New engine line-up for revised Mercedes B-Class
The revised Mercedes B-Class
Author: David Miles
Published: 28 May 2008
Mercedes-Benz will launch the revised B-Class mini-MPV, which go on sale in the UK from 17 July 2008.
The B-Class is not the best known Mercedes model in the UK but as its name suggests it is the next step up in the ladder from the A-Class. This model range too is all about passenger packaging whilst still retaining considerable amounts of load and luggage space.
The B-Class was first introduced in 2005 and over 350,000 have been sold worldwide to date. The UK market is expected to average around 5,500 sales in a full year and 14,528 of them have been sold in the UK since the model range was first introduced.
The B-Class is only available in one five-door body style and combines some of the functions of an estate car with those of a five-seater MPV.
In Germany and Austria they are very popular vehicles for taxi operators because of their seating capacity, the large luggage area and they are cheaper to buy and run than the traditional Mercedes E-Class Estate which is also widely used for taxi work.
In the UK 68 per cent of B-Class customers are private buyers, 62 per cent of registered owners are male and 40 per cent are over 56 years of age. B-Class UK owners mainly come from multi-car households, 54 per cent of buyers choose diesel models and 68 per cent also choose the automatic transmission option.
The revised B-Class range for the UK has also been reduced in the number of engine and specification options.
Standard, and Turbo versions are deleted and the range now has SE and Sport derivatives with two petrol and two diesel engines available for both specification levels. Prices range from £18,840 to £22,540.
These prices represent an increase of £150 across the range but Marc Palmer, Mercedes-Benz UK product manager said the new B-Class models have added value for the customer in terms of specification, design, safety, fuel economy and Bluetooth capability.
He added the SE models now have a panoramic glass roof as standard which previously cost £460 and the Sports specification which used to cost an extra £495 is now standard.
The B-Class revised engine line-up now consists of two petrol and two diesel engine options with manual and automatic transmission options available for all of them.
The two petrol units are the 1.5-litre 150, 95hp and 1.7-litre 170, 116hp, engines. The turbodiesel engines options are both 2.0-litre units, the 180 CDI 109hp and the 200 CDI 140hp.
The sales split between the engines is traditionally 36 per cent for the B180 CDI, 25.5 per cent for the B150, 18 per cent for the B200 CDI and 14.7 per cent for the B170. The sales split between SE and Sport specifications is expected to be 50-50.
BlueEfficiency versions using petrol engines with manual transmission will become available from September this year. Active Park Assist is also as option for the B-Class models, again priced at £550.
Increasingly the supermini is the choice of car-buyers in an age where the economical, practical, easy to park and ´green´ small car is king.
Specs, pictures and reviews of all MPVs on the roads.
The Mercedes ML-Class large SUV scored maximum points in impact test to be awarded a maximum five stars for adult occupant protection.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been crowned Best Luxury Car at the Auto Express New Car Honours for the third consecutive year.
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