Compact minivan at a glance: Mercedes B 250e: Little secret

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That’s right, they still exist: in the flood of SUVs and electric cars, vans are almost forgotten. The once booming segment has now become a marginal phenomenon. Besides the Mercedes B-Class, there’s only BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer, the VW Touran and the soon-to-be-finished larger Seat Alhambra.

Benz has now been given a new look. However, it is clear to him that Mercedes’ next generation compact cars will be without minibuses. Some families will regret the outcome, but the so-called best over 60s, who are mostly seen in the driver’s seat of the minibus, are certainly the ones.

The B 250e with plug-in hybrid drive is finished in red, although form follows function in design. There are small stars on the front grille, like expensive Mercedes models. A smart additional investment of around 1,000 francs is the cargo area package, a partition net for the passenger compartment and the rear seat, which can be moved by 14 centimeters; This alternatively provides more cargo space or leg room in the rear. With a load volume of 420 to 1505 litres, it will be tight for a family of four; but the oldest couple can easily fit their holiday luggage.

Under the hood, a 163 hp (120 kW) gasoline engine and a 109 hp (80 kW) electric motor combine to provide a system output of 218 hp (16 kW). The capacity of the drive battery is 12.8 kilowatt hours (kWh) net, which is enough for 75 kilometers of fully electric driving. At least that’s what he predicted when the test car was started with a full battery.

Now, if you want to cover the average distance of 30 kilometers in Switzerland per day, you can do this electrically. Stay away from electric mode in later rounds: electric assist is greatly reduced when the battery is depleted. It is better to start in hybrid mode: in this case the battery operates optimally for 150 or more kilometers, providing low average consumption of 4.8 l/100 km and 4.7 kWh/100 km over the entire test distance. Converted to petrol equivalent this would be approximately 5.3 l/100 km; Not bad for test tours with lots of highway content.

Only 35 liters fit into the tank – but if you let the B 250e coordinate its hybrid drive itself, you can still cover more than 700 kilometres. The little van drives really nimbly, turns quickly and moves quickly. The battery can be charged with a maximum charging power of 22 kilowatts; Therefore, it is worth charging it for 25 minutes at the rest point and continuing on the road with an 80 percent charge. Some competitors make this worse. Confusing the touchscreen? This is not the case with the B-Series, whose small screen can be operated intuitively, as the voice control also works well. And the screen of all cars must have a zoomed-in image to display traffic lights outside your own field of view.

Sentimentality? This will only happen if you are satisfied with practical details such as large storage compartments. The less the electric motor works when the battery is empty, the louder the small 1.33-liter four-cylinder engine gets. And we never managed more than 55 kilometers all-electric.

The scrolling functions of the steering wheel buttons are also annoying; The radio station changes when you accidentally swipe over them. And if you don’t recharge the battery at every opportunity – as in our test – you’ll drain a lot of battery without electrical backup. But it’s not the car’s fault.

It’s a joy to be sensible, because you can only imagine a few situations where the B-Class cannot cope. It’s enjoyable because there are some clever details in the extraordinary exterior. And there is a lack of understanding as to why everything at Mercedes in the future must be an SUV; So if a stealth champion like the B-Class falls by the wayside, this SUV needs to be big and correspondingly expensive.

Admittedly, the test car, worth 77,467 francs including all options, is non-negotiable; especially for families. But most prime-age couples will probably stay comfortable when looking at the price tag. Even the basic model, which starts at 56,500 francs, is well equipped.

Source: Blick