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  The design of the new B, according to Carparazzi sources in Europe, will be much less boxy and more like the hatchbacks fielded by everyone from Audi and Ford to Volkswagen. Photo Gallery

A new rival for the Volkswagen Golf is being readied under the three- pointed star.

It's a road-up rework of the compact B-Class and it should be in Australia in 2011.  The new B is being tested in snowy conditions in Scandinavia under heavy disguise, but early details have already emerged.

For at start, in Australia the new B will signal the end of sales of the baby A-Class. The two cars have competed for similar customers in recent years and Mercedes-Benz should confirm a future push that is built around the B-Class car.

The design of the new B, according to Carparazzi sources in Europe, will be much less boxy and more like the hatchbacks fielded by everyone from Audi and Ford to Volkswagen.

It will still have a high seating position and a multi-function cabin, but the overall look will be very different and more youthful.  The objective is to win younger buyers, and not just the middle-aged empty nesters and 60-plus retirees that currently chose the B-Class. 

And the Golf is the target.  Mercedes clearly plans to make the car a Golf beater and that also means the 2011 B-Class will have super-efficient petrol and diesel engines, but further into the future the car is also expected to be built as a petrol-electric hybrid and then - with the Smart as the focus for plug-in electric motoring - a fuel cell car powered by hydrogen.