequent increase in price.
With hatchbacks you simply can’t play around with the price. There’s no doubting Mercedes engineers could build the equivalent of the S-Class for the family hatchback market, but it would either cost twice as much as rivals or be sold at a crippling loss. So, while it looks good on paper, the premium move to the hatchback market can be a minefield – into which arrives the second generation of the B-Class.
This car might bill itself as a serious VW Golf rival, but in terms of interior space it’s more akin to the Golf Plus or Ford C-Max. For all the promises of a revamped design, the format remains rather boxy, although in fairness it’s hard to accommodate that much space in a hatchback without ending up with a box.
The exterior, for all our cubist gibes, is more fetching than many rivals. It doesn’t purport to be a dynamic racer, yet to its credit Mercedes has achieved remarkably good aerodynamic figures for the car. With a drag coefficient of just 0.26, it’s better than many of the eco-models on the market whose designs were completely determined by the wind tunnel, with little regard for styling. The B-Class at least looks good and manages to achieve top-class aerodynamics, which must infuriate some of its greener rivals.
Rear seat legroom is ample for two adults and the bootspace is impressive. However, the inclusion of a transmission tunnel running up the middle of the car severely inhibits rear legroom, not helped by the fact the centre of the rear bench is raised and uncomfortable. What should be a five-seater has ended up as a four-plus-one. The car is offered with the optional rear seat adjustment up to 140mm that increases the already impressive boot from 488 litres to a massive 666 litres. It’s worth opting for.
The new car’s handling is perhaps its greatest boon. It’s much sharper than the outgoing model, while ride quality is far more refined than before. It soaks up the bumps well but never feels woolly or lacking in control from behind the wheel.
THE NEW B-CLASS might be billed as a decent mix of practicality with a premium image. But invariably you are left wondering if it has enough Mercedes DNA to merit the legendary badge. It’s old-fashioned and small-minded to think Mercedes cars should only be large luxury saloons or sports cars. The brand has excelled at making everything from the now legendary G-Wagon SUVs to the wonderful four-door coupé CLS. The problem is that each of these excels and innovates. Even with with new ride and handling configuration this B-Class tends to follow the pack.
The interior plastics mix a little bling with rather basic fare. The shiny metal on the air vents, for example, may look smart, but on a sunny day the metal is reflected in the windows.
The test car featured Mercedes’s new control screen, which sits atop the central console like a docked tablet computer. It’s a smart look but it seems odd that they didn’t opt for touchscreen. After all, the screen itself is within easy reach, which is more than can be said for the system’s control knob.
Like in the C-Class, Mercedes has opted for its dial and button combination for controls of radio and the like. However, with the ergonomic priority obviously going to the gearstick, the controls lie further back, closer to your elbow, and you have to reach back to change channel or adjust the sat-nav. It’s a niggling issue that wouldn’t put us off purchase, but it’s something we’d expect a top-class brand like Mercedes to sort out.
While the B180 CDI has decent power and torque, the throttle is rather limp under the right foot and, for the first few centimetres you push down it doesn’t really seem to engage.
Of the mix of engine variants on offer, it’s this new four-cylinder diesel engine that most potential buyers will focus on in Ireland. A 1.8-litre unit, it puts out 109bhp and 250Nm of torque in the B180 CDI and 136bhp and 300Nm of torque in the B200 CDI.
While that means power output has increased over the outgoing model, emissions have been brought down as well, with the B180 CDI recording 114g/km and the B200 CDI just 115g/km. That means the lowest tax band for both. Both register official fuel consumption of 4.4 l/100km. As for the petrol variants, a 1.6-litre engine is offered in the B180 and the B200, putting out 122bhp and 156bhp respectively. Both also register emissions of less than 140g/km and an official fuel consumption of 5.9 l/100km.
Mercedes has also added its new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the B-Class range. It’s a slick performer and changes are smooth and intuitive, making the engine feel even more powerful and responsive than the official bhp figures suggest. However the standard six-speed manual is also smart and smooth, so those who opt for manual are not losing out.
The B-Class powertrain options will not end there, however. The car’s chassis was developed with alternative powertrains in mind and there is room under the rear seat bench for the addition of a battery pack or fuel cell system should the bosses at Mercedes give the green light to the sale of electric or hydrogen fuel cell versions. Given the allowance made for these, it seems likely we’ll see at least an electric B-Class in the very near future.
While the engineer’s talk up the car’s “agility”, seemingly the buzzword from on high when anyone with a Mercedes logo on their clothing speaks of the car, the reality is that it might balance comfort and some degree of sportiness in its handling and ride, it’s not nearly as agile as the likes of the BMW 1 Series or even the latest Ford Focus. A sports suspension is optional, lowering the car’s centre of gravity by a further 20mm and featuring sports dampers and more direct steering settings. We didn’t get to test it so we must take the engineers at their word that it improves “agility” but on a like-for-like with rivals with regular suspensions, the car leans slightly more towards comfort than agility. That’s good for most owners who don’t want have their bones rattled every time they hit a bad road surface on the way to the shops, but it doesn’t warrant the “agile” tagline.
Mercedes has long been a standard bearer for car safety and the B-Class boasts several of its latest development in what it bills as “the democratisation of safety”. In other words, the lives of hatchback buyers are as worthy of protection as the S-Class executive fat cats.
Included in the array of nine airbags is a pair for the front seat occupants that will deploy to protect the pelvis and the entire upper part of the body.
In Germany, Mercedes will be offering the car at the same price as the outgoing model, while here in Ireland we can only hope that by falling into the lower tax band, there should be a drop in price from the outgoing model. If this occurs, it could mean a starting price for the B180 diesel of below €30,000, though we’ll have to wait and see.
Overall, the B-Class has improved significantly, but so have its competitors over recent years. For loyal followers of the three-pointed star who want to downsize, or for those who have always aspired to get their hands on a car from the brand, it will be a viable alternative to the mainstream offerings.
However, if you were to remove the badges and do a blind test between it and the likes of the VW Golf, Audi A3 or new BMW 1-Series, it’s unlikely to come out on top. Even in terms of practicality, the Ford C-Max or the Opel Zafira make more sense. They don’t have the right badge for some driveways, however, and that’s where the B-Class might just win out.
FACTFILE
B180 CDI
Engine:1796 cc diesel engine putting out 109bhp and 250Nm of torque
L/100km (mpg):4.4 (64.2)
Emissions (tax):114g/km (€104)
B200 CDI
Engine:1796 cc diesel engine putting out 136bhp and 300Nm of torque
L/100km (mpg): 4.4 (64.2)
Emissions (tax): 115g/km (€104)
B180 Blue efficiency
Engine:1,595cc petrol engine putting out 122bhp and 200Nm of torque
L/100km (mpg):5.9 (47.9)
Emissions (tax):137g/km (€156)
B200 Blue efficiency
Engine:1,595cc petrol engine putting out 156bhp and 250Nm of torque
L/100km (mpg):5.9 (47.9)
Emissions (tax):138g/km (€156)
