After almost 4.5 years ownership, close to 50,000 miles, 47,000 of these in my ownership, yesterday was time to say goodbye to the B class.

The car covered the miles effortlessly and never let me down and drove as well as day one. However recently some items were starting to fail and boredom was setting in – I seem to have a habit of trading at about 50,000 miles. It was time to take advantage of what is still a decent residual and look for something else. So what to change it for?

My main requirements were: rear leg room at least as good as the B for an ever growing daughter and her posse of mates, good load space for sports gear and camping trips, as my mileage is now less than 10,000 a year a petrol, mpg no worse than the B class, about a year old.

I considered a few options.

New B class was an obvious starting point, but the interior and that silly screen which looks like an afterthought was off putting.

The VAG group cars with the 1.4TSi. I went to look at a Golf SV, but rear legroom wasn’t brilliant and it was the 150bhp GT version, so silly rims and tyres – our local VW dealers, like many, aren’t the best either.

Audi Q3, Q5 with same engine – too expensive at 12 months old.

3 series GT 2.0 Petrol X drive manual, expensive and I missed not sitting high up. 2 series sports tourer – currently only has the 1.5 engine and it didn’t feel roomy inside.

In the end I went to look at a brand I looked at about 8 years ago, but disregarded due to the poor interior of their models which was more 1987 than 2007. A visit to the local dealership at the end of last year put it back in my mind as a one to consider due to the improvements which have been made in both interior fit and engine efficiency.

After an extended test drive on Sunday, I drove away yesterday in a less than 12 month old Subaru Forester 2.0 petrol and it meets all my requirements. Ample rear legroom, lots of luggage space, decent mpg, proper handbrake, spare wheel. Four wheel drive may also come in handy and whilst its nice to have I hope I never need the 5 year warranty. Tax is slightly higher, but I saved more than enough on my insurance to cover the difference, which surprised me.

On the 50 mile trip back from picking the car up – about 35 miles of motorway, it recorded 53.3mpg – the B did 44mpg on the trip down. I’ve done 25 miles all urban today and it is recording 38 mpg, so very similar to the B. It was nice to have cruise control back and a sunroof is a rarity these days.

I did a 30 mile mixed trip last night and whilst 150bhp is not up there with the top end Subarus and the 0-60 figures look disappointing, once it is rolling and you use the revs it really picks up speed, the four wheel drive giving it a planted feel. 60 mph in 2nd isn’t a problem and it has that typical Subaru ‘growl’ once you get above 3,500 rpm, although cabin soundproofing dampens this significantly.

The buying experience was also one of the best I have encountered. Large main dealers could learn a thing or two from smaller dealers and also appreciate the world has moved on. No hard sell of GAP, paint and tyre protection, hours being brow beaten, sales staff going back to the boss to do the deal etc etc. The deal was done in one phone call and half an hour in the dealership.

In some ways I’ll miss the B class, it was up there with my A2 for ownership experience (also sold at about 52,000 miles), but in a strange way I still have it as my wife has an almost identical A class!