A smart simple premium minivan – are they on to something?

Mercedes-Benz must be on to something here, as they are the only car maker who saw a gap for a premium-brand MPV. Now in its 2nd generation, the B-Class is seeing even its rival BMW now copy its formula – a simple spacious minivan layout with front-wheel drive.

Look at the likely driver and passengers in this Merc van – Mom will be steering the minibus, dropping kids at school, taking them to extra-curricular activities, and using the space to her advantage for the school bags and shopping. This car also seems to be popular with retirees – a Mercedes-Benz as retirement car is the wish/dream of people who appreciate the brand value and longevity of this maker, though where it used to be a big long shiny sedan with 3-pointed star, the B-Class is now the more practical and more pension-friendly option.

Having driven the B-Class extensively around town and on surrounding highways for various daily purposes, the aspect that made an impression is how smooth and easy the driving is. The engine in the B200 tested is a 1.6-litre with an adequate 115kW and generous torque of 250Nm from just 1250 rpm through to 4000, thanks to the turbo. Fairly refined and responsive, this engine balances efficiency with performance. Not sure if the claimed consumption of 5.5 l/100km can be achieved.  On the topic of driving, it is comfortable and quiet, though we felt a judder through front wheels over small bumps and ruts.

The interior is laid out in simplicity, which contributes – the gear selector is on the steering column rather than the centre console, which frees up space, and means no need to look down or struggle to operate the gear lever through the zig-zag gate, which is in fact an inconvenience for elderly people struggling with arthritis, so the B-Class makes it easy. The parking brake is electro-mechanical and dis/engages automatically, so is again so easy to use – no need to pull a lever.

Although there are many buttons on the centre console, these are clearly grouped and laid out (even the gear mode E-M-S is a switch on the dashboard) and supplemented by an easy-to-use rotary controller for the vehicle functions. The digital colour screen is again made simple – when for example the radio station is selected, it shows a simple large graphic on the centre display, flanked by 2 stations left and 2 stations to the right, which is easy to scroll through. The navigation (optional) is again large size icons and easy to operate. 

Some complaints though are the air conditioning – one would think that when you buy a luxury MPV it should have an automatic system, but it doesn’t, so fiddling with the albeit easy-to-use dials to adjust the temperature is unpleasant. For this type of vehicle application one wants convenience, by simply hitting the Auto button, but Automatic climate control is an extra-cost R7000 option.

Also quite stingy is that park distance control front and rear and a rear-view camera are optional – surely this type of car needs to have these as standard? On the test car, the rear sensors also malfunctioned intermittently – reversing towards an obstacle had no beeping even at 20cm, which is way too late.

The kids were crazy about the fold-out aircraft style trays with cup holders for rear passengers – trendy convenience.

Quality? Apart from some soft-touch silk matt finish for the centre storage compartment, this Mercedes-Benz sadly does not have a premium quality feel. The seats are Artico man-made leather, so real leather is an option.

This car/van/bus/truck company must be good at the van thing, owing to its experience of building various sizes of passenger and goods vans (MPVS and panel vans). The Vito and Viano (soon to be replaced by the V-Class) are successful sellers, while the Sprinter is the go-to choice for a large to XL panel van.

The facelift of B-Class occurred in January 2015. The visual changes are mainly to the front lights which now have light-rod LEDs (the white eyebrow lines).

The 7G-DCT gearbox is such a vast improvement on the previous Autotronic, as this is a quick and direct dual-clutch automatic whereas the previous car’s was a CVT.  You definitely don’t want this car in a manual – you not only lose the convenience of the automatic, but also the aforementioned centre-console space – worth spending the extra R 18 000 on this. That said, the automatic is smooth… enough. Not quite the smoothness one might expect from a Mercedes-Benz.

The optional Night package does wonders for the looks – all gloss-blacked-out trim from the front bumper lip to window surrounds and darkened rear glass plus 2-tone gloss-black with shimmer silver alloy wheels.

On local streets, the B-Class is the most popular MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle). Other MPVs have entered and left the local market, yet the B-Class carries on strongly – just have a look at how many you see on the roads.  Renault even pulled its pioneering and once-popular Scenic from the South African market. The VW Touran was facelifted 5 years ago, and will be replaced, with the new same-look already released overseas. The contender to take most notice of is the Citroën C4 Picasso, which entered the market in 2014. The B-Class is the singled-out Mercedes without much personality, and if you are thinking it is just a minivan and can only have so much character in a wedge-shaped box, then direct your eyes and feet to a Citroën dealer to see the C4 Picasso – a true luxury feel. The new contender on the block is BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, as direct contender for the B-Class. The B200 auto base price is R 407 223 including taxes, so competes well against rivals. 

A smart simple premium minivan – are they on to something? Yes it has the 3-point star virtues and simple comfort, but a Citroën C4 Picasso has much more personality. If you insist on the simplicity and the brand cache, then the Mercedes-Benz will suit.

 

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