Well the B200 CDI is an even better choice. It has more torque and horsepower than the B200, feels quicker and delivers better fuel economy too. Torque steer is a bit of problem though, especially in wet weather.

I've also driven the B200 Turbo and that car is a monster but totally pointless. It torque steers like crazy though (193-horsepower and 280 Nm of torque to the front wheels!).

The B180 CDI is also a good car, probably a more realistic choice than the B200 CDI if you just need a decent engine.

I've also driven the B150 and it's not as weak as it sounds provided you drive it with the manual transmission. With the Autotonic it's SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

Yes I'm 100% sure. It's a traditional 5 speed gear lever but the car doesn't have a clutch pedal. I was pretty shocked myself to see it, and driving the car felt very weird in the beginning since there wasn't a clutch pedal. It's a first generation A-class

BTW. how come the B-class engine bay looks to ancient, even the Golf has a more modern looking engine bay.

Bold part makes me doubt even more in that. (Not calling you liar, Luw).

The first generation A-Class had no CVT option but a traditional automatic in the shape of a manual gear selector.


LOL

I don't think anyone buying an A- or B-Class really cares if the engine bay looks nice. I don't think most people who buy other cars also care about that. If I remember correctly the B200 Turbo has a nice plastic engine covering.

I believe you, MB did have a clutch pedal-less manual of the 1st gen A-class, I remember reading it in their promotional material.

VW bothered to dress up the engine bay with nice plastic covers, MB figure out the B-class customers care more for the badge than the engine bay presentation, so they didn't bother.

Yes in the first generation of the A-Class you had the manual, the manual without clutch-pedal (Renault called it "easy" for the Twingo I) and the traditionnal automatic.

The clutchless was a manual gearbox, but a sensor in the shifter and a chip (rev of the motor, position of the throttle, etc...) sensed when you wanted to change gear and the clutch was electrically actionnated when you moved the shifter.

Never drove such a thing, though...should feel strange...

It does feel quite strange since you're used to toggle the speed using the clutch, especially at low speeds.

Nice impression of the B Class! Great photo's!

We currently have the B class of my parents in law at our house. It's a B200 Auto, and it's actually pretty good. You have to compare it against cars like the Altea, Scenic, Touran, Focus C-Max etc. And when you have driven all of them, the B is really in a different class.

I will try to make some pictures this weekend as "our" B200 has a very different "look" from CaWimmer.

Oh! Luwalira, I think now I know what you are referring to: Sequentronic. This transmission was something like an "SMG" transmission and it was available on the W203 C-Class and CL203 C-Class Sportcoupe. I never knew it was available on the W168 A-Class though.

Perhaps I didn't know about this because the transmission was a flop and didn't sell well and was soon removed from the C-Class models. I suspect that at the same time it was removed from the W168 A-Classes as well, hence I never knew about this.

I've driven a C230 Kompressor Sportcoupe before with this transmission. I didn't really have a problem with it and it worked nicely enough. You could select your own gears without depressing the clutch pedal or you could leave it in "D"rive mode (automatic).

Double thanks! Can't wait to see those pictures!

Between the A- and B-Class though, I'd go for the A-Class. It feels more nimble, sportier and is "just as spacious" on the inside. Plus you can get the A-Class in two-door form and that's appealing too.