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Mercedes-Benz B 250e

B TO e (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Yet another compact Mercedes plug-in model - but this one's aimed at small families. Jonathan Crouch checks out the B 250e.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 79

Mercedes brings plug-in hybrid technology to the compact MPV segment with this B 250e variant. It can travel up to 42 WLTP-rated miles on a single charge that can be completed from 10-100% in just an hour and 45 minutes from a 7.4kW garage wallbox. And the 1.33-litre petrol engine and 75kW electric motor produce a sprightly 215hp total output, yet a super-low sub-30g/km CO2 reading. In short, if you can afford it, this Mercedes is easy to like.

Backgroundword count: 124

Given that it's over half a decade since Volkswagen and Toyota pioneered plug-in hybrid technology in compact family cars, you could accuse Mercedes of a certain tardiness in bringing PHEV models to market - but then that's also true of other premium brands like Audi and Volvo. The Stuttgart maker's certainly making up for lost time now though, having introduced this tech to its GLA, CLA and A-Class models as well as to the car we're looking at here, the B-Class small MPV. The model in question, the B 250e, uses a plug-in powertrain set-up that right now just happens to set the segment standard. But can it justify a significant price premium over conventional petrol and diesel B-Class variants? Let's take a look.

Driving Experienceword count: 252

Rather than electrify one of its older engines, as for instance Volkswagen did with the Golf GTE, Mercedes has here developed a much more bespoke unit, a 1,332cc petrol powerplant that manages to put out as much as 218hp. That figure combines the 160hp of this model's 1.33-litre powerplant with a 75kW electric motor linked to a 10.6kWh lithium-ion battery. These power sources collectively generate a pretty potent system pulling power figure of 450Nm. So, not surprisingly, performance is sprightly, 62mph dispatched in around 7s en route to well over 140mph. You have to have front wheel drive and an 8-speed 8G-DCT dual clutch auto transmission. Of most interest to a potential PHEV buyer though, will be this model's projected WLTP all-electric driving range - up to 42 miles. Obviously, you won't get anywhere near that figure if you regularly approach the quoted all-electric top speed of 87mph. An 'Electric' drive programme keeps the car in battery drive unless the accelerator pedal's kickdown function is used. In the 'Electric' programme, the energy recovery level can also be selected via paddles behind the steering wheel. The paddles on the steering wheel enable the selection of five different recuperation levels ('DAUTO', 'D+', 'D', 'D-' and 'D--'). The usual additional 'Comfort', 'Sport' and 'Individual' mode settings are also available. According to the given requirements, the driver is thus able to give priority to electric driving, place the emphasis on driving dynamics or give preference to combustion mode in order to save electric range, for example.

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Pictures (high res disabled)

Statistics (subset of data only)

Min

Max

Price:

£35,280.00

£38,280.00

CO2 (g/km):

27

Max Speed (mph):

146

0-62 mph (s):

6.6

Electric WLTP-Rated Driving Range (miles):

42

Combined Mpg:

235.4

Length (mm):

4419

Width (mm):

1796

Height (mm):

1562

Boot Capacity (l):

385

1060

Scoring (subset of scores)

Category: Hybrid, Plug-in, Electric & Hydrogen

Performance
80%
Handling
60%
Comfort
80%
Space
70%
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

This is an excerpt from our full review.
To access the full content library please contact us on 0330 0020 227 or click here

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