Inside out on new B-Class

We’ve seen the spy shots and heard all the tech specs, but now, Mercedes is putting us behind the wheel of its all-new B-Class for the very first time.

This is the first official picture of the five-seater luxury MPV’s upmarket interior. And it will help the car take the fight to the VW Golf Plus and Ford C-MAX when it arrives next year.

The layout marks a huge step up in quality over the outgoing model. And the design will be unique to all of the brand’s front-driven models, including the forthcoming A-Class and ‘BLS’ four-door coupe.

Its sweeping, contoured dash incorporates big SLS-style metal air vents, and can be finished in a choice of classy woods or metals. The sporty leather steering wheel is taken from the CLS, while the large display that sits above the centre console has been shaped to mimic an Apple iPad. Used to navigate the brand’s COMAND media interface, the colour screen is available in 15cm and 17cm sizes, and gives passengers Internet access via a 3G phone connection. This can download local information to the sat-nav, and locate album cover art for your music collection.

Top-spec B-Class models will get heated electric leather seats from the E-Class saloon. The focus on luxury means that the car will come with an extensive list of gadgets from the rest of the range, including DISTRONIC radar-guided cruise control, fatigue sensors and a braking system that helps perform emergency stops if it senses a collision.

This wide array of equipment should give the B-Class the edge in a competitive sector. Prices will start at around £20,000.

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