Most of the body is slathered in matte camouflage tape, but it’s clear that this car has the same basic shape as the B-Class we recently spied testing in Europe. The hatchback is built on Mercedes’s Front Architecture chassis, which also underpins the new A-Class. The A-Class is smaller and Mercedes has already given it the green light to be sold in the States.
Small hatchback it may be, but the B-Class won’t be an economy car. Mercedes plans to stuff the B with the sorts of high-end technologies normally reserved for higher models like the S-Class. Safety features like Collision Prevention Assist, Brake Assist, Torque Vectoring Brake, and others will all be on the B-Class options list.
As for power, Mercedes has so far announced four engines for the European market. Gasoline versions encompass a 122-hp, turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four, and a 156-hp 2.0-liter turbo. Two turbodiesel engines each displace 1.8 liters, but produce 109 hp and 136 hp respectively. If and when the B-Class is readied for sale on our shores, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether those engines would carry over.
For now we don’t really know whether the Mercedes B-Class will be sold in the U.S. Given the range of foreign hatchbacks invading our dealerships, and the fact that the A-Class will bow here after 2012, we’d say it’s a strong possibility the B-Class will arrive in the American market.
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