Mercedes-Benz B-Class Sports Tourer Launched at Rs. 21.49 Lakh

With the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the car maker from Stuttgart sets an entire new segment in the Indian auto market, on roll. This Mercedes-Benz model is based on the MFA platform that the A-Class is based on. The Sports Tourer was unveiled in July at the Buddh International Circuit from where a whole new segment began. One can perfectly describe the car as “the weekday and the weekend car.” It has the space, luxury features, power, superb handling, ride control and comfort, galore. Currently launched in just the petrol car version, there are two variants for the Mercedes-Benz Sports Tourer, the Mercedes-Benz B Class B180, priced at Rs. 21.49 lakh and the Mercedes-Benz B Class B180 Sport, which is priced at Rs. 24.87 lakh, prices mentioned ex-showroom Mumbai.

Coming to the car, it was first unveiled in July at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida and following it were the social media campaigns for the promotions. The B-Class Sports Tourer is said to be the Ultimate Tourer and the first 250 cars already carrying the ‘Sold’ tag, even before the launch, forces the entire market to agree to the same. The bookings for the new cars of Sports Tourer will now start in January 2013 as the lot for 2012 has already been booked.

As all Mercedes-Benz cars, the Sports Tourer is high on safety features and also flaunts a few new technologies like the Eco Start/Stop function and the Attention Assist along with 7 air-bags etc. The Eco Start/Stop function turns of the engine when you stop the car, for example, at a red light, and as soon as you touch the accelerator the engine revs to life again. This will result into a fuel efficient product. The ARAI certified mileage of the new B-Class is 14.8kmpl. The Attention Assist is a function that notices the time at which you are driving, your lane changing behavior etc. and if it notices that you are tired, an alarm goes off asking you to take a coffee break, now that’s smart… ain’t it!

Under the hood, the Sports Tourer draws power from a 1.6-litre turbo mill which is mated to an automatic 7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission sourced from the SLS AMG. With this, it sprints from 0-100kmph in about 10.2 seconds and delivers a power of 122bhp. All this is sure to make the B-Class Sports Tourer the most powerful vehicle of this segment. Though currently undisputed, along with Mercedes-Benz we as well assume that more brands will be rolling in their cars for this segment by 2013-2014. The diesel engine Mercedes-Benz Sports Tourer will be coming in by the third quarter next year.

From the outside the car doesn’t look as big as it feels once you step in the cabin. The new B-Class has a large cabin with immense space thanks to the height and the Mercedes-Benz’s wide girth. The seats are as usual of the finest quality material and offer extreme luxury and comfort. The wide doors and the high roof make stepping in and out of the cabin, very comfortable. The dashboard features the SLS styled air conditioner vents along with the AMG style steering wheel.

The car looks trendy with the wide Avantgarde grille with twin horizontal chrome slats, bi-xenon headlamps and long pushed back headlight design. The rear reminds one of the E-class estate versions, with very similar tail lights. The new B-Class has the looks, space, safety features and comfort of a typical Mercedes Car. With the reasonable price of Mercedes-Benz B-Class in India, the company might just hit it right and regain its position in the market. With Audi and BMW ruling in the premium luxury segment, the fight isn’t easy but Mercedes-Benz, like always is set to deliver ‘the best or nothing.’