B FOR BETTER(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 83

This improved version of the MK3 model Mercedes B-Class represents the brand's continuing attempt to create what it calls its family 'Sports Tourer'. As for what exactly one of those might be, you can get a feel for the answer at first glance. Here's a car that's clearly more practical and versatile than a Golf or Focus-sized family hatch. But not as frumpy and high-set as a typical mid-sized MPV. It's the Mercedes take on compact, upwardly-mobile motoring for a compact, upwardly-mobile family.

Background word count: 167

Mercedes has always struggled to build compact, affordable cars that feel like, well..... a Mercedes. Not so long ago, you tried an original A or B-Class and thought it nicely built but not quite special enough, ultimately a very expensive way to buy a very expensive badge. And that was a problem. Executives, you see, rarely question the Three-Pointed Star price premium in their large, smart saloons and SUVs, its necessity obvious every time they ease behind the wheel. Without that extra class, choosing one of this brand's smaller models can sometimes seem like a colossally costly way of buying what in essence was a fairly ordinary family hatchback. The suits from Stuttgart knew it and in response have in recent times invested more than ever before in new, more Merc-like generation of compact models. This third generation B-Class, which arrived here in late 2018, was one of them. Four years on, the brand lightly updated it to create the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experience word count: 231

Like its A-Class showroom stablemate, the B-Class has been getting progressively more sporty as model generations have come and gone. Which is another of the reasons why Mercedes wants to position it as a 'Sports Tourer' rather than an MPV. It certainly doesn't drive like an ordinary People Carrier. Thanks in part to the stiff, sophisticated MFA2 platform used with this third generation model, body roll's kept well in check and you're favoured with prodigious grip that's impressively untroubled by mid-corner bumps. Not much has altered dynamically with this updated model, the changes primarily centred around the adoption of more efficient mild hybrid tech for the familiar petrol and diesel powerplants still on offer. These now incorporate the brand's 48V mild hybrid system including the usual MHEV belt-driven starter-generator: that'll give you a 13hp boost when moving off. All variants have to be had with DCT auto transmission, with either 7 or 8-speeds. The B200's 1.4-litre petrol powerplant offers 163hp. The alternative is the B 200d diesel, which has the brand's familiar 2.0-litre conventional unit. As before, the B-Class is able to drive semi-autonomously in certain situations. That's assuming you specify the optional 'Driving Assistance package' with its 'Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC' feature which uses camera and radar systems to anticipate the traffic up to 500 metres ahead, while predictively and conveniently adjusting the speed when approaching bends, junctions or roundabouts.