It has by now become a well known fact that Mercedes Benz India, the Indian subsidiary of the famed German luxury car manufacturer, would launch the much awaited diesel variant of its B Class in Indian premium car market on 11th this month.
The upcoming B Class diesel variant would be powered by the same 2.2-liter four cylinder diesel engine that is found powering the recently launched Mercedes A Class premium hatchback. It may be noted that the Mercedes B Class, which was launched in India last year, has been on sale in the country with only a petrol engine variant and the lack of an oil burner means that the car is incapable of serving to the fast emerging diesel premium car market in India. Now, it seems like Mercedes India has realized that there definitely is a large part of the segment which is left to be exploited and has decided to do something about it.
It is being said that much like the diesel variant of the A Class (A180 CDI), the B180 CDI diesel variant could be priced lower than the petrol variant. It has also come to light that the car’s diesel motor will be in the same state of tune in which it is found in the A Class hatchback. This means that the motor 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.