B class short term review:

[S.Speed]

Did my first long run in my B200 at the weekend, North Herts to Anglesey and back.
Nearly managed the whole trip on one tank, but the fuel light came on with about 60 miles left and I chickened out and put in 52litres in Huntingdon, which according to the book meant I had only 2 litres left, so probably would not have made it!
Pretty well all the journey is motorway or dual carriageway travelling at around (indicated) 80mph. MPG from the car computer was 43.7, my maths make it 42.9, so not too much difference.
If I had kept to the speed limit I reckon I could have made it, but then it would have taken closer to 5 hours driving instead of around 4 and a half hours it typically takes.
Did get a lot of flys on the front though!

Terry

Hi Terry..
The tall "slab" profile of the B class means its fuel consumption affected a lot by higher speeds..
The side bennefit of a tall vehicle are the superior views of the countryside because you can see over the stone walls which you cannot do in a normal car.
I did a 140 mile round trip to Wendslydale and back with my mum and stepfather onboard and I left the MPG NOT showing so I drove normally (and realistically).. I stuck at 70 - 75 for the 90 miles of motorway and drove briscly through the lanes and I averaged 52.3mpg..
My car has now done 19,000 miles so its loosening up nicely.
When I first got it I drove very gingerly just to see what sort of mpg was possible.. I managed over 62mpg but you have to adopt a very boring driving style...But at least it is possible !
I have now done around 3,500 miles in my car and it has averaged 47mpg in that time.. The fuel consumption cannot be faulted.. Its not exactly a tiny car so its quite impressive.
Yesterday I had to deliver 6 Cellos which easily fitted in the rear

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Yesterday I had to deliver 6 Cellos which easily fitted in the rear

Nah - I think you are just stringing us along!

 

[hawk20]

Nah - I think you are just stringing us along!

I bow to your superior knowledge.

 

[Terrycufc]

Hi Simon,
Is your B auto or manual (sorry I can't look back to see!)?
Mine is auto, although according to the book there is not much between the 180 and 200 for economy, in fact for urban they are the same!
When the car has "learnt" my driving style I hope to average around 45mpg, my 2.2 Civic averaged 49mpg according to the car computer but that tended to over-read by a couple of mpg.
The B200 is not as quick off the blocks as the Civic - not surprising due to the lack of a turbo - but using Sport mode at traffic lights can be fun!

Terry

Just looked back...you have a manual gearbox.

 

[turbopete]

Hi Simon,
Is your B auto or manual (sorry I can't look back to see!)?
Mine is auto, although according to the book there is not much between the 180 and 200 for economy, in fact for urban they are the same!
When the car has "learnt" my driving style I hope to average around 45mpg, my 2.2 Civic averaged 49mpg according to the car computer but that tended to over-read by a couple of mpg.
The B200 is not as quick off the blocks as the Civic - not surprising due to the lack of a turbo - but using Sport mode at traffic lights can be fun!

Terry

Just looked back...you have a manual gearbox.

if your B200 is a cdi engine, it WILL have a turbo

 

[Dringo]

Thanks for this review. I have hated the 'look' of the B class, but in the spirit of working my way around the Merc models I find myself considering one now!
As a replacement for my A-Class which I was impressed with in may ways as a versatile large-small car! But rubbish with a 2.0L diesel and Automatic gearbox - just cannot get decent mpg without driving like a slug. I think the B class Diesel Auto would be the same.

Lastly - the roads are deteriorating and will not get better any time soon - you need big wheels and soft suspension these days. That's another thing on the A Class - ridiculously low.

 

[hawk20]

Thanks for this review. I have hated the 'look' of the B class, but in the spirit of working my way around the Merc models I find myself considering one now!
As a replacement for my A-Class which I was impressed with in may ways as a versatile large-small car! But rubbish with a 2.0L diesel and Automatic gearbox - just cannot get decent mpg without driving like a slug. I think the B class Diesel Auto would be the same.

Lastly - the roads are deteriorating and will not get better any time soon - you need big wheels and soft suspension these days. That's another thing on the A Class - ridiculously low.

Agree with you about the awful roads. Big wheels and low profile tyres harm the ride and have little give when hitting potholes. I go for standard wheel size which give the deepest tyre profile and more abilty to absord the UK's awful road imperfections. Softer walls too with more give.

On economy my A180cdi auto (2007) would regularly give 45 -50 on a run. My daughter gets over 50 from her manual A180cdi.

In a B180cdi (or 200cdi) with the latest engines it is not hard to get 45 from the automatics on a run and over 50 if there isn't too much traffic. They both pull 40 miles per thousand revs so even at an indicated 80 mph they are only doing 2,000 revs.

 

[television]

Agree with you about the awful roads. Big wheels and low profile tyres harm the ride and have little give when hitting potholes. I go for standard wheel size which give the deepest tyre profile and more abilty to absord the UK's awful road imperfections. Softer walls too with more give.

On economy my A180cdi auto (2007) would regularly give 45 -50 on a run. My daughter gets over 50 from her manual A180cdi.

In a B180cdi (or 200cdi) with the latest engines it is not hard to get 45 from the automatics on a run and over 50 if there isn't too much traffic. They both pull 40 miles per thousand revs so even at an indicated 80 mph they are only doing 2,000 revs.

Cars designed for large wheels do give a much better ride as they can span many pot holes without going down one side and crashing against the sharp edge often on the other side. It was the little wheels on the Vespa's that killed them off.

Cars like the RR and Bentley have huge wheels, that is why the ride is good, its odd the the Maybach runs on 19"

 

[hawk20]

Agreed if the car is designed for large wheels with plenty of depth of tyre on them.

Problem is so many people take cars with 16 inch wheels standard and then fit 17's or even 18's with low profile tyres which have hard walls and little depth of tyre to absord ridges, dips and bumps. I've driven E's with all three wheel sizes and the 16's give much the best ride on UK roads -and they give a lot less tyre noise at cruising speeds too.

 

[Kingdom35]

Just re-visiting this thread. Does anyone own a B Class from 2012/2013 onwards?

Looking for opinions if so...main focus is suspension, sports package and the general feel of the car in terms of a lot of people say its not up to the high Mercedes standards.