The Mercedes of mini-MPVs was never going to be a cheap car, but it was always going to be a good one. And so it has proved. There's been a lot of moaning that, at prices up to £20,000 or more, this car is considerably more expensive than cars against which it apparently competes, like Renault's Scenic and Vauxhall's Zafira. But first, you'd expect it to be and second, Mercedes say that this isn't a mini-MPV anyway. Sure, they hope it will steal sales from top end small People Carriers, but the company also wants you to think of it as a kind of 'Sports Tourer', aimed at 'lifestyle' (that word again) customers for whom practicality is not the be all and the end all. Whether you swallow that or not, I would have thought there would always be a market for a practical, spacious family car with a premium badge. I could see myself going for something like this, if funds permitted.

If you think of mini-MPVs (if that's what this is) as 'small', then you might be in for a shock when you stretch out in the back of a B-Class. Mercedes say that the legroom is comparable with the amount of room in the back of an S-Class limousine and I don't have any trouble believing that. You'd have to be a pretty strange shape to feel cramped in this car and along the back seat, there's easily room for three abreast. Even so, this isn't a huge car. At only 4,270mm long, it's shorter than a Ford Focus. And of course, a great deal more practical. My passengers liked the way that the centre rear seat back pops forward, offering an armrest with a neat pair of cupholders when travelling four-up. As you'd expect, the rear seats all fold flat into the floor and the boot floor can even be raised to offer a flat loading surface. Thoughtful touches include a front passenger seat that folds forward to permit long loads and slots next to the rear doors to allow seat belts to be stowed safely out of the way when loading and unloading. I was surprised to find that the driving position is actually quite sporty. The wheel sits almost vertical and your legs stretch forward into a deep footwell. Our Road Test Editor thinks it almost feels like sitting in a jacked-up Lotus Elise. But perhaps he'd had too many drinks at lunchtime when he wrote that. You certainly don't get Lotus' patchy build quality - nor should you at these prices. This is not something you could have said about Mercedes models in the not so distant past. Early A-Class and M-Class models spring to mind here. The 'B', in contrast, feels a quality steer and is testimony to the fact that Mercedes are finally solving some of the build quality issues that have plagued the company in the recent past. To be fair, that's because people's expectations of cars bearing the Three-Pointed Star are so much greater. Or at least, mine are.

The driving position, as I've suggested, is surprisingly driver-orientated. It's also very nicely finished. Engine-wise, the petrol line up opens with the 95bhp B150 (which is best to avoid), then there's a 115bhp B170 and a punchy 136bhp B200. Mercedes even offer a 193bhp turbocharged version of this engine which will make 60mph in 7.2 seconds and run onto a top speed of 140mph. Like most buyers, I'd be tempted however, to opt for one of the diesel-engined models and Mercedes have a pair of Euro IV compliant units, the entry-level being marked out by the109bhp B180 CDI and the premier diesel powerplant is that fitted to the 140bhp B200CDI. A manual transmission is the default gearbox but all models are available with an optional Autotronic CVT gearbox. There's not too much too say about the handling, except the fact that there's less body roll than you may expect for such a high-sided vehicle. That's a pretty important factor for a family car in my book, given the way that roly-poly riding cars cause kids to throw up so easily. I thought the power steering set-up rather lifeless and the ESP stability control system cuts in rather too regularly for my taste - though I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I must be what Mercedes call 'an aspirational person' since I bought into the B-Class premise without much difficulty. Class costs but in return, you get a masterpiece of packaging, an aspirational badge, low depreciation and a quality steer. If that's not enough to justify the price premium in your book, then fair enough. Me? I'd rather shake the piggy bank a bit further for a B.