Mercedes-Benz B-Class Review & Prices

The Mercedes B-Class is like the geeky younger brother to the A-Class hatchback and the CLA four-door coupe. While those cars are strutting their sharper styling and popularity, the B-Class kind of hangs back and sits in the corner, even though it’s way more of a practical family car than either of those.

In fact, the B-Class is way more practical than most other cars of its size, with lots of rear seat legroom and headroom, and a huge and versatile boot. It’s just a shame that there was never a seven seat option for the B-Class.

We’ve mentioned the A-Class and the CLA, and the B-Class shares a chassis with both of those cars, plus its engines and its interior. The B is much taller and boxier than either of its siblings though, even if it’s not quite tall enough, nor boxy enough, to be a true MPV. Certainly, alternatives such as the Citroen Berlingo and Volkswagen Caddy Life have even more interior space, and for less money than the Merc.

However, being related to the A-Class has its perks, and the B-Class has an impressive interior which, even if it’s not at the cutting edge of Mercedes technology right now, has big, useful screens and a sense of high quality.

That sense of quality is almost undone by some cheap items, such as the column stalks behind the steering wheel, but the rest of the cabin is good enough to make up for glitches like that. There’s plenty of space, and the same comfortable and supportive seats that you’d find in the A-Class.

There’s also the same pair of ‘MBUX’ digital screens stretched out across the dashboard, like someone took a rolling pin to an iPad. Both screens measure 10.25-inches across, and the driver’s display screen is actually more customisable, in terms of how it looks, than you’d find in the more recent Mercedes models. The software is also simpler to use, and it helps that there are proper buttons for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

Space in the back is excellent too, with stretch-out space for anyone sitting in the outer two rear seats, although anyone stuck in the middle definitely gets the short straw. It’s a shame Mercedes never created a seven-seat B-Class. After all, if the related GLB SUV can have seven seats…

The boot’s not massive, but with more than 400 litres on offer, it’s much roomier than that of the A-Class hatchback and beats the likes of a Volkswagen Golf by 60 litres. However, the Mercedes can’t compete with the massive boots offered by the Berlingo or Caddy.

Neither the Berlingo nor Caddy can match the way the Mercedes drives, though. Again, being related to the A-Class is a distinct strength and while you do sit up higher than in the A-Class, the B-Class has impressive resistance to body roll in corners, and nicely-set-up steering that’s actually fairly enthusiastic. However, the B-Class can’t compete with the — more expensive — BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, which is much sharper to drive again. Both cars suffer from having a slightly-too-firm-ride though, which can make the B-Class annoyingly bumpy around town.

The B-Class range has been reduced somewhat of late, so now there’s only two engines from which to pick — a mild hybrid B200 with a 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine, or a 2.0-litre diesel. Others offer plug-in hybrid or even fully-electric power.

However, if you want a spacious family car that still has a touch of class about it, the B-Class is still well worth considering.

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For once, the Mercedes isn’t the most expensive car in its class. In fact, in basic form, the B-Class undercuts the price of a BMW 2 Series Active Tourer a whopping £10,000, which surely puts the BMW out on something of an uncomfortable limb. If you’re looking at alternatives without the premium badge, but with even more space, then a Citroen Berlingo is as much as £12,000 cheaper than the Merc, and offers options like seven seats, a long-wheelbase version, and a fully-electric model. The Volkswagen Caddy Life is actually priced pretty close to a basic B-Class, which makes the Merc seem much more tempting, with its more car-like driving experience and higher quality.

Better to drive than you’d think, but firm ride around town

In town

If most of your driving life is in town, pick the B200 petrol model. Diesel is usually wasted if you’re mostly driving around town anyway, but one of the big advantages of the 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine is that it comes as standard with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and a mild hybrid system which includes a compact electric motor. This combo gives smoother gear changes, which is great when you’re trickling in traffic, as well as some handy fuel savings when you’re shuffling around at low speeds.

Here, though, the B-Class, in either version, suffers from having suspension that’s been stiffened up for cornering, but which gives it a too-firm ride at lower speeds. It’s not going to knock your teeth out or anything, but it is noticeably lumpy and often irritating around town.

Sitting up high in the B-Class does give you a good view out, certainly more so than in the A-Class hatchback, although your over-the-shoulder vision is a little spoiled by the big rear roof pillar and a fairly small rear window. Helpfully, though, you do get a standard reversing camera — upgraded to a 360-degree camera for higher-spec models — and parking sensors. The B-Class, although tall, isn’t an especially large car either, so it’s pretty easy to park.

On the motorway

Conversely, if many of your miles are spent on the motorway, then it’s well worth considering the B200d diesel. In theory, the diesel B-Class is a full 10mpg better off than the petrol version, and that’s a gap that’s likely to be bigger in the real world, on multi-lane roads.

The B-Class cruises quite comfortably and with decent refinement, although tyre roar can be an issue on coarse surfaces. It does come standard with lots of electronic driver aids, such as cruise control (not adaptive cruise, though), a blind-spot monitor, and a lane-keeping assistant.

The only downside is that the petrol engine can get rather harsh when you rev it hard, such as when joining a fast-flowing motorway.

On a twisty road

You’d assume just from the B-Class’ tall and practical shape that it wouldn’t be up to much on a twisty road, but you’d assume wrong. In fact, thanks to using the same sophisticated multi-link rear suspension as the A-Class hatchback, the B-Class is actually surprisingly good fun to punt through a series of corners. It’s not a hot hatch or anything, and the steering feels a little more detached than it would in the A-Class, but the B is responsive and well-balanced, and the ride comfort issues that bother it around town fade into the background.

Lots of space inside, but the petrol version loses a little boot capacity

There are two large storage areas in the B-Class’ centre console. One is under a sliding lid, beneath the air conditioning controls, which is also home to a wireless phone charging pad and a USB-C socket, plus a pair of adjustable cup holders. There’s more storage under the ‘butterfly’ lid which also forms the front seat armrest, which is handy as it means the driver can keep their side down so as to rest their elbow, while the passenger can still fish around inside for toffees. More importantly, there are also two more USB-C sockets in here.

The door bins are reasonably roomy, and they do open out into bigger spaces at the front, meaning that you can stash a large bottle of water with ease. The glovebox is pretty small, however.

In the back seats

Space and comfort are excellent in the back of the B-Class. Actually, an A-Class hatchback is roomier than you might think, but the B-Class gives serious Club-Class vibes. The outer two rear seats are slightly sculpted, and some specifications come with nice man-made suede seat centres. That does mean that the centre rear seat is a little compromised in terms of space, but it’s actually wide enough to fit a third rear passenger. However, they will be scuppered by the large transmission tunnel, which robs them of anywhere to put their feet. What’s really helpful is that the back seat slides forward, so if you’re only carrying small people on board, you can slide the seat up a bit to increase your boot space.

The rear doors, as up front, have well-sized door bins which are almost perfectly-shaped to hold a large bottle of water. There are seatback nets for storage too, but these are slightly shallow, so larger, heavier items might slip out.

Boot space

For a car of its overall size, the B-Class’ boot is excellent. It’s not the biggest around — its 445 litres of luggage space is easily surpassed by the Citroen Berlingo for instance — but it’s deep and square shaped, with a flat load lip which makes it easy to load larger items. There are handy features in the boot too, such as shopping bag hooks, a 12-volt socket, netted storage areas to either side, and an elasticated strap which can be used to hold delicate or taller items in place.

There are no back seat release handles in the boot, but you can lean in and flip the catches if you’re fairly tall. The back seat splits three ways, with the middle rear seats able to fold down as a narrow load-through hatch. Pack it to the roof with folded rear seats and the B-Class can hold up to 1,505 litres of cargo.

It’s worth noting that, thanks to the battery for its mild hybrid system, the B200 loses about 25 litres of boot space.

The old MBUX system is easier to use than more modern versions, and the B-Class’ cabin looks classy. There are too many cheap bits, though

As with the bodywork, the B-Class’ cabin is basically that of the A-Class, but taller. That’s actually a very good thing, as both cars were designed before bigger touchscreens took over the entirety of in-car design and technology, so you get a useful mixture of screen tech and proper buttons.

It’s the proper, physical controls for the air conditioning — which look and feel smart, as do the ‘jet turbine’ designs of the air vents — that not only lift the look of the B-Class’ cabin, but also take a lot of the strain off the touchscreen. No need to go digging into the menus just to turn up the heat.

The on-screen menus are also pretty simple and easy enough to find your way around, especially now that Mercedes has gotten rid of the old and annoying ‘track pad’ controller that used to live between the front seats. The instrument panel is packed with information, but it’s been laid out in a way that’s easy to understand and which manages to look classy. Other car makers should take note.

It’s not all good news, though. The touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel are exceptionally annoying (even if the wheel itself, chunky and with a perforated leather rim for some models, feels great to hold) while the column stalks behind the wheel look and feel awfully cheap, as do some of the plastics on the dash. A BMW 2 Series Active Tourer has a better-made cabin, without the creaks and rattles that pervade the B-Class.

Because the petrol-engined B-Class has a mild hybrid system, there’s almost no difference between it and the diesel model when it comes to emissions. Both run from around 136g/km of CO2 to 145g/km, depending on the model. That means a first-year VED cost of £540 for either, but just beware that higher-spec models are above the £40,000 mark, so will cost you an extra £425 a year, for years two to six.

There is a marked difference in claimed fuel economy — the B200 mild hybrid petrol quotes average economy of up to 47mpg, while the B200d diesel can manage a claimed 55.4mpg. Both figures are broadly realistic.

Company car users will pay between £200 and £250 a month in benefit in kind (BIK) tax for a B-Class, depending on the specification.

Mercedes has an impressive reputation for safety, right up there with Volvo’s, so it’s no surprise to see that the B-Class took home a five-star safety score from Euro NCAP when it was tested back in 2019. While that score might slip a little now if it were re-tested, the rating is still current, and it includes 96% for adult occupants, 90% for child occupants, 78% for vulnerable road users, and 75% for active safety systems.

Those systems include the expected automated active braking, lane-keeping assistance, and driver attention monitoring, and the B-Class also comes as standard with some items that others put on the options list, such as blind-spot warning and a door-opening warning, to prevent you from stepping out into the path of an oncoming car or cyclist. It does seem strange, though, that adaptive cruise control is on the options list when many more affordable models now provide it as standard.

Mercedes’ reputation for quality is strong, but not always borne out in reality. The B-Class does seem to suffer from repeated issues with its infotainment system, with suspension problems, with diesel engines stalling and proving recalcitrant to re-start, and with parking sensors going awry.

The B-Class didn’t feature in the most recent Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, but the A-Class — very closely mechanically related, of course — did. It finished in a respectable 31st place, but received quite a poor mark for reliability and quality. Mercedes as a brand finished in. slowly 25th place out of 32 brands in the wider Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, with 26.3% of owners reporting faults with their cars.