• Very few buttons
• Infotainment works really well
• Cheap feeling materials if you really look hard

How is the quality and layout?

Step inside and the massive 10.25-inch infotainment screen dominates. However, look away from that and it’s a classy and ergonomic interior, albeit one that’s quite spec dependent. In a dark colour, we found that it can look a bit dour. But it’s also available in a light-coloured Vernasca leather trim with matching wood, and we definitely preferred this confiiguration.

Everything feels well put together, like so many more premium cars these days, it didn’t take long to find cheap materials when we went searchiing. This is especially true around the gear selector and the bottom of the doors. A Mercedes-Benz B-Class is no different though and importantly, all of the major touch points still feel suitably up-scale.

The head-up display shows information like mph and sat-nav instructions on a piece of plastic between the steering wheel and windscreen. It works well enough but looks a bit cheap when compared with systems that display this information directly onto the windscreen, like in the BMW X1.

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Infotainment and tech

The infotainment system in this is borrowed from the very expensive iX. It uses a 10.25-inch driver display and a 10.25-inch infotainment screen. The screens are pin sharp, the graphics brimming with vim and they’re intuitive to use, helped by voice control. There are quite a few menus though, and not enough physical buttons. There are two for the heated front and rear screens then that’s pretty much it. Nearly everything else is controlled on the massive touchscreen.

It could do with a home button on the dash and we’d prefer to see physical dials for the heating. At least the temperature is displayed right at the bottom of the screen, so turning the heat up or down is a swipe rather than a multi menu deal.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard. The (optional) wireless phone charger is a new design. You strap your phone in with a large push down bar, a bit like a rollercoaster. Other impressive tech includes an augmented reality sat-nav that relays a live video stream on the infotainment screen with directional arrows, to show exactly which junction you should take.

It pairs very usefully with your smartphone, too. New Cars Editor Alan Taylor-Jones commented in his long-term test of the 2 Series: ‘Once my phone was paired with the car and updated, the app had plenty of handy features. I can see my car’s range and location, remotely turn on the ventilation system, lock and unlock it, flash the lights and sound the horn to find it in a carpark, and I can even set my phone up as a key for starting it. Also, I can access the car’s exterior and interior cameras to check up on things, while it’ll alert you if the alarm goes off. Clever stuff.’

Comfort

• Pretty comfortable
• Firm seats
• Man-made and leather options

You’d expect a practical and pragmatic car like this to offer great comfort. And it does deliver. Don’t get us wrong, the seats aren’t as soft or as supple as the ones in a Citroen C4. But they’re forgiving enough with enough adjustment to suit most body types.

M Sport models get firmer seats complete with Alcantara, a type of man-made suede. It’s all very sporty and looks great, but we would recommend going for a Luxury spec model.

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