There are a number of small cars on the market today. Which would you choose? Certainly, the market offers a number of useful Japanese contenders that are functional and well designed. The small cars from Europe are well built, roomy and plenty in number. One needs to spend a little time searching through the possibilities carefully before signing the dotted line. And this is no truer than in the small hatchback class.

One of the finest little cars on the market has to be the well-dressed Mercedes Benz B200. Lots of little hatchbacks are roomy enough and pleasant enough to drive, however the B200 Turbo has a little more squirt under the bonnet than your average roller skate on mags. This is a very important feature, as many small hatchbacks run around heavily laden. They are, perhaps, occupied incessantly running the typical family errands of which at the top of the list would include running the kids to school, dropping the kids off to practice and taking friends out for dinner. It’s at these moments that a little hatchback can feel stressed and tired of pulling four to five occupants plus luggage around. Performing these tasks in the new Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo is a breeze – not to mention a very classy way of doing life’s necessities.

A Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo boasts a pleasant enough exterior which looks smart, sporty and boasts many premium features that are usually reserved for larger, high-end motor vehicles. And with a low nose, sweeping waistline, planted hips, Xenon headlights, five spoke alloys and a purposeful front end, the Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo looks very snazzy. The sporty look has even been face lifted for 2009, and, definitely, the B200 Turbo has enough premium trimmings to wear the tri-star badge with pride.

There are more than enough horses under the bonnet to match it with any big boys pulled up at the traffic lights. The Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo is superb on the open road. Once the city runs during the week are complete, take the little turbo hatch for a run on the open road and be impressed. The front-wheel-drive performer has a 2.0 litre engine under the hood, and boasts DOHC, four-cylinder, turbocharged technology. Peak power of 142 kW is hunted down at 5000 rpm – and this engine loves to spin round at these levels all day long. The hatchback effortlessly deals with heavy loads because the engine’s impressive torque figures of 280 Nm is available from as low as 1800 rpm. Is it smooth? Oh so smooth, especially with the car’s continuously variable transmission. Fuel economy is also a handy 7.4 litres/100 km on the open road, and not too much more in town. The brakes are very strong and boast four-wheel discs with ABS, as standard. P205/55R16 tyres offer great levels of consistent grip, and the car hangs on tightly on the corners.

A B200 Turbo is loaded with luxurious features such as soft, black Artico leather and Bastogne fabric upholstery with soft padded panels on the doors (not the hard plastic that is so common with many of its rivals). The sport-style front seats are extremely comfortable and offer superb comfort. They are power adjustable in eight directions for both the driver and the passenger. The front seats are also heated. An AM/FM, six-disc in-dash CD changer with MP3 capability is a nice standard feature. The system is Bluetooth compatible, and there’s also an auxiliary input jack in the glove box. The system includes the optional media interface package that adds three connection cables to integrate just about any type of entertainment device. An upgrade to a 450-watt surround-sound system by harman/kardon is also available.
The car looks smaller, but the space to carry stuff is impressive. Almost 20 cubic feet of cargo room is available with the rear seats up, and 54 cubic feet with the rear seats down.

Private fleet will help you find the B200 Turbo that suits your tastes. You will most certainly have a fine package of small euro-hatch fun and entertainment.

The current model series includes the:

• Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo

For any more information on the Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Mercedes Benz dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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