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B Class Owners ..... Your Thoughts

It is sad to see that even highly trained Merc dealers know so little about their cars!

There are no new diesels on the market now that are not turbo-charged. Or put another way, every new diesel car for sale is turbo-charged.

If your dealer knows so little about his cars (even the sales manager ferchrissake!) I suggest you go elsewhere!
 
Thanks for all your help.
Just an update.
Went to drive the car on Saturday, and i can safely say, it wasnt for us.
I know its all a personal choice, thats why many cars are built. But the B Class was terrible, in my eyes. The ride is poor the price is a joke.
And I really think Mercedes are winging it, trying to pull off a cheap car in an expensive outfit.
 
Wish said:
Thanks for all your help.
Just an update.
Went to drive the car on Saturday, and i can safely say, it wasnt for us.
I know its all a personal choice, thats why many cars are built. But the B Class was terrible, in my eyes. The ride is poor the price is a joke.
And I really think Mercedes are winging it, trying to pull off a cheap car in an expensive outfit.

What model did you try - just out of interest ?

S.
 
But save yourself a load of money and have Alfie (www.comand.co.uk) retrofit COMAND for you rather than factory ordering it.

I have an A class, I find the auto-folding mirrors useful, and parktronic - just makes parking in tight places/narrow streets easier. Heated seats are nice in winter, and if you have those those options you don't end up with blank buttons (yes, I hate blank buttons. MB dealer loves me)

On the A, you have a choice of A160CDI, A180CDI, A200CDI - all the same 2L block, about 2K between each :-( The 180 gets you a better manual gearbox than the A160CDI for your £2k - but that doesnt help when you pay for the Auto box.

I think the reason you see so many A180CDI's out there (and I havent really looked at the B) is that pricing. Another 2K for some software and a slightly different turbo is just too much. If it was less i'd have paid and I think a lot of others would. I think MB pricing dept missed a trick there - I doubt there is more than £20 difference in build cost.

I suspect the dealers don't know the exact engine spec because Mercedes marketing is trying to hide it by no longer tying the digits to the real engine size - precisely so they can software engineer the performance. I guess that is a fact of modern engine design

R
 
Wish said:
Thanks for all your help.
Just an update.
Went to drive the car on Saturday, and i can safely say, it wasnt for us.
I know its all a personal choice, thats why many cars are built. But the B Class was terrible, in my eyes. The ride is poor the price is a joke.
And I really think Mercedes are winging it, trying to pull off a cheap car in an expensive outfit.

It really is just not fair to say this. If you drove the Sports suspension then this thread and the other one referred to here had warned you it is not good on the UK's rough roads. But the normal suspension is excellent and I speak having owned E's, a C, an ML and a B. We had leather and the alloy trim and she looked a picture. Wood trim is available if you want it. You say the price is a joke but the B class is bigger than an E class inside, and has a boot as big as the huge Porsche 4x4. Only when parking is it not huge.

I don't know which model you drove but the 200cdi has 0-62.5 in 9.6 seconds which is excellent by most standards.

Of course if you drove one of the small petrol engines you won't have the same impression as I did and many others. By the way nearly all reviews I read refer to the excellent ride.
 
It takes about an hour to add cruise and speed limiter to an A or B. I certainly wouldnt be bothered to decline a purchase on the basis that it was missing.

You just have to ask / know the right modders !
 
DC_insider said:
Not quite.

The 180 and 200 are the same base engine (OM 640) but the 200 has a different turbocharger.

If the turbo is different then wouldnt the pistons have a different compression and thus be different also ? Am I thinking petrol and not diesel ?
 
I replaced the MB sports suspension on my wife's B Class with the Brabus suspension prior to delivery. If anyone wants to purchase the original MB sports springs let me know as I still have them.

Cheers

SL55
 
miro said:
If the turbo is different then wouldnt the pistons have a different compression and thus be different also ? Am I thinking petrol and not diesel ?

I got off my butt and did some research. It appears that the ECU and Turbo are some of the more basic differences between the motors.

However there is a question mark over the particulate filter system.

I would want to check the upstream and downstream assemblies for any slight differences. In basic terms it is true what was posted ... not much difference between 180CDI and 200CDI motors.

Reminds me of the sprinter ECU scam .... however it is actually possible to enter the ECU of a B and possibly recode the unit.
 
miro said:
I got off my butt and did some research. It appears that the ECU and Turbo are some of the more basic differences between the motors.

However there is a question mark over the particulate filter system.

.... however it is actually possible to enter the ECU of a B and possibly recode the unit.

Yes it is also illegal as it is Mercedes who own the intellectual property rights. Also infringes the guarantee unless done with Mercedes permission. Finally, it is essential to notify the insurance company of 'any modifications that affect performance' otherwise you run the risk of finding your policy is null and void. Some allow, some load heavily, some will not accept.

By the way on the E class and ML the 280cdi and 320cdi are both the same basic 3 litre engine. Different turbo, very different power and torque curves and probably other differences too. Emissions and economy very similar but plenty more oomph with the 320 version. Similar to the B in a way.
 
The directmercedes.co.uk website lists B class diesel engines as
B180 CDi, B200/B200 Turbo, B200 CDi. Odd ?
 
The directmercedes.co.uk website lists B class diesel engines as
B180 CDi, B200/B200 Turbo, B200 CDi. Odd ?

Hmmmm - the middle one is definately wrong! The turbo is petrol
 
Owner of B-class 180 CDI Sport Automatic with manual flappy paddle

Wanting to get rid of the Wifes C Class Estate (In Sales Section) And found myself looking at the B Class.

My Ideal Spec is a Black B200 CDI SE Sport Pack. My question is, Is the B180 and B200 that much different ?? The Sales guy said i wouldnt be able to tell the difference, he was showing me round a B180 at the time.
Are they reliable? Is there anything to look ouf for ? Is there anything it must have ??

I am not bothered Manual or Auto and prefer the cloth rather than the leather.



You views on B Class Please

I have recently purchased a B-class sport 180 CDI Auto and if I'm honest the ride isn't as good as the normal SE version. The low profile alloys and tires make the ride so ruff as well as the suspension which if I'm honest can really get on your nerves on along journey. The 180 and the 200 are not that much different, well you don't notice the difference. The leather seat in the sport version make it difficult to get the in car temperature right very difficult. There is more feeling in the SE than the sport. The sport is a very good car though, it's fast, economical, has a great mpg at 45 around the town and about 70 on the motorway. It sounds great when put in sport mode. The car is all so lower than you think I am for ever catching the car on speed bumps even tho its the slightest touch is still doesn't do your car any favors. So if your wanting a B-class I would go for the 180 CDI SE as it makes the ride so much better.
 
I had a 2009 180 CDI and have recently changed it for a 2012 200 CDI. My understanding is that the current 180 CDI has a Renault derived 1461cc engine, whereas the 200 CDI uses a larger (1796cc) genuine Merc engine. There is absolutely no doubt that the performance of the 200 CDI is much better. The SE suspension is very comfortable. The sports suspension is certainly firmer but I find it acceptable (perhaps the roads around here are better maintained than in some other areas?). Speed bumps are a problem with either version. The longest journeys so far in the 200 CDI Sport have been 200 miles non-stop, mainly on motorways, with no discomfort. The excellent automatic box is well worth the extra.
 
Biggest problem is people's perceptions of comfort, ride quality and NVH vary wildly.

Some people will say even the SE has an unacceptable ride some will say its as good as it gets.

Get out there and try one, very carefully, and ignore the left hand seat sound track and concentrate exclusively on what you feel rather than what you have heard.
 
B Class Owners...your thoughts?

I purchased this car last November via CARWOW.COM and was delighted with the result. With a mere 520 miles so far I am just beginning to appreciate my machine. The model has recently been updated and if previous reports are correct, then Mercedes have been listening and made major improvements. At this price I expect to see and find quality, which this car certainly has, but what would it be like on the road? Well it's no Rolls Royce. The suspension is just adequate, I would have preferred it a bit softer but then the very nice handling would have suffered. Power is more than adequate particularly for an auto, a little flier in fact, with fuel consumption better than expected but nowhere near that quoted by the makers. I like the steering even though the press didn't!!! I like the driving position, it is comfortable with a good range of adjustments via the electrical memory seats, but i didn't want the sunshine roof that came with the package. A rear view camera is a boon as are the auto lights and wipers. The left foot rest is nice for long journeys, I once turned down a Jaguar because it didn't have one, the salesman was speechless!!! You will gather that I like driving the car which is true, after some 14 cars, most from new, only two gave me as much satisfaction and they were bigger and pricey. On the negative side the car is somewhat complicated if you are to get the best out of it, if you are technically minded like me it's no problem, but I had difficulty persuading my wife that it drove like any other car and she didn't have to use or understand any of the electronic features. I find the lack of a handbrake disconcerting, not that I have any wish to do handbrake turns!! The engine cutting out when stationary I dislike and had to ask the garage to disconnect it. This is my first Mercedes and for all its quirks, it is growing on me.
 
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I purchased this car last November via CARWOW.COM and was delighted with the result. With a mere 520 miles so far I am just beginning to appreciate my machine. The model has recently been updated and if previous reports are correct, then Mercedes have been listening and made major improvements. At this price I expect to see and find quality, which this car certainly has, but what would it be like on the road? Well it's no Rolls Royce. The suspension is just adequate, I would have preferred it a bit softer but then the very nice handling would have suffered. Power is more than adequate particularly for an auto, a little flier in fact, with fuel consumption better than expected but nowhere near that quoted by the makers. I like the steering even though the press didn't!!! I like the driving position, it is comfortable with a good range of adjustments via the electrical memory seats, but i didn't want the sunshine roof that came with the package. A rear view camera is a boon as are the auto lights and wipers. The left foot rest is nice for long journeys, I once turned down a Jaguar because it didn't have one, the salesman was speechless!!! You will gather that I like driving the car which is true, after some 14 cars, most from new, only two gave me as much satisfaction and they were bigger and pricey. On the negative side the car is somewhat complicated if you are to get the best out of it, if you are technically minded like me it's no problem, but I had difficulty persuading my wife that it drove like any other car and she didn't have to use or understand any of the electronic features. I find the lack of a handbrake disconcerting, not that I have any wish to do handbrake turns!! The engine cutting out when stationary I dislike and had to ask the garage to disconnect it. This is my first Mercedes and for all its quirks, it is growing on me.

Can I ask whether you have the Se version or Sport version?
 
Further to entry #37 and #39 I have discovered a very useful item indeed. If you are using a satnav route you can have a nav display in the computer display directly in front of you that shows next turn in some detail without having to keep referring to the main display. Voice control of the satnav is the best I have come across.
 

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