Get ready North America because the Mercedes B-Class is coming to a city near you! That’s right. Mercedes is tired of being restricted to Europe and has decided to branch off and join us here in the U.S.A.
The B-class, which has been available in Europe since 2005, is ready for redesign in 2011 or 2012. The prototypes include a model that would meet North American regulatory requirements, Ernst Lieb, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz USA, told Bloomberg.
One Mercedes vehicle that we do not hear or see very often is the Sports Tourer. The Tourer debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 2004 and was designed in two variants. The Europian version, the “Vision R” Grand Sports Tourer and the “Vision B” Compact Sports Tourer. It is quickly becoming a versatile vehicle for any type of consumer.
Design, dynamism, dimensions, these are the shared hallmarks of the Sports Tourers which make them individual and distinctive. The design lines with their striking front ends emphasise the muscular and active nature of the Sports Tourers, which are equipped with high-torque CDI diesel engines.
This is the very first look at two near-finished MPV concepts from Mercedes-Benz, which will arrive as finished models in UK showrooms next year. Both of these vehicles will make their debut at the Paris Motor Show in two weeks’ time and adopt the Vision name-tag, which Mercedes uses for 90% of their finished designs.
The Vision B is billed as a compact sports tourer by Mercedes and is likely to be called the B-class when it goes on sale. Essentially a longer version of the A-class, the car is only a little shorter than MPVs like Volkswagen’s Touran. Mercedes won’t say whether it’s a five- or a seven-seater, or what folding tricks the seats may be able to perform. As a rough guide, prices should start in the region of £18,500.