Regulars here would remember that we recently reported in detail when it emerged that Mercedes India, the Indian subsidiary of the famed German premium car maker, would soon launch the diesel variant of its B Class in Indian market. The B Class diesel would be powered by the same 2.2-liter four cylinder diesel engine that powers the recently launched Mercedes A Class. It may be noted that the B Class, which iwas launched last year, came to us only with a petrol engine variant.
The 2.2 litre diesel engine that is found in the A Class and will be soon seen under the hood of the B Class is also found powering the C Class and the E Class. However, while this engine has a peak power output of 108bhp for the A Class, it produces 170 bhp and 203 bhp for the diesel variant of the India spec C Class and E Class respectively. Thanks to the lower state of tune of the engine on the A Class, it has a segment leading fuel economy of 20.06 kmpl.
It has now emerged that the B180 CDI, the diesel variant of the B Class, could be priced lower than the petrol variant. It has also been confirmed that the car will come the same motor that is found in the A Class and will have a max power output of 107.3bhp@3,200rpm and a peak torque figure of 25.5kgm@ 1,400rpm-2,800rpm. The engine will come mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that will send power to the front wheels of the car.
Also, the B180 CDI will come in a lower spec ‘Style’ trim that doesn’t come with a panoramic sunroof or 17-inch alloy wheels. Instead, the car gets 16-inch wheels.
Omission of these premium features could result into the B Class diesel being as much as INR 70-90k cheaper than the petrol variant.
Source – Autocar India