Mercedes-Benz B-Class 2012 Review

Mercedes-Benz B-Class

It’s a term attached to each of the models we see here today – the B180 BlueEFFICIENCY, B200 BlueEFFICIENCY and B200 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. But, like so many current naming protocols, it’s so annoying to type – and read – that we’re going to dispense with it henceforth and ask that you assume it’s there.

The second-generation B-Class is Australia’s introduction to Benz’s all-new small platform. And it is all new, inside, outside, underneath, on road and on paper -- everything from the runflat tyres up. The radical sandwich floor’s gone. The new body is longer and lower. The overhauled specifications revolve around three new engines sharing one new transmission.

The platform will eventually spawn five new models: the recently revealed new A-Class, the new B-Class we see here, a junior four-door coupe dubbed CLA, a compact SUV, and something Benz execs still refer to in muffled, indecipherable tones in the same sentence as ‘US and Chinese markets’. The platform has also been engineered to accommodate alternative power trains.

While the company’s execs aren’t overly enamoured of hybrids -- they already have oilers that meet and beat short- and mid-term European emissions demands -- ideas evident in the electrified SLS and B-Class-based, hydrogen fuel cell-powered F Cell provide some clues about future prospects.

With the new B-Class, the only things inherited from the old are the idea and, generally, its looks. This is a car easier to define by what it’s not than what it is. It’s not a hatch, not a wagon, not a people mover – its makers call it a hatchback saloon.

One thing that is clear from what they’ve done with the new one: premium names like Benz and BMW are feeling the heat from below. With cars like the Ford Focus now serving up kit like xenon lamps, sat-nav and adaptive cruise control standard for less than $35K, names once reserved for the top shelf are sliding downmarket, blurring the lines between brand habitats.

With anything from $1000 to $5000 sliced off the outgoing model prices, the newcomer will doubtless see plenty of buyers once resigned to more prosaic brands thinking they can afford a Mercedes-Benz.

Now that’s out of our system, we resume normal, um, transmission. The B-Class line-up sees substantial revisions, with drops in price of up to $5140 on equivalent outgoing models. The new range comes in two specs with a choice of two petrol engines or a diesel, with a base equipment list that looks competitive enough to tempt Focus buyers up several thousand dollars.

For $38,950 (MRLP), the base 1.6-litre, 90kW B 180 comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, climate control, parking sensors, auto headlamps and wipers. The six-speaker audio package comes with a six-CD stacker, MP3/WMA/AAC compatibility, Bluetooth audio streaming, auxiliary and USB ports. It’s all operated from a 14.7cm central control screen.

Little conveniences abound, too. Ambient lighting (a M-B strength – a little thing that makes a big difference to the interior environment at night), an electronic park brake, underseat storage drawers, and folding tables mounted on behind the front seats for rear passengers.

The heated rear windscreen has a timer. The cruise control incorporates braking to maintain the set speed downhill, a feature allowing them to extend the system to include a speed limiter. And, like so many models with electric steering assistance, it’s capable of parking itself.

In the up-spec petrol B 200 and the diesel B 200 CDI, most of the $5K premium goes under the bonnet. The $43,950 petrol B 200 gets the same 1.6-litre engine as the B 180, but tweaked to raise power to 115kW.

Or if you prefer, the same money buys the 1.8-litre, 100kW diesel B 200 CDI. Both get a wheel upgrade to 17-inch alloys, Artico ‘man-made leather’ upholstery (don’t be put off by the ‘man-made’ bit – it’s terrific), electrochromatic rear-view mirror, a bit of extra chrome and other trim upgrades, and electrically folding exterior mirrors.

Options like bi-xenon lamps and reversing camera are available separately, but Benz is also bolstering an already convincing value statement with a series of bundled option packages with very un-Benz price tags.

The Vision package ($2490) adds a panoramic sunroof and bi-xenons with LED runners. The COMAND package ($2990) bumps up the centre screen size to accommodate the marque’s COMAND central control system with voice control, sat-nav, reversing camera and a Harman Kardon audio upgrade.

With COMAND now integrating internet connectivity, the sat-nav system runs Google Maps. Using it, the difference between new and old is transparent.

The Driving Assistance package ($2490) adds Distronic Plus adaptive cruise, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist and a leather-wrapped wheel.

For those with young children, integrated booster seats are optional.

You can spec even the B 200 with the lot and still get change out of $60K for a very comprehensive package indeed.

The snappy B 200 Turbo has gone, but later in the year we’ll see a high-spec, high-performance B 250.

Because they all come in under 7.0L/100km, they’re exempt from the luxury car tax.

MECHANICAL

For the B 200, they’ve tuned it for an extra 25kW -- up to 115, and 50Nm more torque, up to 250, available across the same starts-low-stays-forever 1250-4000rpm band.

The B 200 CDI is now good for 100kW, delivering its 300Nm peak torque from 1600-3000rpm.

No CVTs and manuals – all Bs now come with Benz’s terrific 7G-DCT twin-clutch, operated through an S Class-like stalk on the steering column and paddles. And no foot- or lever-operated park brake, either – it’s now electronic.

The B’s aerodynamic package gives it a drag coefficient of just 0.26, putting it up with the slipperiest bodies on the market. All three are also helped along by variable engine mapping, switchable through Sport, Economy and Manual modes. Nevertheless, the B 180 is an adequate rather than exciting performer in a vehicle weighing 1395kg.

Turbo-lag is negligible, but the Sport setting feels a bit wasted in the base engine -- paddling or kicking it down generates a whole lot of not much beyond revs. And that’s with just a driver on board. Load it up with people and things and it’s a good bet you’ll feel it struggle.

The petrol B 200 delivers more oomph, but the oiler delivers more again for the same money, especially in the midrange. In a vehicle like this, every extra Newton counts, and the CDI’s got them, and they’re available for noticeably less fuel.

On that front, the news is excellent all round, but especially good for the CDI. At 4.7L/100 km (122g/km CO2), it’s down about 20 per cent from the outgoing B 180 CDI’s 5.8 combined (151g/km CO2). Not that the petrol variants are far behind -- they’re now good for an official 6.1L/100 km (141 CO2/km) combined.

They’re the official figures. On the launch program our B 200 CDI made 4.7L/100 in Economy mode sticking to speed limits on country back roads. Similar conditions saw the petrol B 200 yield 6.7, while a freeway run at speed limits in the B 180 yielded 5.8L/100km. Separate, shorter trips in the petrol B 200 with more kickdowns, pedal- and paddle work bumped things up into the eights, so no major shocks.

PACKAGING
>> It sits lower. That doesn’t mean it’s low…
The B is still no objet d’art, and God knows what that bent crease up the sides means, but the new B represents quite the quantum leap over its predecessor on many fronts. It’s longer (86mm), wider (9mm) and most importantly, it’s lower: five centimetres at the roofline, and seven at the seats.

There are pros and cons to the new envelope. Its handling is improved but it still feels more MPV than hatch. Redesigned, more upright seats yield legroom Benz says is just 12mm short of the standard wheelbase S-Class. If it isn’t redolent of that car, it’s exceptionally generous for its class, helped by loads of underseat foot space. One irritant here is in the hard plastic structure holding the map pockets and fold-out tables on the backs of the front seats – its bottom edge is perfectly positioned to deliver the careless a decent whack in the shins.

Rear seats are often neglected on launch programs, but we figured this one was important enough to warrant some ride time on the drive program. Knee and shoulder space was good for this six-footer, but the seat is a bit flat and small under the thighs. That’s what renders comparisons between legroom here and in the S a bit of a furphy: the limo seat accommodates your whole thigh (the real measure of leg room is not from the front of the cushion, but the back). Here, it’s good for kids. But it’s also low against the door sill -- enough, we suspect, to be a problem on long trips.

The revisions also take their toll in the cargo area, which shrinks from more than 540 litres to 488 – read: from enormous to merely very large.

The interior is generally classy, with the only obvious locus of costing-think evident in the lack of rear-seat ventilation. Yes, there are five big eyeball vents up front, but it’s a noticeable omission for a primo brand placing so much emphasis on rear seat usability.

Up front, the manually adjustable seats and tilt/reach adjustable wheel offer plenty of scope to find a decent driving position. On the bottom rung, you sit low behind the facia, but even down there, visibility is good all round, and there’s plenty of height adjustment in the seat.

Ergonomics are up to Benz’s high standard, although like most primo German product it takes a little learning -- less if you’re familiar with the marque’s operating protocols. The control screen atop the centre stack looks retractable a la Audi’s, but it’s not (one less thing to go wrong…)

Storage is plentiful: in decent glove- and centre boxes, underseat drawers and door pockets sufficient to hold a 600ml drink.

In addition to nine airbags -- two facia, side torso bags in front and rear seats, curtains and a driver’s kneebag -- the normal stability control, anti-lock brakes and supplementary braking systems, the B now gets driver fatigue monitoring and a ‘collision prevention assist’ system standard.

When you cross a lane or shoulder marker without indicating, the Attention Assist fatigue system lets you know by vibrating the steering wheel.

The collision prevention system uses radar sensors to monitor variations in the distance from the vehicle ahead. When the gap starts closing too fast for comfort, it flashes and beeps and primes the brakes for an emergency stop. Optioned up with the Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control, it will actually jam the brakes on by itself if things look dire.

Also standard is the Pre-Safe anticipation and protection package that’s been around in the S-Class for a decade. When it senses disharmony in the relationship between forward and sideways, the system springs into action, closing windows and sunroof, adjusting seats and belts to optimise restraint for each occupant, child or adult.

There are numerous little extras to keep you out of trouble up front, like warning indicators covering fluid levels, tyre pressure and brake pads.

It potentially treads on the toes of everything from compact SUVs like Volkswagen’s Tiguan, Audi’s Q3 and Q5, Mazda’s CX-5, Ford’s new Kuga and high-spec Koreans, to the Mazda6 hatch and wagons like Volkswagen’s Passat and Audi’s A4 Avant.

As a family vehicle it’s hugely versatile in accommodating people and stuff. It sits higher than a normal passenger car, but handles better than most high-riding SUVs.

Whatever it is, they’ve got something right. The outgoing model topped sales in its segment for 2011, and this one’s better in every way, including the ways that might attract younger buyers.

ON THE ROAD

We didn’t get the chance to try the one with the sports suspension and 18-inch wheels, but even with the hard-walled runflats, the supple suspension will absorb some pretty horrid road surfaces with minimal disturbance to the peace upstairs. Wind noise is near zero; road noise intrusion is low even on coarse surfaces.

Electric steering was invented in the name of fuel efficiency rather than driver entertainment. Few have nailed it on the latter front, and M-B doesn’t break free of the pack here. The tiller has some decent weight about it and little play at 12 o’clock, but there’s no threesome going on here between man, machine and Mother Earth.

The transmission is benchmark stuff for its class: plenty quick enough for this vehicle, supremely smooth in its shifts and smart enough in matching cogs with conditions. The Economy mode is useful for highway cruising, but when the drivetrain gets busy it’s not long before you’re reaching down to switch the engine to Sport. Not for sport, mind -- just for a bit of response.

While the petrol engines are adequate, the B 200 CDI is the pick on every criterion: more torque, less fuel and a bit of extra down-low weight to plant it. It’s hard to tell it by sound, too -- the only giveaways are in the extra muscle and the tacho calibrations.

Braking hard from 100km/h plus showed the brakes to be well up to anything anybody who’d choose a car like this would throw at them.

The second-gen B maintains its predecessor’s uniqueness of identity and balance. It also benefits from a chassis that’s clearly made for more exciting fare. While we wait for other incarnations to turn up, what we have here amplifies the old B’s virtues, adds a slew of new ones, including a state-of-the-art safety kit, and serves it up with a knockout value jab. None of which will do any harm to an already successful seller.

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