Leader of the Class
When Mercedes-Benz announced that it would build a luxury pick-up truck called the X-Class, the German company attracted the sort of questioning glances that make Roger Mooreβs famous raised eyebrow look nonchalant. But although the words βluxuryβ, βpick-upβ and βtruckβ may mingle as awkwardly as βexcellentβ, βGermanβ and βcuisineβ, the idea is backed up by sound logic.
You see, SUVs are seriously popular. If you wander down the streets of Alderley Edge, Hale Barns or any other affluent town you care to mention, youβll find the kerbs peppered with posh 4x4s. Standing out from the crowd, therefore, is difficult. You need something more imposing and more rugged than a Range Rover, but no less luxurious.
Thatβs where the X-Class comes in. Itβs loosely based on the Nissan Navara, which is widely regarded as one of the best pick-up trucks on the market, but itβs been heavily redesigned to ensure itβs both more luxurious and more capable than the Japanese vehicle.
It certainly scores well on the luxury front. Sitting in most pick-up trucks is a bit like being a cookie in a Christmas selection box: itβs dark, itβs uncomfortable, and thin, shiny plastic surrounds you. In the X-Class, though, itβs much more like sitting behind the wheel of a premium SUV.
Okay, a few of the fixtures arenβt quite what youβd expect from a Mercedes (mainly because they came from a Nissan) and thereβs no obvious reason for the big, blank gap between the CD slot and the climate control switches, but otherwise, itβs very good. The infotainment system is straight from a C-Class saloon and the materials feel as though they belong to a car, not a workhorse. Itβs certainly every bit as premium as, say, a Jaguar E-Pace.
And it has much more presence than the Jag, if only by dint of its size. At 5.3 metres long, two metres wide and more than 1.8 metres tall, itβs the sort of vehicle that projects an uncanny sense of imperviousness. If you meet one of these in anything smaller than a 32-tonne truck, youβll get out of its way.
Of course, plenty of pick-up trucks are similarly enormous, but the X-Class styling somehow gives it that little extra something. Itβs difficult to put your finger on, but the suave Mercedes image seems to make the X-Class even more intimidating than its Nissan-badged cousin.
The X-Class backs that image up with monstrous off-road capability. There is a selectable four-wheel-drive system, a low-range gearbox and about 22cm of ground clearance, so itβll tackle terrain that would leave most SUVs floundering. It can wade through 60cm of water, too, and itβll tow a trailer weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.
Itβs the way the X-Class behaves on the road that really impresses, though. Because their suspension is designed to carry a payload of up to one tonne, pick-ups often bounce around the road like Zebedee on speed, but the Mercedes doesnβt. Of course, the big Mercedes is nowhere near as smooth or as balanced as, say, a Porsche Cayenne, and it still leans a lot on bends, but itβs more comfortable and more stable than any other pick-up.
There are issues, however, including the lack of a proper boot. You can buy covers for the rear-load bed, which is usefully enormous, but you will miss the convenience of an SUVβs integrated luggage bay.
Another weak spot is the engine. Itβs a 2.3-litre Nissan diesel thatβs offered in 158bhp 220d and 187bhp 250d guises. Unsurprisingly, considering the X-Class weighs more than two tonnes, neither version is especially quick, and both are noisy whenever you try to use the modest performance. Happily, though, Mercedes will soon introduce its own 3.0-litre V6 diesel that promises to be both more powerful and more refined.
The price is a sticking point, too. If you want the luxurious 250d Power automatic version we tested β and you do, because the basic 220d Pure model comes with the less potent engine, a manual gearbox and little else β itβll cost you almost Β£41,000 before you so much as see the options list. And the forthcoming 3.0-litre? Thatβs expected to cost around Β£50,000.
Thatβs a huge amount of money for a pick-up. But before you dismiss it out of hand, consider this: because the X-Class can carry a one-tonne payload in its flatbed, the taxman considers it a βdual-purposeβ vehicle. So if you can convince your company to shell out for a top-of-the-range X-Class, itβll cost you just Β£670 a year in company car tax (or double that if you pay 40 per cent income tax). Even a Ford Focus will cost you significantly more than that.
But Mercedesβ mission was not to offer sales reps a cheap alternative to a Ford Focus; it was to provide you and me with a rugged SUV alternative. And in that aim, itβs succeeded. No, it doesnβt quite have the road manners of a Range Rover, but the shortcomings are minor enough to be forgiven by those who fall in love with the image.