Thanks to all that have replied so far, I have been into the dealer and set a date for the test drive. They are very helpful and seem to know much about the B class.
Something they were unsure about though was whether i would need a gear box cooler added to the car for the times that i will be towing. (auto box)
Sitting in the car in the showroom was also reasuring i like the elivated position and this is what i miss with the current car and is one of the reasons i am changing to go back to a high driving position. While sitting in the car i noticed there is slightly more storage than adverised with little oddment pots dotted around.
The aux in for the stereo looks like a straight forward 3.5mm jack socket, would i just be able to put a jack plug to jack plug from the mp3 player via headphones for it to work?
Any one got the easy vario seating pack? is it worth the extra cost?
Kbdcom, thanks for your comments i will need to put a wheel chair in the back of the car does the boot lend its self well to a fold up chair and will the dogs be able to share the boot at the same time currently i stand the chair up and to one side lash it so it can't fall on the dogs and off we go. I'm in Buckinghamshire by the way.
So keep the comments coming and many thanks so far to all who have helped in the quest.
Regarding aux in socket ANY device with a 3.5mm socket will plug in (you will of course need a 3.5 male-male lead) tape, mp3 etc etc.
Regarding the wheelchair I usually lay my wife,s (now now gents) down in the boot but it does have handles that fold part way down the seat back.
It will stand up and to one side but I can't remember if it stands like this with the back seat up.
Of course if you can fold one of the seats down it definitely will stand up. I will try and photo it tomorrow showing it in both modes.
We also get a (small) scooter sideways in the boot. If you want to go on holiday with luggage & 4 people the best bet is to get a good ( THULE) rear bike carrier (it is similar to the M/B one but far cheaper) we carry the wheelchair & a 4 wheeled walker on it (the type with a fold down seat ) and use it as a transit chair for coffee & loo stops en route. You can see the bike carrier on one of my earlier posts.
Don't know what your disability problem is but we have an ELAC rotating passenger seat fitted (I designed & had the brackets made up locally) which meant I did not have to pay VAT on the car which saved a few thousand pounds. You do have to have the seat fitted by a car mobility agent but this worked out at a fairly reasonable £150 and the cars computer has to be reprogrammed as the seat is missing the sensors that the M/B one has. If you have Any mobility issues I will be glad to advise you on.
Think my 1st B came from M/B of Harpenden
Good luck with your purchase
Keith
I think it's unfair to the B to be compared to it's higher-class siblings. The B cannot be compared to an E or S class. It should be compared to a Renault (petit) Scenic or a VW Touran. That's when you start noticing build quality.
A collegue of mine leased a Renault Scenic when I leased my B. The interior of his Scenic looks like Gengis-Khan and his mongolian horde camped in there for a week. Scratches, rattles, white bending marks, broken things and lot of squeeks and rattles.
I use my B the same as he does his Scenic, just yesterday I took the rearbench out and transported a large closet. The B looks crisp, like it did from the factory, no squeeks, no rattles.
Strange I had 2 Scenics the 2nd version of the original & the Mk2 (bulbous rear end) New Scenic, both gave very good service and both were in near mint condition when I sold them.This after having mobility equipment bundled in and out of them. All I can think is that your friend is either rather heavy handed or very unlucky. My sister has had a Scenic also for 7 years now and does not have any the problems that your friend has either. For adaptability, load carrying & odds & end cubby holes etc I'm afraid the Scenic beats the B hands down. The B does have a more 'sporty' drive and looks better than the New Scenic. Reliability of both my Scenics was far better than my first B, time will tell on this new one (doh it's 8 months old now time flies).
Over the 5 years & about 70,000km of driving the Scenics only required servicing, a couple of tyres, windscreen wiper blades and the only faulty part was a couple of the 4 ht coils that broke down (faulty batch) which Renault replaced (the full set) for 20 percent of the cost even though the car was a year out of warranty. I can honestly say that no plastic interior parts or fittings ever broke.
You can only speak as you find.
Matt4 Photos as promised (Boring for all you others, sorry, but I don't think you can PM photos)
There are fixing eyes on the side of the boot & with the use of the seat fixing bracket you can secure the chair with bungee straps quite firmly
Cycle carrier shown on my previous B the rack part folds down & just covers the number plate so I put an additional plate on the side of the wheelchair when fitted. Carrier is made by THULE and costs about £130 which is under half the price of the M/B rack. I may drop the rack section even lower this year so it is just above bumper height, as I am carrying a wheelchair & not Bikes it will not obscure the lights.
Thanks for the photo's i will have to have a think about the wheel chair issue and may have to rethink things a bit. Its a case of 4 large adults one wheel chair and two dogs so getting two adults onto the back seat when the third is folded would be a bit of a tight squeeze. However the boot floor drops down and i could put the chair horizontal and put the dogs on top. Ah well maybe i will take the chair with me to the dealers and shee how it fits.
its funny though that the measurments shown in the book tell me that the boot is only 10cm shorter than my current car. But looking at the photo's makes the boot look smaller than that.
This will get the old grey cells going over the weekend...... Checking in again next week so keep the comments coming i am very greatful.
Took the photos with a wide angle lens so that will probably make it look a bit different. Agree with you about the middle/side seat and adults it would feel a bit constricted though we have used that format in the past. With the boot floor lowered you would probably have to make up some form of dummy floor to go above the wheelchair (hope they are not Great Danes) but it could be done relatively easily. What about luggage though would you need 4 + chair + dogs + luggage ??
Just tried it with the boot floor dropped and the chair vertical to one side as in the picture (but lower) but the boot door will not close (with our chair) the wheels catch on the boot door lining. It might go in if that were removed but would you want to do that on a new car and theres no guarantee that it would anyway. You could remove your chair wheels (ours just pop off from a button on the axle) and then it should go in easily, you may even be able to stow the wheels under the boot floor provided its in the raised position. Why is mobility equipment either large or heavy ??????
I personally would recommend the Back rack option it does work very well for carrying the wheelchair and it's a lot easier than struggling to get the chair up on to the roof (had to do this on my second Scenic & it was a real pain). Plus if you have it fairly low on the back you don't get anywhere near the drag you do by carrying it on the roof.
It can be reomved in a couple of minutes but can be secured with the THULE frame bar locks & a steel cable type bike lock. Hope you manage to find a sucessful solution.
PM me if you have any queries you want personally answered. Keith
Its only ocational use with the chair in the back as the old man i care for is getting less mobile all the time so its only day trips out and trips to the hospital and doctor (sometimes the doc won't come out to him as they are very busy!).
The dogs are only small and i usually put them into a pet crate so they cant slide about to much this will sit on top of the chair ok if laying flat and something else to consider is a trailer for the chair and luggage if we do manage to get away for a couple of days. I have a friend who will lend me one on short notice.
I just had some surgery and cannot drive for 30 days - so I got to be the rear seat passenger today.
Sitting in the back seat I was very pleased with the overall generous sense of space, the foot room and the distance to the front seats. The rear seat area is huge. The ride comfort in the rear is reasonable, but you can feel there is no independent suspension in the rear. Visibility to the sides was good and forward was marginal as the front seats and headrests block most of the view - as in almost all cars. For those with children or grandchildren, the ISOFIX latch system is clearly visible and very simple to use.
I was reminded that the last time I enjoyed a new car so much was possibly when I took delivery of a 1967 Volvo 242 ( Chassis No. 1668!) . We have owned many fine cars over the years, but the B appeals to my contradictory needs and wants like few other cars can. I need space but want a small car. I need safety but want a light /manoeuverable car. I want good performance but I also want good fuel economy. I want a reasonable level of luxury and comfort but, I still want a reasonable price.
The B Class manages to balance all of these opposing needs and wants and proves to be a very good choice.
I find the rear middle seat to be a lot harder than the rear side ones. Both the cushion and back support is too hard and not comfortable. Is there a reason to that?
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