AT EVERY Mercedes event I have attended in recent years the focus was always on making their cars more attractive for young people.
So when I sat into Mercedes’ revamped B-Class last week and saw what I thought was an i-pad on the dash I reckoned they had really moved with the times.
But what I thought was an i-pad turned out to be a multi-media console with information on radio stations. It was cute and I suppose if I was a bit more of a
‘techie’ and owned an i-phone I could probably use the console to get my emails on it. However, I was very happy to experiment with the radio; emails can, and always do wait until you are ready to read them.
The B-Class has been around since 2005 and this new version is a big improvement, with much more head room for tall passengers. This new version is 11 per cent lower in price than the previous model with the 1.8 CDI Blue
Efficiency model starting at
?¬29,330.The car is aimed at the compact MPV market and Mercedes will be hoping to get
‘conquest sales’ from owners of cars like the Ford C-Max, Opel Zafira or Renault Scenic.
Externally the car has the distinctive Mercedes look at the front, but no three pointed star on the bonnet just the Merc badge. Idle youths kept breaking off the old three pointed star on Mercedes cars, which I’m told were expensive to replace. Side on it’s a very attractive car with sculpted lines and lovely alloys. It’s compact, but you couldn’t describe the B-Class as small. At the rear the newly designed lights cluster are very cute.
Apart from the console for the radio controls on the dash I was also struck by the walnut trim on the dash, which gave the interior a very classy look.
I drove a coffee-coloured model and inside the leather seats were cream; they looked great but they can be difficult to keep clean if you have young or even not so young children on board.
The boot is a decent size and there is plenty of room for a spare wheel, but you only get a repair kit. And if you need more luggage space you can always leave down the back seat. That back seat has an unusual curved shape with the middle seat slightly smaller than the other two. The driving position is slightly raised and all my passengers appreciated the views from within. In a world-first for the compact car segment, the B-Class’s radar-based collision prevention warning system, will reduce the risk of collisions, front and back.
In the past Mercedes was always associated with successful businessmen, while many young women drive smaller sporty Mercs. Now this smooth and elegant B-Class is aimed at families, so every type of motorist is now catered for in the Mercedes range.
Most new cars now have the stop-start technology and the new B-Class also has this fuel-saving system. The B-Class version I drove had a few optional extras and the price of the car as tested rose to
?¬33,024. But if you opt for the basic model at just under 30,000 it should make the famous Mercedes brand affordable for a huge range of new owners.