Mercedes-Benz B-Class (2012-2019) Review

The level of kit in the Mercedes-Benz B-Class makes it an attractive prospect for those seeking value for money, but truth be told it will be the badge and premium finish that will appeal to others.

It doesn’t offer extra seats or particularly clever interior layouts, so its selling point as a family car is simply a big boot, sliding rear seats and a decent amount of passenger room. This doesn’t make it stand out in its class particularly, but it does make it a more compelling prospect than a standard hatchback.

If you’re going to go for a posh MPV/hatch then you might as well go for broke on the engine, too, and head for the most powerful B220 CDI. It offers more power and performance than the B200 CDI but the same official fuel consumption so it shouldn’t be any more expensive to run so long as you drive it sensibly. Brand new it might have been hard to justify the jump, but the gap may have narrowed with used models.

In terms of the trim, it is better off sticking to the lower end of the range and finding a model that has had a few options added to it. The AMG Line adds sportier suspension and bigger wheels that make the B-Class’s ride that bit less comfy. SE trim’s smaller wheels will be comfier to live with.

There hasn’t been a big push for posh MPVs from customers, so there aren’t many of them out there as direct rivals. The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, and to a certain extent the Volkswagen Golf SV, are direct equivalents, but otherwise you are looking at non-premium models like the Ford C-MAX or small SUVs like Mercedes’ own Mercedes GLA. 

The Mercedes experience in the B-Class goes beyond just the badge on the bonnet as the cabin delivers a premium feel throughout. Every surface, dial, button and control you come into contact with backs up the first impression, too. The materials are excellent and everything feels like this is a premium car.

The white-on-black dials are clear to see and look slick and the trio of stylish central air vents are as much about upgrading the look of the dash as they are cooling the cabin. They are attractive aluminium affairs, with the same material featuring on the door handles, the stereo and the heater controls to continue this experience, too, and there isn’t a cheap-feeling element to be found.

Whether you go for the cloth trim or the leather upholstery the seats feel just as well constructed. Both will take the hefty demands of family life, although the latter is obviously more suited to being wiped down if spills are still a part of any long (or short) journey.

Mercedes’ infotainment system sits high up on the dash, and the actual display looks smart. However, the system itself is used to control a lot of the car’s other functions, and many of these are buried deep in the menus. This can mean some time-consuming and annoying fiddling around when a single and simple shortcut button would do the same job.

The screen is a seven-inch one on the SE model while higher trims get an eight-inch display. The functionality is decent, though, with Apple Carplay and Android Auto a standard feature, while there are also two USB ports. DAB digital radio was only a cost option, though, so not all used models will feature it. 

However, navigation was a standard-fit feature on all but the basic SE model, and it was a £500 option so there is a higher chance that it will be on used models.

Tall drivers (and passengers) rejoice. The Mercedes B-Class’s height means that there is a generous amount of space in the cabin for those with big hair, hats or just those that are taller than average. The boxy design means that this extra height is available whether you sit front or rear in the B-Class.

Taller passengers won’t feel short changed in terms of leg room in the back, either. The sliding rear seats mean that you can shove them all the way back to make sure that even the longest of legs will be accommodated, and with space spare to jam some bags around them if needs be.

This isn’t the case across all three seats, though, as the middle seat isn’t the equal of those on either side. It is narrower and a bit firmer than the other two, so passenger who ends up there won’t thank you on a longer journey.

The slightly narrow middle seat means that you will only be able to fit two child seats into the back – there are only Isofix points on the two outermost seats.

The amount of space in the boot depends on how far you slide those seats back and forwards. Maximise the rear passengers’ legroom and you still get a decent 488 litres of space but slide those seats all the way forwards and you get as much as 666 litres of room. Fold those seats down and the space increases to 1,547 litres.

Small elements add to the practicality, too – some standard and some optional – including a height adjustable floor and a collapsible storage box. For those with dogs or hobbies with dirty equipment there’s even a load-sill protector to keep the paintwork at the entrance intact.

The only downside for the B-Class is that there are only five seats on offer, while the likes of the BMW Gran Tourer and less premium MPVs are available as seven seaters.

There is a wide range of engines on offer in the Mercedes B-Class, with three diesels, two petrols and even an electric version, which was introduced in 2017.

The petrol engines are 1.6-litre units with either 122PS or 156PS. The entry-level diesel is a 109PS 1.5-litre while the other two are both 2.1-litre engines with a choice of 136PS or 177PS. The electric model is closely allied to the highest-powered diesel, with 179PS in its most powerful mode.

The lower-powered versions of the petrol and diesel engine are better suited to those who are going to spend the majority of their time around town, where they give a good showing in terms of economy, but the more powerful equivalents are the more preferable option if your needs are more varied.

Every version comes with the choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic gearbox, all apart from the most-powerful diesel that is, which is only offered with the seven-speed auto. The auto is excellent, if sometimes a little slow to change, 

The final option, which is again only offered on the top-spec diesel, is Mercedes-Benz 4Matic all-wheel drive, which bumps up both the price and the emissions, so you have to really need four-wheel drive to justify the choice.

The diesels in the B-Class are not the quietest of engines, with a fair chunk of noise and vibration making their way into the cabin. This is more noticeable at lower speeds and at tickover, but it raises its voice when you accelerate hard too. It settles down when you get up to motorway speeds There is still a fair amount of wind noise at higher speeds, though, as there is in all models.

The petrols are much better on the engine volume front, keeping noise more in check in all scenarios, but none are capable of matching up to the near-silent experience you get in the electric model. 

Reassuringly, safety equipment is offered generously on the B-Class, which is one reason why it performed admirably in its only EuroNCAP crash test. That said, that was back in 2011 at a time when said tests were not as stringent.

However, the kit that featured as standard was reassuringly good. Collision Prevention Assist, which helped brake in the case of a potential accident was standard fit from the start of the B-Class’s life and this was then upgraded to Collision Prevention Assist Plus from the 2014 facelift. This then helped out in the case of a potential rear-end impact as well.

Other safety kit offered as standard includes an attention alert system that monitors the driver’s fatigue levels and a hill start and hold system.

The EV version was Mercedes’ first mainstream electric model, and offered an official range of 124 miles. Don’t expect that as a regular offering in the winter, though.

Despite the premium nature of the Mercedes badge, the B-Class sits in similar insurance groups to more mainstream models. The range goes from group 15 for the B180 CDI up to 24 for the B220 CDI, which is comparable to the likes of the Ford C-Max and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer. As a result, it shouldn’t set you back any more than rivals.

None of the B-Class models went above £40,000 so all are eligible for the lower rate of VED car tax. The highest emitting models creep up to 132g/km – the petrol engines with the manual gearbox reach that figure – while none get below 100g/km. The B200 CDI with the auto gearbox is the one that musters the lowest figure, of 104g/km, so will be the most efficient to run as a company car. This means that the ones made before 2017 will also enjoy relatively low VED bands, too, meaning tax bills aren’t too testing.

Picking a trim level on a Mercedes B-Class isn’t solely down to the equipment you get. As you move higher up the range, the bigger the alloy wheels get and the stiffer the suspension gets, which negatively impacts how the car rides. On this basis, the SE trim is the pick of the bunch, although in an ideal world the first owner would have added a couple of bits of kit.

That said, SE trim comes with a decent level of equipment, including 16-inch alloy wheels, comfort suspension, active park assist, Collision Prevention Protection Plus, smartphone integration and a reversing camera. Sport’s main additions are 17-inch alloys, twin tailpipes and rain sensing wipers. AMG Line moves up to 18-inch alloys and brings an AMG body kit, lowered suspension and bi-zenon headlights.