Test drive Mercedes Benz B-class W246 since 2012 Hatchback

And so that no one guesses

To argue who he is really compactwane, a high hatchback or a mysterious sport tourer can be possible for a long time. But the main thing is undoubtedly a real Mercedes-Benz.


Genuine from the youth team
And where is that very compactness? It was my first thought when I saw this lobastic newcomer with my own eyes. There, he, for a good couple of tens of centimeters, rises above the standing nearby cab. Anfas, thanks to an impressive grille of the radiator and muscular wheeled arches, is a completely adult SUV or Van. Stylish, solid.
 

So the rear lights are very much like those that have a M-class. And always fashionable sports in the appearance of more than enough: swift, rising up from the front arches to the stamp stamp, the falling line of the roof, sharply tilted rear racks. And even some kind of deliberately, unnaturally stretched wheelbase plays the same creation of the image of a noble large machine.
 

Nevertheless, the ability to look like an impressive car in fact only a fiction. Just a beginner waved in a height of sixty meters. In length, it is a little shorter than many five-door golf classes. However, if outwardly the car exuded the novelty, then the interior turned out to be surprisingly familiar.
 



A and B sat on the pipe
Where did I see all this? A strict front panel, neatly highlighted by chromium handles of the air conditioner, a radio with orange diodes inside and comfortable handles, an armor adjustable in height, all this seemed to have changed here from a-class. Even the tidy is simple, with a quartet of signs and the on -board computer monitor in the center, but excellent readable flesh from the flesh of the smallest in the Mercedes family. Unless decorated with stylish inserts for metal.
 

Moreover, technically, the machines-brothers. After all, a B-class was built on a strongly (21 cm) elongated platform ... That's right, class A. and built on the principle of the same double floor sandwich, which allows you to very compactly arrange a very spacious salon and an engine with a transmission.

 
   
Retractable boxing in the central armrest is convenient for storing a mobile phone
    
Large format magazines fit into a cooled glove box
 
  
For always dirty Russian roads, the location of the fuse of fuses and the battery under the feet of the front passenger is far from the best

Built -in turning repeaters are in the database, and you need to pay extra for painted mirrors

Capacious pockets are provided in the outburst of the trunk


So, is it really a banal focus with changing clothes? No and no. As in a minivan, you can come here without bending your head. The doorways are clearly higher than that of a lesser brother. And looking back, I completely discovered the ocean of the place. When he sat behind him in the back seat, a good ten centimeters remained to his knees. The baby A-class is clearly not equal to the new comrade in this discipline. Though throw your foot on your foot, as in a business class staff.
 

But only it seemed that I determined for myself the class essence of this wonderful machine, how new questions arose. Why is the back is not adjusted in the angle of inclination, as is done by many Van? The sofa, like them, does not move back and forth? Where are the tables in the backs? The creators themselves mysteriously call the B-class a sports tour, that is, a sports station wagon. Well, we will check his sports a little later, but the capacity of the trunk is really admirable.
 



Championship volumes
To start with the fact that even with a 5-seater layout remains 544 liters for baggage. This is to the window line. It is already 695 to the ceiling. You fold one part of the back, and, even by traveling four, you can take a couple of adult bicycles. There are plenty of fasteners specifically for these purposes. Or put here at least half a dozen large suitcases. Even with three passengers, a room for the cargo is more than a cubic meter of 1005 liters.

 
    
The practicality of a huge trunk is limited except for aristocratic upholstery from a brand of vile fabric


Now I pull the handle on the end of the back of the front passenger chair, and it obediently turned out. Note that such a mechanism does not require surcharges. For a Mercedes, a ledra, who takes money even for a sliced \u200b\u200bback in a C-class, this is a rare generosity. If you fork out on the Izi-Vario (the front passenger armchair and the back of the rear seats are removable), the car can be turned into a wagon with a hold of 2245 liters. Even E-Class does not have this, not to mention any of the compactwenes. But how does this small ride?
 



Mercedes is Mercedes
While dealing with an on -board computer, I missed green. And no one had signaled, did not blink nervously by headlights. Any other small -leafing would have been exhausted for a long time. And here, apparently, the magic of the three -beam star works. On Moscow roads, where European politeness is found oh how infrequently, such a plus is worth a lot.
 

There is another high landing. A mustachioed uncle at the wheel of CR-V in the next row sits with me on the same level. As from the captain’s bridge of the alternate, I see the situation for several cars forward. And after a couple of kilometers I open another talent in my new acquaintance. A long base and a comfortable suspension turn a ride into a calm swim. Moreover, the smoothness of the passage that had so much attracted without any complex electronics. The main highlight of the Mercedes adaptive suspension gas shock absorbers with stiffness variable depending on road conditions. That's just the wheels with a ping-pong ball along the frank washing board on the asphalt, without passing on to the body, it seems, not the slightest vibration. But with barely noticeable slaps, they reported on tram tracks on the enthusiasts highway.
 

However, there is a mechanism in the B-class, which, perhaps, is worthy of even more praise than traditionally a Mercedes settings of pendants.
 

I did not believe my eyes: one hundred kilometers per hour, and the tachometer arrow rose only to 1800 rpm. Now in the window of the on -board computer, the number 7 is glowing in this program. One hundred and forty, and the revolutions are just starting to approach three thousand. It turns out that a miracle machine that works in tandem with a 2-liter engine, a new variator. Transmanding relations can change very smoothly: 0.42, 0.65 and so to the lower 2.72 of the first. It is such a mechanism plus a standard aerodynamic set (a special shape of the brush and mirrors, the streamlined front part, the plates, optimizing the air flow under the details of the transmission and suspension) provide low noise. A barely audible song of the wind licking the rack seems to become louder either at 120 or 160. Tie my eyes now, I would definitely think that I was going in a large expensive sedan.
 

But the most interesting thing is that this very seventh gear turned out to be the traction of another fifth in the usual mechanics. The point is that, although the motor does not shine with a high capacity of 136 liters. S., but pulls almost with idle. After all, the new injection system of 85 percent of the torque makes it available with 1,500 rpm.

Are you boring to go like that? Turn on the sports mode. The revolutions will immediately become higher, and the feedback on the gas pedal is a little more frozen. And finally, shaking the lever to the left and right, you can turn on the programs manually.
 

I tried. Alas, this entertainment is not for a 2-liter B-class. At high 4500 and higher speeds in the cabin, it is already noticeably noisy, and the car rides is just as confidently fast, but not more freaks than in the sports mode of the variator. Unless it is conveniently faster before entering the turn, turning to a step or two below. Just keep in mind: like most Mercedes, this liberties do not allow. Unlotted ESP on it basic equipment.

And even it is not easy. At first, the electronics allowed a little to slip with the front tires, but it was worth openly provoking the car to skidding, and not only the engine and the braking wheels, but also the steering wheel began to straighten the trajectory. ESP also works in a company with a servo -saturator. A second, and without my help, the car has already been leveled.
 



No matter how you call the yacht ...
Well, Mercedes-Benz has long been proud of high technologies. B-class and this tradition only continued. It is a pity that the word sport in the name, he justifies only with a dynamic appearance. It is bad that, despite the external similarity with compactwenes, it does not indulge in these machines with amenities. And the level of decoration remains, alas, only a-class: saving on an electric drive of the rear windows, on insufficiently large mirrors, adjusting the steering column in length will have to be perceived for grants.
 

But the station wagon, and even with an unusually high roof, it is noble. Perhaps the main advantage of all Mercedes did not lose comfort on any road. And his role as a convenient car for those fans of the brand who puts the capacity at the forefront, is full of desire to stand out from the crowd and, at the same time, the three -beam star is not averse to emphasizing the prosperity, he will perform with honor.
 

Just do not blame this very wealth should be serious. B200SOBY series is an unbearable amount of 30,900 euros in a folk class for 2500 euros more than a-class with the same engine. However, on the other hand, 4000 euros are cheaper than the station wagon C180K. You can even save. No one will guess ...
    
6 different options

In addition to B200, dealers offer three more gasoline and two diesel modifications. The 95-horsepower B150 costs 23,600 euros, B170 (115 hp) 24,900 euros. Each has ABS, ESP, 6 pillows, tire pressure sensor, active front head restraints. But air conditioning, stereo system, suspension with an enlarged clearance require surcharges. In versions, a special series170 (26,900 euros) and B200 (30,900 euros) are attached. The diesel A180CDI and A200CDI cost 25,900 euros and 28,700 euros, respectively.
 

In principle, the 115-horsepower engine (11.3 s, 183 km/h) is enough for the B-class. But those who are the capabilities of the family machine are not averse to combining with sports excitement can choose a 2-liter turbo engine (7.6 s, 225 km/h).
 
PER

The prestige of the brand, outstanding capacity and safety, comfortable suspension, convenient variator
AGAINST

High price and high cost of options, small side mirrors, a sofa incorrect by the standards
 
 
Mercedes-Benz B200

common data
 
Body (number of places/doors)
Universal (5/5)
 
Equipped mass, kg
1345
 
Length x width x height, mm
4270x1775x1605
 
Base, mm
2780
 
Trunk volume, l
544-2245
 
Speed, km/h
196 (190)
 
Acceleration time 0100 km/h, with
10.1 (10.2)
 
Fuel consumption, l/100 km highway/city
6/9.3 (6/9.5)
 
Fuel tank capacity, l
54
 

Engine
 
Working volume, SMZ
2034
 
Power, L.S. at rpm
136/5750
 
Torque, kgsm at rpm
18.9/3500
 

Chassis
 
Drive unit
On the front wheels
 
Transmission
6-speed mechanical (variator)
 
Suspension:
spring, with reptile stabilizers, gas shock absorbers
 
front
Independent, such as McEferson
 
behind
Dependent, with the Watt mechanism
 
Steering
rack type with amplifier
 
Brakes
disk, in front ventilated
 
Tires
205/55 R16
 

Car
0.34 $/km
 
 
Alexey Sergeev, photo of Maxim Goncharov
 
 

Source: Magazine buy a car [14/2005]