Mercedes-Benz has not just given the already successful B-Class a thorough facelift, giving particular attention to an upgrade of the interior, it has added the B 200 Natural Gas Drive to the portfolio. Featuring the “energy space” bodyshell concept, the underbody houses one large and two smaller natural gas tanks and a 14‑litre petrol tank, thereby retaining the generously proportioned luggage compartment for which the model is known.

The Mercedes B 200 Natural Gas Drive boasts 16 percent lower CO2 emissions, markedly cleaner emissions than with petrol or diesel, and fuel costs which are some 50 percent below those of a comparable petrol-powered car. It has been possible to order the facelifted version since 12 September and the car will be making its way to dealers from 29 November onwards.

When running on natural gas, the consumption of the 115 kW (156 hp) B 200 Natural Gas Drive is just 4.2 kg/100 km – which equates to CO2 emissions of 115 g per kilometre. The emission figures are thus about 16 percent lower than those of the petrol-driven B 200 BlueEFFICIENCY, which offers equivalent performance. The new model is classified as an efficiency class A vehicle and meets the EURO 6 emissions standard.



Furthermore, if the consumption of the B 200 Natural Gas Drive is converted into the energy equivalent of petrol, the resulting price per kilometre is about 50 percent lower than the fuel costs for covering the same distance in the petrol model.

Performance is on a similarly dynamic level: the B 200 Natural Gas Drive can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h, and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.1 seconds (with 7G-DCT automatic transmission; with six-speed manual transmission the figure is 9.2 s).

Mercedes-Benz_B-Class Natural Gas Drive Oct 2014 (5)The B 200 Natural Gas Drive operates according to the monovalent+ (bi-fuel) principle. This means that its engine generally runs on gas. For emergencies, however, there is a small 12-litre petrol tank on board. In the event that the gas tank should ever run dry, the vehicle switches automatically, and imperceptibly, to petrol operation. As the driver is not able to select petrol mode himself/herself, the B 200 Natural Gas Drive is taxed more favourably as a natural gas vehicle. The range in natural gas mode is around 500 kilometres.

For more informationhttp://www.daimler.com/