Expectations could hardly be higher than when Mercedes-Benz, the brand
with the motto “The best or nothing,” sets out to enter a market
segment. After years of choosing “nothing” as it regards vehicles with a
cargo bed at the back, and following years of intensive market
research, soul searching, and development, the new X-class pickup truck has arrived.
Highs
More than a rebadged Nissan, great ride comfort, segment-leading technology.
Lows
Nissan-built turbo-diesel fours aren’t strong, won’t be sold in the U.S.
Mercedes—whose corporate parent Daimler has a rich history as a maker of commercial trucks—didn’t
try to reinvent the wheel in creating its first ever pickup, nor did
its engineers take a GLE-class SUV and add a pickup bed. Instead, they
drew from business partner Nissan and its Europe-built Navara—the successor to the Frontier
that Nissan still sells in the United States. The Nissan pickup has a
reputation for toughness and reliability, and the latest Navara replaced
the traditional leaf springs for the rear axle with coil springs. That
was key to enabling the kind of handling and ride comfort that Daimler
had in mind. The mid-size X-class needs to be a tough workhorse just as
much as a comfortable long-distance cruiser.
The finished X-class shares its ladder frame and a number of nonvisible
parts with the Nissan, but hunting for obvious similarities turned out
to be frustrating (or encouraging, depending on how you look at it). The
X-class is a very different vehicle from the Navara, but it won’t be
offered in the U.S., the world’s most competitive pickup-truck market.
Wider and Higher
If it looks more substantial than the Nissan, that’s because Daimler has
widened the track—and the bodywork—by a full 2.8 inches. The two trucks
will be built on the same assembly lines, but no exterior sheetmetal or
glass is interchangeable. The door geometry—the hinges, latches, and
their locations—is the same, but the panels are all brand specific.
The X-class looks good, with a front end dominated by the large
three-pointed star and an overall design similar to Benz’s SUV models.
The rear end with its slim vertical taillights reminds us of a concept
car, especially when fitted with the LED front and rear lighting that
comes with upper trim levels.
The widened body allows more generous interior space than the Navara
offers. Mercedes has raised the rear-seat bottom to deliver more
comfort—in the back seat of the crew-cab Nissan, the only cab style
available in the X-class, you can feel like a half-folded
pocketknife—although tall adults will lack for headroom. There is a lot
more sound insulation than in the Nissan, and the Germans have added
structural elements to the frame in order to reduce noise, vibrations,
and harshness.
The interior is dominated by a concave dashboard; the instruments,
central screen, HVAC controls, and the optional, touch-sensitive COMAND
infotainment system come straight from the Mercedes-Benz passenger-car
parts bin. In the standard trim, called Pure, the look is somewhat
frugal with a lot of hard plastic, but most of the electronic goodies
are aboard, including the latest driver-assistance safety systems. The
mid-level Progressive trim brings a bit more fabric to the cabin and
also exterior niceties such as body-color bumpers. But it takes the
top-of-the-line Power trim to give the X-class the appearance of an
upmarket vehicle, with stitched faux leather applied to the dashboard
and the inner door panels. Aluminum and wood trim are options.
The X-class falls short of its premium aspirations when carryover parts
from Nissan are used. These include the dome light, the switches for the
seat heaters, and, we suspect, the automatic gear selector that sprouts
from the console. The X-class also needs far more stowage space in the
cabin, where only the door pockets are sufficiently large—the
center-console bin, the cupholders, and the glovebox are all tiny.
All Turbo-Diesel, All the Time
We drove the X250d 4Matic, which is rated at 187 horsepower and 332
lb-ft of torque from its Nissan-built sequentially turbocharged
2.3-liter diesel inline-four. The entry-level X220d, which was not made
available to drive, has a similar four-cylinder but with only one
turbocharger and is rated at 161 horsepower and 297 lb-ft. Both engines
come with a six-speed manual as standard, but a Nissan-built seven-speed
automatic is available on the X250d. With the automatic transmission
and optional all-wheel-drive system, the X250d will reach 62 mph in a
somewhat leisurely 11.8 seconds and top out at 109 mph, by Daimler’s
reckoning.
The dual turbo usually needs a moment to react to driver input, and it
sounds a bit strained under full throttle. The power-sapping automatic
is not particularly quick to respond, either, so it is best to restrain
your aspirations and just go with the flow of traffic. Then you can
enjoy the comfy ride and the remarkably well-isolated cabin.
There was a stick-shift X250d on hand, and while that six-speed gearbox
is based on a Nissan design, Daimler developed a cable-linkage system
exclusively for the X-class. The effect is clearly noticeable: There is
absolutely no vibration in the shifter, and except for its long throws,
the gearbox could pass for a passenger car’s. The manual beats the
automatic, hands down. (A few select markets, by the way, will see an
entry-level X-class with a manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive, and a
naturally aspirated 2.0-liter gasoline engine.)
The chassis is capable of dealing with the worst off-road conditions,
but it is also comfortable and surprisingly capable of spirited on-road
driving. The limits of adhesion are higher than the competition’s, and
it’s possible to move the tail around a bit if you feel so compelled,
although the X-class’s stability control will frown upon the exercise
and intervene promptly. The steering is good for a pickup, not as
overboosted as on most other trucks, but don’t expect the X-class to
reach even SUV standards for handling prowess. There is considerable
body roll, too.
Need More Grunt? Wait for It
More power will be available via the X350d 4Matic slated for a 2018
calendar year launch and fitted with Benz’s own, smooth turbo-diesel
3.0-liter V-6 and seven-speed automatic with shift paddles. It also will
offer several driving modes and permanent all-wheel drive. Rated at 254
horsepower and 406 lb-ft, the V-6 should easily allow for
zero-to-60-mph times below nine seconds and a terminal velocity beyond
125 mph. We weren’t allowed to drive this model, but we did catch a ride
in one on closed roads at a surreal pace; the X350d stands poised to
offer the most fun you can have in a pickup of this size—if you live in
Europe.
At more than €37,000 in its German home market (a figure that includes a
19 percent sales tax, so call it $37,000 or so pre-tax), the
Mercedes-Benz X-class isn’t cheap. Adding the twin-turbo engine,
automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive puts an extra €4500 on the
tab, and that’s for the base Pure model. It’s a big chunk of change
above every other pickup in its class, and it even eclipses the Volkswagen Amarok
with its standard V-6 TDI engine. But the price looks more reasonable
when you factor in the assistance and telematics systems, which no other
European pickup offers. A U.S.-market launch is off the table for now;
depending on sales volumes in the burgeoning mid-size-pickup segment,
the company might reconsider. If the X-class does make it here, it won’t
be cheap, but it will be the Mercedes-Benz of pickup trucks.
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