DRIVEN: 2007 Mercedes-Benz B-Class

Story by Mark Atkinson
Photos courtesy Mercedes-Benz Canada

Despite having a reputation for building some of the most solid luxury sedans in history, Mercedes-Benz has been on a real quest in the last 10 years or so to extend itself into just about every niche possible. Would the company have even considered building an SUV (other than the ultra-basic military G-Wagen) in the mid-‘80s? No… you would have been laughed out of the board room for even suggesting such a thing.

But 10 years is a long time. In that span, we’ve witnessed two generations of ML SUVs, the lackluster C-class Coupe, the gorgeous CLS and – hold your breath – the front-wheel-drive A-Class – sold everywhere else but North America, of course. Now that the A-Class has come around for a full redesign, Mercedes-Benz decided to amortize some more of the platform’s costs by building a bigger, more solid B-Class, with which to attack the growing ‘premium hatch’ market.

Seeing as Canada is more than receptive to hatchbacks compared to the sedan-favouring United States, the 2007 B-Class has hit Canadian streets far in advance of our American neighbours.



Now, before I get into detail about the B-Class itself, we the question of whether or not Mercedes-Benz’ second attempt at a premium small car will be any better than its first has to be answered. Certainly the environment for such a thing is leagues ahead of where the C-class Coupe was launched, helped by MB’s main competitor BMW and the Mini brand. They proved that small can be hip, and combined with exorbitant gas prices, the small premium hatch isn’t the anchor it used to be.

Thankfully, Mercedes-Benz have learned from their earlier errors and put together a very capable package. The B-class, like its A-class sibling, is based on Mercedes-Benz’ sole front-wheel-drive platform, the same one that mounts the transverse four-cylinder engine very low and at an angle so that in a collision, the motor will be directed underneath the ‘sandwich’ flat floorpan. Like most small space-efficient cars, the B-class features MacPherson struts up front, but uses a compact ‘parabolic’ rear axle to save on packaging.

The B-class’ styling is very much “R-class lite” with sweeping shoulder and window lines mixed with a fairly blunt snout. In standard guise, the 16-inch wheels seem a little small, and the car tends to look more MPV than hot hatch.



Mechanically, there are two B-class engine options, the 2.0-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder (134hp/136lb-ft) in the B200, and the same engine with a turbo strapped on in the B200T. Our Arctic White B200T tester served up 193hp @ 5000 rpm and a solid 206 lb-ft from 1800-4850 rpm. Combine that plateau of torque with the AUTOTRONIC continuously variable transmission (a $1,500 option; six-speed manual comes standard) and the B200T becomes quite the little front tire burner.

For those of you who have a passion against one-gear wonders (i.e. CVTs), have faith that Mercedes-Benz has done an admirable job of making the electronic throttle very responsive. The computer programming really makes the car quite enjoyable around town, and for those who want to, the CVT does provide six ‘preset’ gear ‘ratios’ to swap between by moving the gear selector back and forth.

Inside, it really is typical Mercedes-Benz, only smaller. Plastics are soft-touch as in the rest of the range, and it’s tasteful and airy thanks to the Panorama sunroof that’s standard when you select the Premium package. All the gauges, switches and even the steering wheel feature back-lighting, and the eight standard airbags do a good job of boosting the B-class’ safety credentials.



The seats are comfortable, but not terribly sporty, and there’s a plethora or small cubby spaces to stow the usual detritus that accumulates in cars.

The driving experience in our non-Sport package equipped tester was, um, not really sporty. The steering was light and accurate, and considering its small size, the B-class had a great ride around town, soaking up most of the really offensive bumps and bangs that you encounter on a daily basis. While the $1,500 Sport Package, consisting of front sport seats, a sport suspension system along with 17-inch 10-spoke aluminum-alloy wheels and performance tires, would probably improve the performance somewhat, you still wouldn’t end up with a back-road burner or potential autocrosser. The B-class feels too big for that.

But it would work wonders as a small family hauler with lots of flexible luggage space, and that three-pointed star on the front does wonders for curbside appeal.



The major problem Mercedes-Benz will face is the value-for-money equation. While the B200T comes in at a high-ish base price of $35,400, once you get jiggy with the options list, the transaction price really starts to soar. Our mid-level B200T tester equipped with the $2,200 Premium Package – heated front seats, exterior chrome accents on the grille, rain-sensing windshield wipers, illuminated visor vanity mirrors, cruise control, auto-dimming mirrors and exterior Sight & Light Package, an electronic compass, and the Panoramic sunroof – along with Bi-Xenon headlights ($1,675) and the aforementioned CVT ($1,500) came to a stunning $43,275. A B200T with absolutely every option ticked – and there are quite a few including 18-inch AMG wheels and the COMMAND navigation system – totals a pocket-withering $57,434.

Obviously there are very few people who would actually load their B200T up that way, but Mercedes-Benz really has to hope that it can bank on quite a few buyers wanted to get into the brand at the lowest level if the B200 is to be a success. Audi – another one of the uber-expensive-options manufacturers – seems to be doing well with its more sporty but less useful A3 model, so perhaps the time is right for a popular small Mercedes-Benz.