This is the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class. It is the company’s first dedicated pick-up truck, and it’s intended to bridge the gap between Merc’s vast SUV range and proper commercial vehicles.
Think it looks like a bit like a Nissan Navara? Well it’s related, being a product of a Mercedes-Nissan link-up. But Merc’s done a decent job of changing the styling, with the doors, wheel arches and other styling bits looking quite a lot different.
Whether it “exudes pure dynamism” like Mercedes says, we’ll leave up to you. The X-Class will come with three styling packs. ‘Pure’ is the workhorse that you won’t mind getting scruffy, ‘Progressive’ is smarter with more body-coloured bits and ‘Power’ is the most aggressive looking. Admit it, you want the ‘Power’.
Merc has spotted the increasing trend for pick-ups being used as private cars, so the X-Class is meant to be comfort oriented. So while it still has a ladder-frame chassis, there’s multi-link rear suspension that’s been tuned for on-road comfort.
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It’ll still go off-road too, though. While it comes with rear-wheel drive as standard, there’s optional all-wheel drive with hill-descent control. Smaller engines – a couple of 2.3-litre diesels with up to 187bhp – get a selectable 4WD system, while the X350d (the one you want) links a 255bhp V6 diesel to permanent all-wheel drive, as well as an automatic gearbox.
There’s all sorts of car-like tech, too. A drive select system will switch your X-Class between Eco, Comfort, Sport and Off-Road modes, there’s lots of lane-keep this and anti-crash that, and you can track your X-Class’s location and fuel level via an app. The interior borrows trim, vents and controls from Merc’s road cars, too, though the automatic gear selector looks like it belongs in the world of commercial vehicles.
Mercedes says the X-Class is aimed at “land owners and farmers in Argentina, business owners and building contractors in Australia, families with an affinity for premium products in Brazil, trend-conscious individualists in South Africa and Great Britain as well as sporty adventurers in New Zealand and Germany.” It’s a fully international vehicle, this.
However conscious you are of trends, though, you probably want to use your pick-up to actually pick things up. The X-Class has a 1.1-tonne payload, which Mercedes has handily converted into 17 50-litre barrels of beer. That sounds like a good night.
Want to tow stuff? You can haul around 3.5 tonnes, which we’re told is three whole horses. Presumably in some sort of trailer. That weight also equates to a lot of cool trackday car, we’re thinking…
European sales start this November, and it’s priced at a whisker over 37,000 euros in Germany.
Like it? Or should Mercedes stay away from workhorses and keep giving us luxury?