B 180

STORY

The B-Class debuted in 2005 (W245) as Mercedes-Benz's compact Sports Tourer, a taller, five-seat companion to the first-generation A-Class that shared its distinctive twin-floor 'sandwich' safety architecture. A clean-sheet second generation (W246) arrived in 2011, abandoning the raised sandwich floor for the modular MFA front-drive platform underpinning the A-Class, CLA and GLA, which lowered the roofline and sharpened the driving character. The third generation (W247) followed in 2019 with the MFA2 platform, MBUX infotainment and a broader engine range, positioning the car as a practical premium monospace rather than a mini-minivan. Never a motorsport or halo product, the B-Class instead pioneered Mercedes' compact-car alternative drivetrains, including the natural-gas B 200 NGT and the battery-electric B-Class Electric Drive built with Tesla-supplied technology. It remains in production as one of the brand's most family-oriented offerings, though shifting demand toward SUVs has narrowed the traditional MPV's role in the lineup.