Compared to other vehicles in its price range, the B 170 lacks some features I’ve come to expect as standard: a CD changer, electric seats and automatic climate control being some of them.  One nifty optional feature though that’s available is the enormous panoramic sunroof.  Although loaded with safety kit, the B 170 doesn’t come with a multitude of airbags like other Mercs (it only has 2) but it does have standard ABS and ESP to avoid getting into nasty situations. 

Despite the relative absence of electronic nannies, I entered into a particularly interesting situation with the B 170’s ESP, which coincidentally can’t be switched off.  After a long drive to Tagaytay the night before, the car suddenly developed an ‘ESP Faulty’ error after a quick diagnostics check early the next day.  The car entered into limp mode and commanded me to bring it to the service shop.  That’s okay, but I could only do a maximum of 20 km/h—and the dealership is over 30 kilometers away.  Imagine if this happened in Tagaytay—that would be extremely scary.  Frantically, I turned the engine off and reset all the displays and electronic gizmos on board.  After that, the B 170 roared back to life without any hiccups.

I returned the car after doing something like 700 kilometers over the weekend.  After exposing the B 170 in varied conditions: traffic, highway, country clubs and five-star hotels, I still can’t make out what the B-Class hopes to accomplish.  It’s certainly not a toy car like the BMW 1 Series which sacrifices nearly everything in pursuit of a dynamic drive.  It’s not an Autobahn masher like the Mercedes-Benz C- or E-Class either.  The B should have excelled in providing stress-free city drive (especially for the fairer sex), but the rather disturbing electronic glitch managed the drag the B 170’s score down.  I’m tempted to say that you should go for the B 200 for increased performance and better equipment, perhaps I’d rather suspend my decision and wait until Mercedes-Benz gets their electrical components right.

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