S.Speed
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 5,066
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Lancashire
- Your Mercedes
- Older Citroen Now :-(
Short term report:
Hi all,
I have now owned the B class for 2 weeks which for me is quite a long time..
My short term report is as follows..
For anyone half thinking of one of these cars I would say to you 100% DO NOT get the sports Package with the ridiculously hard suspension.
My car has this set up with 17” wheels (18” are available but more on that later).
Initially the “shell shock” after the E class was quite profound.
You really have to get it into your head that it isn’t an E class and isn’t designed to compete with one..
After about a week or so I had more or less forgotten the details of the E class and so the merits of this car started to shine through.
Mine is the B180 CDi with sports package (unfortunately) and a 6 speed manual gearbox.
The clutch and gearbox are light and easy to use. In fact its been about 15 months since I have driven a manual car and yet my left foot was fine despite driving an hour each way in rush hour traffic. Talking of which, when going to work and back I typically get 41 – 43mpg which I am well pleased with.
My car was in the dealerships having rear parking sensors fitted and the courtesy car was a B160 Petrol with Manual 5 speed gearbox BUT with the normal “SE” option (Not the sport)..
This car was fitted with the 18” AMG wheels with impossibly low profile tyres…. And yet . . .
The ride was far better than mine even with the 18” wheels.
Its even making me think silly thoughts of one day swapping springs and shocks one day for the normal set up.
I say again to you DO NOT GO FOR THE SPORTS PACK..
The wheel size is less of an issue than the so called sports pack is!
The B class is just under 2 feet shorter than my E class was and so its much easier to park.
I definitely love the high driving position.
On the way back from Preston I decided to go the long route home mixing some congested motorway and A road with country lanes..
Motorway was restricted to around 60 mph and A roads about 45mph (ish) and some conjested town driving + country lanes.
I set the trip computer NOT to show the average mpg so that I wouldn’t drive over carefully..
The photo attached will speak for me.
The “Fit ‘n Finish” is fine for this class of car.
Leg room is surprisingly good both front and rear.
Mine has the “easio Vario” package which basically means you can remove the front passenger seat and the rear seats very easily.
If I had come straight to this car from say my Golf I would have been very impressed..
But coming from the W211..Well pretty much anything would seem like a step down the food chain.
Overall this car is living up to my expectations very well.
I easily get 53 – 55mpg on a run and if I choose to drive more serenely then 60mpg+ is certainly possible.
£110 a year road tax and fully comp insurance of £370 is just what the doctor ordered.
Hi all,
I have now owned the B class for 2 weeks which for me is quite a long time..
My short term report is as follows..
For anyone half thinking of one of these cars I would say to you 100% DO NOT get the sports Package with the ridiculously hard suspension.
My car has this set up with 17” wheels (18” are available but more on that later).
Initially the “shell shock” after the E class was quite profound.
You really have to get it into your head that it isn’t an E class and isn’t designed to compete with one..
After about a week or so I had more or less forgotten the details of the E class and so the merits of this car started to shine through.
Mine is the B180 CDi with sports package (unfortunately) and a 6 speed manual gearbox.
The clutch and gearbox are light and easy to use. In fact its been about 15 months since I have driven a manual car and yet my left foot was fine despite driving an hour each way in rush hour traffic. Talking of which, when going to work and back I typically get 41 – 43mpg which I am well pleased with.
My car was in the dealerships having rear parking sensors fitted and the courtesy car was a B160 Petrol with Manual 5 speed gearbox BUT with the normal “SE” option (Not the sport)..
This car was fitted with the 18” AMG wheels with impossibly low profile tyres…. And yet . . .
The ride was far better than mine even with the 18” wheels.
Its even making me think silly thoughts of one day swapping springs and shocks one day for the normal set up.
I say again to you DO NOT GO FOR THE SPORTS PACK..
The wheel size is less of an issue than the so called sports pack is!
The B class is just under 2 feet shorter than my E class was and so its much easier to park.
I definitely love the high driving position.
On the way back from Preston I decided to go the long route home mixing some congested motorway and A road with country lanes..
Motorway was restricted to around 60 mph and A roads about 45mph (ish) and some conjested town driving + country lanes.
I set the trip computer NOT to show the average mpg so that I wouldn’t drive over carefully..
The photo attached will speak for me.
The “Fit ‘n Finish” is fine for this class of car.
Leg room is surprisingly good both front and rear.
Mine has the “easio Vario” package which basically means you can remove the front passenger seat and the rear seats very easily.
If I had come straight to this car from say my Golf I would have been very impressed..
But coming from the W211..Well pretty much anything would seem like a step down the food chain.
Overall this car is living up to my expectations very well.
I easily get 53 – 55mpg on a run and if I choose to drive more serenely then 60mpg+ is certainly possible.
£110 a year road tax and fully comp insurance of £370 is just what the doctor ordered.
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