X-CEPTIONAL (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_mercedesxclass_2018

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 68

The X-Class, says Mercedes, is a pick-up that knows no compromise. Made between 2017 and 2020, it's easily the most desirable contender from its era in this segment, the 'Rolls Royce' option if you've a premium budget for the purchase of a light truck of this kind. If you want a pick-up manufactured in this period and can afford the asking prices, we're pretty sure you'd like one.

Modelsword count: 8

2.3, 3.0 V6 Pick-up (diesel) [X220d, X250d, X350d]

Historyword count: 430

It had to come: a premium brand pick-up truck. Back in 2017, the Mercedes X-Class brought up-market values to this utilitarian sector in a form the company hoped that successful private buyers would find hard to resist. Back then, the idea of a Mercedes pick-up sounded unusual but it ought not to have. The Stuttgart manufacturer had every credential necessary to produce such a thing. It's long been a familiar force in the light commercial market, thanks to a well regarded range of vans. And extreme off roaders like the tough G-Class SUV and the mighty Unimog suggest that the company has all the expertise needed to produce the ultimate kind of truck. Interestingly, it chose not to use that engineering heritage here, instead developing the X-Class as part of a joint project that also produced two other pick-up models, the Renault Alaskan and the second generation version of the much better known Nissan Navara. Was that wise? Well it wouldn't have been if all Mercedes had done was to re-badge an ordinary volume product. But, according to the brand, that wasn't what happened here, hundreds of millions of Euros spent in turning the Nissan underpinnings into what was marketed as the 'first pick-up from a premium manufacturer'. It wasn't actually: by 2017, Cadillac and Lincoln had been selling trucks of this kind for years. The concept was new for the European market though - and for ours, where the pick-up segment back in 2017 was growing at the rate of about 15% a year, with around 55,000 annual sales, many of them to the well-heeled private small business owners being targeted here. As you might expect, premium branding meant premium pricing from new, but with the tax loopholes that come as part of pick-up ownership, Mercedes was hoping that this might not matter too much. For those for whom it didn't, then the X-Class looked, on paper at least, to be a cut above its mainstream rivals, promising to combine their tough practicality with a classier driving experience, a smarter cabin and higher standards of safety and media connectivity. For work, rest and play, it promised not only to be all the car customers might ever need but also all the car they might ever want. But can a truck ever really deliver on that kind of billing? Global markets decided this one couldn't and though it sold reasonably in the UK, sales elsewhere were disappointing. The global pandemic in 2020 was the last nail in the X-Class's coffin and production was discontinued in mid-2020 and no replacement provided.

What You Getword count: 384

Let's face it, pick-up design is, by and large, pretty boxy and uninspiring. Which is why we were particularly admiring of 'Concept X-Class', the prototype model Mercedes paraded to tease interest in this X-Class before the production version was launched. Aesthetically, it was sleek and desirable in a way that no small truck ever previously had been, so it was a touch disappointing to find the finished showroom model rather more conservatively styled. It's got presence though - and hey, it's big, at least by European standards anyway, 40mm longer and 38mm wider than its Nissan Navara design stablemate. OK, so step up into the cabin and take a seat inside. Ever seen a pick-up interior quite like this? No, we hadn't either. Immediately striking is the centre of the dash with its twin dual panels of aeronautically-inspired air vents, which sit just below the free-standing tablet-style infotainment screen. Some writers have moaned that the hard, durable plastics used further down the dash and around the gearstick are inappropriate to a Mercedes. We'd only say that they're certainly not inappropriate to a pick-up: in our eyes, it's the kind of finish necessary for this model's station in life and anyway, there's plenty of compensation provided in the areas that don't have to withstand regular scuffs, scratches and kicks - the soft-touch top of the fascia and the silver-trimmed lower part of the centre stack for example. And in the back? Well here, six-foot passengers who don't mind their heads slightly brushing the roof lining will find themselves easily able to fit in behind six-foot front occupants. There's also the bonus of being able to flip up the seat base to access two hidden storage compartments or create an extra area for transporting items you don't want to consign to the cargo bay. How practical will this X-Class prove to be in day-today use? Pull down the lockable tailgate with its big centrally-mounted handle and once you get your stuff in, the cargo bed is usefully long, measuring 1,587mm, a segment-leading figure which makes this bay fractionally longer than that of a comparable Nissan Navara. Overall, there's a total loading capacity inside this platform of 2.48m2. So no, you don't have to sacrifice practicality to get yourself a bit of extra style in this segment.

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