Mercedes’ B-Class MPV gets a ‘b’ for being pricey

There has been an unseemly dash among car manufacturers to plug holes in their model line-ups.

These holes have been unwittingly created by rival companies when one of their innovative new cars became a niche market and appealed to a surprising number of people.

Nissan is a case in point: its Qashqai created the crossover market, which is now de rigueur. The thing was, though, that Qashqai was a real shot in the dark for Nissan and its success a complete — if very welcome — surprise.