In the words of Mercedes-Benz, the all-new B-Class that you see here heralds a new era in the compact class. That hardly applies to the styling of the new compact MPV though. Besides a few sharper and neater lines and some interesting character lines in the profile, it really doesn’t look all that different to its rather staid predecessor.
Clearly, the company was referring to the technology under that body when making such a bold claim, with items like a radar-based collision warning system as standard and the Pre-Safe system (which prepares the cabin from an imminent collision) available for the first time.
There’s also a cutting edge new range of turbocharged, direct injection petrol and diesel engines as well as a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission which, as you’d imagine, are a lot more efficient than the motors they replace – and further aided by standard idle-stop technology.
The initial range offers the choice of 1.6-litre petrol engines with either 90kW and 200Nm or 115kW and 250Nm and 1.8-litre diesels with either 80kW/250Nm or 100kW/300Nm.
Having scrapped the unique ‘sandwich floor’ design of its predecessor in favour of a conventional design, the new B-Class is five centimetres lower to the ground, yet still offers more interior space in every direction. Rear legroom, according to the company, is more generous than in its own S-Class.
The cabin’s also more versatile, with an optional ‘Easy-Vario-Plus’ system allowing the rear seats to slide back and forth by up to 140mm and perceived quality is also said to have moved up a notch, with high-quality materials and finely structured surfaces throughout.
Another fortunate by-product of the car’s reduced height will be better agility but engineers didn’t simply rely on this, the B-Class attaining a new four-link rear axle and an upgraded ESP stability control. The car also features amplitude-selective damping and a Direct-Steer system.
Other available gadgets, besides the aforementioned Collision Prevention Assist, include Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Attention Assist (standard), Linguatronic, reversing camera and Distronic Plus.
Overseas buyers can also opt for the Comand multimedia system with internet access. Occupants can use this to either surf the internet while the car is stationary or call up a Mercedes-Benz application whose particularly fast page loading and simple operation make it suitable for use while driving. These include Google Local Search and Weather, and the ability to download a route previously configured on a PC using Google Maps and transmitted to the car.