New Car: 2008 Mercedes B-Class facelift

The revised Mercedes B-Class will make a world debut at the Leipzig motor show on 4 April. The only visible changes are the restyled front bumper, bolder grille and a more heavily creased bonnet.

Although the B-Class wasn't a hit with British customers, it still managed to sell around 325,000 units since its launch in 2005. The next generation B-Class is due in 2011. The B200 and B200 Turbo will be axed from the UK line-up in July since it hasn't met initial sales targets.

Press Release:

Not all the changes have been made to the exterior. Customers will have a choice of a newly developed B170 NGT BlueEfficiency. The new natural gas powered B 170 NGT (Natural Gas Technology) BlueEfficiency is capable of running on both natural gas and premium grade petrol while still delivering 85 kW / 116 hp of power, equal to that of the petrol powered version. A fully fueled B170 NGT can cover over 1,000 km.

The Mercedes B-Class range consists of the B150 (95 hp), B180 CDI (109 hp), B200 CDI (140 hp), B170 (116 hp), B170 NGT (116 hp), B200 (136 hp) and the range topping B200 Turbo (193 hp).

Engine tweaks result in a 7% fuel economy increase while emissions are well below current EU regulations.

Design:

Front end: restyled bonnet, radiator grille and bumper

Side profile: new-look exterior mirrors and new light-alloy wheels

Rear: tail lights in new high-brilliance look and remodeled bumper

Interior: new seat fabrics and diagonally brushed aluminum trim

Equipment:

Body-coloured exterior mirror housings, door handles and skirt panelsHeadlamp Assist as standard

ESP® with automatic hill-start assist as standard

Steering column manually adjustable for reach

Safety:

Flashing brake lights as standard

Crash-responsive emergency interior lighting as standard

Drive system

Advanced engines with fuel savings of up to seven percentECO start/stop function as an option for B 150 and B 170New B 170 NGT BlueEFFICIENCY with bi-fuel petrol/natural-gas drive system

Technology:

Active parking assist as an option

New infotainment systems including many extra functions

Surround sound system as an option

COMAND APS with standard features including voice control

Interactive media interface for linking up external audio devices