Skip advert
Advertisement

Mercedes B-Class (2011-2018) review - MPG, CO2 and Running Costs

With family use in mind, the B-Class has been tuned for frugality, no matter which engine you choose

MPG, CO2 and Running Costs rating

4.0

How we review cars
Price
£35,435 - £43,600
Find your Mercedes B-Class
Offers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Value my car
Fast, no-nonsense car selling
Value my car
Advertisement

We could just wipe this debate out right here and say buy the Electric Drive B-Class – you’ll pay somewhere in the region of £2 for every 100-miles you drive (an utterly unbeatable cost-per-mile ratio compared to petrol or diesel) and you’ll never have to pay any road tax. Of course, there’s a catch and it’s the Electric Drive’s limited 124-mile range, so it won’t be suitable for all. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

While there are no current B-Class models that dip into the sub-100g/km free road tax bracket, all of the diesel models are in Band B, so will cost you just £20 a year to tax, with the exception of the B220 CDI 4MATIC four-wheel-drive model, which has 130g/km CO2 emissions so costs £110 to tax for a year.

While fuel economy claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt, both the B180 CDI and B200 CDI say they can beat 70mpg when fitted with Merc’s 7G-TRONIC automatic gearbox, and experience tells us they’re not fibbing – at least 60mpg is possible with a diesel B-Class in daily driving.

The petrol models fare unsurprisingly less well, but they’re not entirely outclassed. Both B180 and B200 claim better than 50mpg on average (mid-forties is probably about right) and given that they save you a considerable amount of cash at purchase time compared to a diesel, they can readily absorb the extra costs of tax and fuel.

Insurance groups

The lowest rated model is a B180 CDI SE which sits in Group 12 for insurance, while a a B220 CDI 4MATIC sits in Group 27. Electric Drive models sit in Groups 24 and 25.

Depreciation

While you might expect any car with a Mercedes badge to hold back the hordes of depreciation, it’s not quite the case – the B-Class doesn’t beat the benchmark 50 per cent retained value after three years (a £22k B180 will be worth roughly £9k after three years) so it’s no better off than its more mass-market rivals. It’s also a car with a long, sometimes bewildering options list so choose your spec carefully to avoid paying for toys that won’t add value come resale time.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Which Is Best

Cheapest

  • Name
    B200 Sport Executive 5dr Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Semi-auto
  • RRP
    £35,435

Most Economical

  • Name
    B200d Sport Executive 5dr Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Semi-auto
  • RRP
    £36,545

Fastest

  • Name
    B200 Sport Executive 5dr Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Semi-auto
  • RRP
    £35,435
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Hot Land Rover Defender Octa in high demand with close to 3,000 orders at £150,000 each
Land Rover Defender Octa - front action

Hot Land Rover Defender Octa in high demand with close to 3,000 orders at £150,000 each

Buyers aren’t being deterred by the hefty asking price for the most powerful Defender yet, with 2,900 already signing up worldwide
News
12 Nov 2024
Car Deal of the Day: no-nonsense MG ZS EV for £226 per month
MG ZS EV - front tracking

Car Deal of the Day: no-nonsense MG ZS EV for £226 per month

Our Deal of the Day for 10 November comes from Carwow’s new leasing arm, Carwow Leasey
News
10 Nov 2024
Car Deal of the Day: 641bhp Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a bargain at this price
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N - front action

Car Deal of the Day: 641bhp Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a bargain at this price

The 2024 Auto Express Performance Car of the Year is now our Deal of the Day for 7 November
News
7 Nov 2024