Mercedes B-Class caught undisguised
Mercedes B-Class caught undisguised Next generation Mercedes is caught completely uncovered for the first time, featuring sharp design, more cabin space and efficient new engines
The secret’s out! Our spies in Germany have spotted the new Mercedes B-Class completely undisguised, months before it is due to be officially unveiled.
And it’s clear from our exclusive pictures that the next-generation MPV has stepped things up in the style stakes. Two sharply contoured feature lines run along the body from the headlamps and sweep under the doors. Plus, the lights – which now include LEDs – are much slimmer than before.
The model in our shots sits on big twin-spoke alloys, and the wheelbase – which, at 2.70 metres, is 30.5cm longer than the VW Golf’s – will create much more interior space for passengers.
It will help improve ride comfort, too, as well as a clever new multi-link rear suspension set-up. In fact, the roomy model sits on an entirely new platform that will spawn a whole range of new compact vehicles for Mercedes.
Starting with the B-Class in December, this family of small cars will include the fresh A-Class, and a front-wheel-drive crossover SUV set to sit below the LHD-only GLK.
Under the bonnet, the B-Class will initially use an all-new 1.6-litre petrol and a highly-efficient 1.8 diesel engines that will both be introduced to the the C-Class range next year, adapted for the rear-wheel-drive layout.
All the new cars have done away with the previous-generation models’ unique ‘sandwich’ architecture. And the B-Class’s spacious layout will allow room for the firm to introduce a variety of advanced alternative powertrains during the car’s lifecycle.
Our sources indicate that the company won’t only offer conventional four-cylinder engines. By 2014, the car will have a mild-hybrid, a range-extender plug-in hybrid, an electric-only variant, and – as with the current generation – an ‘F-cell’ hydrogen model.
A trick double-boot floor or ‘Energy Space’ will allow room for the batteries or hydrogen tanks, while keeping a decent-sized load space.
Read our full story on the B-Class hybrid and electric models here.
The German companies’s engineers also made no secret of the fact that it was looking to its Alliance partners Renault to help develop a range of even smaller engines with a 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4-litre outputs, and the possibility of a three-cylinder Mercedes by 2013 seems highly likely, as the firm continues its downsizing trend in terms of engines.
Yet despite this wave of new engine technology, the B-Class is still aimed squarely at Mercedes’ traditional older customers. Chief engineer Hans Engel said that it was “designed with our current A-Class buyers in mind”.
Although compact front-wheel-drive models are still relatively new for the brand, Engel also assured us that the B-Class would be a premium product, with a high-quality interior and many hi-tech on-board safety systems borrowed from the S-Class saloon.
For an alternative review of the latest Mercedes B-Class visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk
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