Mercedes-Benz X-Class – A new player has joined the game

By Lawrence Minnie

 

The idea of a Mercedes-Benz utility vehicle is not a new one, in fact Mercedes-Benz has had pickup utilities on South African roads since the early 1950’s. The first ‘bakkie’ was introduced for farmers and small businesses with the 170V. Then in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Mercedes Benz released the 114 and 115 series, better known as the /8 (Stroke Eight) utility.

The time has once again come for Mercedes-Benz to enter the pickup market with their all-new X-Class and in order to do this they needed help. It would have virtually impossible for Mercedes to enter the market with a viable and competitive vehicle without doing years of research and development so they received this help through the Nissan Renault Alliance, a fact which has raised many an eyebrow.

Many consumers were left wondering how much of the latest Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan had been co-opted into this new vehicle, and it was the main question everyone on launch was asking. Is this truly a Mercedes-Benz?

Well, I can happily report that it is indeed a real Mercedes albeit made up of a number of Nissan sponsored parts.

Under the skin

The German automaker very cleverly made use of all the technology at their disposal, and took all the best parts of the Nissan/Renault machines and improved on them. The new X-Class uses suspension, engine and chassis pieces from the Alliance, but they have been fettled and improved by the engineers at Mercedes or so they say.

The end result is a machine that has all the capabilities of its contemporaries, yet is unmistakably Mercedes-Benz.

Two vehicle types were made available on launch, the Progressive and the Power. These are basically trim levels tailored for either utility or lifestyle use, and all our test vehicles were in X250d specification. This means that they were powered by the 2.3l, 4-cylinder twin turbo Nissan diesel engine with outputs of 140kW and 450Nm. All the vehicles were fitted with 4Matic all-wheel drive and low range, and featured either 7-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmissions.

Over the hills

After a particularly theatrical and creative unveiling the previous night, our launch drive commenced in the morning. We started off by testing the handling features of the X on obstacles that would try the hardiest of vehicles. The X-Class made quick work of these challenges, but there was more to come. After the obstacles, we ascended into the mountains via a very old historical pass, which runs through a naturally protected area on a trail that can only be described as a goat track. The trail in question is the old Voortrekkers Pass over Devils Kop, and it is as evil as it sounds. Deeply rutted and covered in loose rock and gravel, the relatively short distance of 15 km took us just over four hours to complete. The X-Class solidly proved that it may have a three-pointed star on the grille, but it’s no softie.

Sitting Pretty

What makes the X Class special is that you are getting a very capable off-road machine, but with all the niceties of a premium road car or SUV: party up top, business down under.       The interior is an all leather affair with suede panelling in the seats, and the very familiar Mercedes COMAND system takes centre stage with an 8-speaker audio system. Many of Mercedes’ internal systems feature in the cabin, while there will be a host of typically-Mercedes options available for the X-Class as well. The option lists we’ve seen are almost as comprehensive as the lists for Mercedes-Benz cars. There were a few sticking points on the interior that could become tiresome such as the fact that the rotary dial switch for the drive select is almost hidden under the dashboard overhang and the gear levers throw was very long almost hitting the passengers knew when in second gear.  The X Class may have a smaller cabin but it has more load space than that its closest rival the Volkswagen Amarok and pretty much outranks all its rivals in this arena.

Verdict

The Mercedes Benz X class has proven to be a very hardy workhorse and very capable off road. It will allow you to do all the work you would normally do around your business that requires the use of a bakkie and you will be able to head off to town on business and it wont be out of place in the parking lot at an upscale mall. The X-Class isn’t in the same league as other work horses, in fact it’s on a different playing field. I don’t think Mercedes-Benz will suddenly steal sales away from the big three but they may sway many new and existing buyers with a very intriguing offer.

Models and Pricing

X220d Progressive 6MT                          - R646 071
X250d Progressive 7AT                           - R699 200
X250d 4Matic Progressive 6MT              - R701 615
X250d 4Matic Progressive 7AT              - R729 675
X250d 4Matic Power 6MT                      - R796 145
X250d 4Matic Power 7AT                       - R824 205