Fellow CLAers, I have bought a 2013 Mercedes B-Class. I am very happy with the purchase and it's a great car. I'm telling you all this because the B-Class shares the following components with the CLA:
Interior Options and look in the front
Engine
Transmission
Suspension
Options/Packages
The only difference is the exterior, the trunk/back seat and production location, the B is still being built in Germany (at least for the Canadian market, but that may change). Here's my quick review that I posted on a B-Class forum:
I picked up my B-Class this morning at Oversees Motors in Windsor. Not sure if anybody uses them, but I want to tell you, they were fantastic through the whole buying/pickup process.
A quick recap, I got a mountain grey B with the sport and premium packages as well as Dark Ash Wood trim. It is made in Germany and it came with the gloss black on the mirrors and the pillars. (The sport package gives you gloss black mirrors and pillars, but a lot of people that ordered the B when it was available in Nov received their B's with the standard chrome mirrors)
My first impression when driving it was it’s amazing. The roads in Windsor and VERY bad and while the ride is stiffer than my old 2003 C-Class, I was surprised at how refined the ride still was, even with the sport package and the Conti run flats. I also drove it tonight in downtown Toronto and I swear, every street is under construction or has lots of potholes and I found the ride was fine. It 's a little harsher than the 2011 B and my 03 C, but I can live with it.
I had a 2011 B-class as a loaner for the week and the difference is night and day. The new B is lower and wider. You don't climb into it, but you also don't drop into it, it's the perfect height for sliding into it.
I absolutely LOVE the engine, very smooth acceleration and the acceleration on the highway is wonderful. The seats are soooo comfortable. Driving from Windsor to Toronto was a treat, just like my 03 C-class, very supportive seats.
I got to drive it at night and the bi-xenon lights are very bright (never had them before) and the orange ambient lights are cool.
Now for a bad thing. Why oh why did Mercedes make this great car at this great price and make the auto dimming mirrors part of the memory package? If I want to dim the mirrors, I have to get power seats? I don't want the power seats and I'm not paying $1200 for the package. You should be able to add them as optional equipment. I think I'm going to see if I can get at least the rearview mirror as a dimming mirror, terrible Mercedes, just F'in terrible.
Also, I can't seem to hook up my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). I can use bluetooth to listen to music, but when I use the cables provided by Mercedes, it says it can't detect the phone.
That's it, I found nothing else wrong with the B. I love it and hopefully will keep loving it for a long time.
Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure. If you have any question, I'll try to answer them for you.
Interior Options and look in the front
Engine
Transmission
Suspension
Options/Packages
The only difference is the exterior, the trunk/back seat and production location, the B is still being built in Germany (at least for the Canadian market, but that may change). Here's my quick review that I posted on a B-Class forum:
I picked up my B-Class this morning at Oversees Motors in Windsor. Not sure if anybody uses them, but I want to tell you, they were fantastic through the whole buying/pickup process.
A quick recap, I got a mountain grey B with the sport and premium packages as well as Dark Ash Wood trim. It is made in Germany and it came with the gloss black on the mirrors and the pillars. (The sport package gives you gloss black mirrors and pillars, but a lot of people that ordered the B when it was available in Nov received their B's with the standard chrome mirrors)
My first impression when driving it was it’s amazing. The roads in Windsor and VERY bad and while the ride is stiffer than my old 2003 C-Class, I was surprised at how refined the ride still was, even with the sport package and the Conti run flats. I also drove it tonight in downtown Toronto and I swear, every street is under construction or has lots of potholes and I found the ride was fine. It 's a little harsher than the 2011 B and my 03 C, but I can live with it.
I had a 2011 B-class as a loaner for the week and the difference is night and day. The new B is lower and wider. You don't climb into it, but you also don't drop into it, it's the perfect height for sliding into it.
I absolutely LOVE the engine, very smooth acceleration and the acceleration on the highway is wonderful. The seats are soooo comfortable. Driving from Windsor to Toronto was a treat, just like my 03 C-class, very supportive seats.
I got to drive it at night and the bi-xenon lights are very bright (never had them before) and the orange ambient lights are cool.
Now for a bad thing. Why oh why did Mercedes make this great car at this great price and make the auto dimming mirrors part of the memory package? If I want to dim the mirrors, I have to get power seats? I don't want the power seats and I'm not paying $1200 for the package. You should be able to add them as optional equipment. I think I'm going to see if I can get at least the rearview mirror as a dimming mirror, terrible Mercedes, just F'in terrible.
Also, I can't seem to hook up my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). I can use bluetooth to listen to music, but when I use the cables provided by Mercedes, it says it can't detect the phone.
That's it, I found nothing else wrong with the B. I love it and hopefully will keep loving it for a long time.
Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure. If you have any question, I'll try to answer them for you.


