SPECIFICATIONS: Mercedes-Benz B200
Price:
£20 000 (about R230 000) (range will start at just under £18 000). On sale from September.
Engine:
2034cc, four cylinders, eight valves, 102kW at 5750rpm, 136lb ft at 3500-4000rpm
Transmission:
Five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive.
Performance:
195km/h, 0-100km/h 9.9 seconds, about 7.5 litres/100km.
This sounds good. A new kind of "Sports Tourer" with the kudos of a Mercedes badge that's roomier than a C-class estate, versatile enough to cope with the needs of upmarketly active people and yours for as little as £18k.
It's the Mercedes-Benz B-class, the latest in the company's new-model onslaught and clearly just what
NEWS FLASH: Prices for the cars in South Africa have been released:
- B220 turbo - R266 000
- B200 CDi - R277 000
the modern consumer, steeped in premium brands, needs. (DaimlerChrysler SA is still debating its import; we'll know towards the end of the year).
But the tale is all in the telling. So let's tell it a different way. Reasonably roomy compact MPV, smallest engine a 1.5-litre unit with 72kW on tap, rear seats that fold but don't slide, product benefits and overall architecture much like those of, say, a Renault Scenic.
Except you pay another £3-4000 for the privilege of that three-pointed star.
So, bargain Benz or emperor's new clothes? Other Benzes are clearly upmarket and compete with upmarket rivals, apart from the little A-class, which makes you trade size for snob value when set against mainstream, slightly bigger, compact MPV rivals.
Mercedes can pull this stunt once but with the B-class it attempts to pull a new variation. This time, it's the size of a regular compact MPV but with this comes a higher price. And because the size now equates directly with rivals, as does the architecture, there is no fundamental difference between an £18 000 Mercedes and a £14 000 Scenic.
It's simply down to style, perceived quality (always dodgy ground), marketing spin (it's a Sports Tourer, remember?) and whether you're prepared to pay extra for the brand.
Never has brand counted for more and substance counted for less. This is a car with no rivals at the price, because they are all cheaper. If it had some groundbreaking feature then you could understand, but it hasn't. The B-class is a bigger A-class, can be had with a lively turbocharged engine, and there the story ends.
But how did it begin? Mercedes doesn't sell the A-class in the US because it's too small so the bigger B-class was devised instead. At the same time, Mercedes developed the imminent R-class, a six-seater that merges the ideas of MPV, SUV and estate car in one long, luxurious package.
This, the trigger for the Sports Tourer idea, is to be built in the US alongside the M-class. Searching for an identity that would throw buyers off the enlarged-A-class scent, Mercedes made the B-class look like a smaller, longitudinally compressed, R-class.
Its marketing link is with its bigger Sports Tourer sibling, not with the A-class.
Seems pointless
US buyers, though, won't get to see the Sports Tourer in its S and L sizes because a change of plan means the B-class isn't currently US-bound. Europe will get both but the B comes first with a choice of four petrol engines and two diesels, plus a plush SE trim and a sports suspension and wheels package.
Those petrol units are 1.5-litres/73kW (B150), 1.7-litres/87kW (B170), two-litres/102kW (B200) and a turbocharged version of the latter with 145kW. Each has eight-valves, a surprise in today's 16-valve world. Diesels are a 85kW B180 CDI and a 105kW B200 CDI, both two-litre engines despite their names, both with 16-valve cylinder heads and the same fuel consumption.
Thus the B180 seems pointless outside countries with a tax on engine power but it will be available here nevertheless.
You may feel cynical about the sales pitch but the B-class is good-looking. Its steeply sloped, convex waistline rises from front wings so low and rounded that they resemble the automotive architecture of 50 years ago. You sit high but, as with the A-class, the space under the lofty floor isn't wasted. It's a chamber for battery, fuel tank, even part of the engine and transmission, all of which helps make its very roomy.
The interior is undeniably pleasing, and the high purchase price is reflected in the solid quality, expensive textures and neat detailing but the driving position is odd, with your legs almost straight out and the steering-wheel nearly vertical. It's like sitting in a sports car that's a foot higher than normal.
Drive? Good - in parts
To create a load bay, you flip the rear seat-cushions forward and fold the backrests down to create a platform level with the boot's false floor. If you have the optional Easy Vario seating then you can also remove the rear backrests and the front passenger seat and slot the false boot floor into its lower position to create a virtual van.
And to drive? It's good, in parts. The electric power steering feels oddly aloof, but it proves accurate with familiarity and you can nip through corners with verve surprising in an MPV. There's little lean yet the suspension soaks up bumps effectively and if the ESP system detects a skid it sends helpful nudges through the steering to encourage your corrections.
I drove the B200 CDI first. It's lively but gruff enough to make you rue the money you would have spent over, say, a Scenic dCi. The unruly scrabbling for grip that spoils the same-engined A-class was absent, though. Next came a B200 with petrol engine and Autotronic continuously variable automatic transmission, a combination that suffered, as is common with CVT's, from too much eagerness to make the engine rev.
Its sports suspension sharpened the steering without ruining the ride.
So far, so average. Next came the B200 Turbo, its engine note a bit hammery but its acceleration excellent, with no turbo lag. This B-class, with a 7.5-second 0-100km/h time, is the one that best fits the Sports Tourer tag and, with its six-speed gearbox, it was fun to drive.
And finally, the regular five-speed B200, probably the best compromise: with its a quiet (if not especially cultured) engine and disciplined dynamics.
I like the B-class. And I especially like that for about £150 you can have an iPod interface built in. But I don't buy this Sports Tourer stuff. The B-class is a compact MPV, and an overpriced one at that.
THE RIVALS
HONDA FR-V 2.0 SE
The FR-V is wide, with vertical sides, but it seats six comfortably in two rows by setting the centre seats slightly further back. It has an awkward under-facia handbrake and some surprisingly cheap detailing but is good to drive with a lively engine and excellent handling.
MAZDA 52.0
Based on a lengthened Ford Focus platform, the Mazda 5 has sliding rear doors and six seats in three rows of two. A small seventh seat folds out in the middle row.
It's a good-looking MPV that's fun to drive and has a hard-drive MP3 music system. On sale from September.
RENAULT SCENIC 2.0 PRIVILEGE
The Scenic is the original compact MPV "brand" and the top trim level of the latest Scenic feels plush and futuristic inside as well as looking highly individual outside. The engine is quiet but the steering feels oddly artificial and the ride is unimpressive.
*All currency conversions direct and do not compensate for various import duties and other taxes.