B 160

STORY

The B-Class debuted in 2005 (W245) as the compact Sports Tourer from Mercedes-Benz, a taller five-seat companion to the first-generation A-Class. It had the same twin-floor 'sandwich' safety design. An all-new second generation (W246) arrived in 2011. It dropped the raised sandwich floor for the modular MFA front-drive platform that underpins the A-Class, CLA and GLA. The roofline was lower and the driving character sharper. The third generation (W247) followed in 2019 on the MFA2 platform, with MBUX infotainment and a wider range of engines. It is now a practical premium monospace rather than a mini-minivan. The B-Class was never a motorsport or halo model, but Mercedes used it to try alternative drivetrains for compact cars: the natural-gas B 200 NGT and the battery-electric B-Class Electric Drive, built with technology supplied by Tesla. It remains in production as one of the most family-oriented models of the brand, although demand is shifting toward SUVs and the traditional MPV's role in the range is narrowing.