I’ve now had my B class 4 months so thought I’d provide an update because I know Avant likes owners reviews!

The car spec is a B class 160 SE in silver, black interior, 16 inch alloys, the only option are auto folding mirrors. It was bought as a 3 month old ex demo with 3,500 on the clock and I have covered almost 5,000 miles since then.

We didn’t need a full blown MPV with two seats in the boot we would never use and this vehicle suited us. It offers plenty of interior space, without it having a huge footprint so it swallows huge loads, but doesn’t need large parking spaces. When inside it does feel much larger than it actually is.

The rear legroom is very generous with no lack of accommodation even with the front seats set a good distance back. Front seats are comfortable and the high seating position gives a commanding view without dominating other road users.

The boot is large and has a false floor which can be set at two different heights. At the lowest setting it is flush with the spare wheel (spacesaver type), but pull it towards you and it lifts about 4 inches giving lots of room under it and providing a completely flat load area. The rear seat bolsters tumble forward and the seat backs fold flat. For extra length the seat bolsters can be removed. Some cars have an optional load system where all but the driver’s seat can be removed completely – I imagine this does turn the car into a van. Despite not having this I have transported a 204 cm long Ikea wardrobe in the car by reclining the passenger seat fully.

It’s a small thing, but the in boot ‘curry’ hook also doubles as a stop to hold the false floor back – very innovative.

The sandwich floor construction means the front floor is flush with the door cills which makes getting in and out very easy. Cleaning is also better as everything can be brushed straight out of the car.

It also swallows all our camping gear with only the sleeping bags on the back seat and the tent in the rear footwell – with a luggage guard it would all go in the boot. All the airbeds, pillows, blankets etc go under the false boot floor.

The car has standard auto lights, auto wipers, Bluetooth, variable power steering, auto fold mirrors, auto dipping rear view mirror, parking sensors front and rear, autoparking system (very clever, but strange when in use – look no hands!), aircon, ipod connection, low tyre pressure warning system. The steering is light – some may say too light, but it stiffens up as speed increases. Global opening and closing of all windows from outside the car is possible using the key fob – very handy on these hot summer days.

Despite being one of the cheaper Mercs quality has not suffered.

The audio headunit and switchgear is the same as fitted to much more expensive Mercedes and if you hunt for long enough you can find cars with lots of options fitted.

With just 95bhp the car will never set world speed records, but the 1.5 unit is willing enough if you keep the revs up and has not failed to keep up with traffic – I now spend most of my time in urban traffic so 0-60 isn’t I figure I need to worry about.

The car is quiet – the sandwich floor means there is a lot of space between you and the exhaust so this reduces noise through the cabin. It gets noisy at higher motorway speeds, but stick to 70 and it is a pleasant enough place to be. Gear change is like a rifle bolt – no sloppiness at all, the clutch is very light, so no aching legs when in traffic.

Over the mainly urban trips I’ve averaged 36mpg. Round town it gets mid 30s, rising to 40 if I can stay out of heavy traffic long enough. On rural trips 50mpg is possible and motorway sees low 40s if I’m sensible. VED is £130 a year.

The car isn’t a sports car, but it goes round corners well enough and with the fat tyres and soft suspension it doesn’t crash through potholes (the Sport version I tested with 18inch AMG alloys and hard suspension was terrible in this regard). Being slab sided you have to be wary in crosswinds.

The car has stop start technology which automatically turns the engine off once you stop, select neutral and take your foot off the clutch. None of the electrical items or braking assist are taken out so it is possible to roll down hill slowly without any power – once you get to 10mph the car bursts into life again.

The left hand drive wiper set up has finally been swapped to RHD so no complaints in that regard anymore. The only issues I’ve found are the wipers have no intermittent option. There’s auto or fully on with no sensitivity for auto setting as with Audis. It does mean on auto setting it can go from intermittent to full speed, to normal speed depending how heavy it is raining. I prefer an intermittent setting rather than having wipers do mad things as they are very sensitive and full speed is often used when it is hardly raining.

The tyre pressure system has already warned me of low pressure in a tyre which I found was due to a screw in a tyre. It doesn’t state which tyre so you have to check them all if the system is activated.

The car has used no oil and is due a service after 1 year or 15,000 miles whichever comes first. The vehicle is fitted with Michelin energy saver tyres which are a harder compound and after almost 9,000 miles the fronts still have 6mm left on them. The rears are hardly touched.

In many respects it reminds me of my Audi A2 - an excellently built car which hasn’t caught the imagination of the car buying public. As a result those who do want them can pick up decent deals on the ex demos MB dealers have in stock.