The midsize pickups are making a comeback on their way home. USA has the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon (not to mention Ford returning the Ranger at the end of the decade), Japan only has the Toyota Hilux, and Europe has the VW Amarok, Fiat Fullback, and the recently launched Renault Alaskan. Even though they're sourced from Third World countries, they are First World at heart and I only prefer First World pickups because that's how I only cover. Now, the First World pickups are joined by a new contender, this time from Mercedes-Benz.
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| 2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class |
This is the first-ever X-Class from Mercedes-Benz and unlike every First World pickups we knew, except for the Americans, that was sourced from Third World countries, it was sourced from a First World nation, namely Spain, and while it says Mercedes-Benz on it, what's underneath is basically a Nissan November-Papa-Three-Zero-Zero November-Alpha-Victor-Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Alpha (sorry, phonetic alphabet used due to search query reasons), just like the Renault Alaskan sourced from South America.
Unlike every other First World pickups, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class is the big daddy of the midsize pickups because this is the first time a luxury carmaker made on, despite the Japanese connection underneath, which is also a byproduct of the Axis Powers just like the Fiat 124 Spider based on the Mazda Roadster and Toyota's next sports car based on BMW's next Z4. The Allied Forces are wetting their pants right about now ever since the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis making a comeback on car manufacturing.
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| 2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class interior |
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| 2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class interior |
Outside, you will notice the Mercedes-Benz design that is very unheard for a pickup, giving countryfolks a hint that you're driving a luxury car while doing usual countryfolk stuff like farming or carrying stuff to the nearby market. On the inside, there's your typical Mercedes-Benz interior where in top-spec variants featured plush leather seats, wooden trim, and some extras that will make you accommodated like every saloon in the Mercedes-Benz range.
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| 2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class |
As a bonafide one-tonner, the X-Class can carry up to 1.1 tonnes of payload, which is more than the Hilux's 500kg payload limit. You can carry barrels full of powder keg without even annoying the neighbors. As long as you didn't turn a truck into a personal transport for cultists and extremists alike, the X-Class is as civilized as a muscled man working in the foundry and when you take it on some healthy lifestyle stuff, the X-Class showcases its true action vehicle at heart.
Because like the Nissan it was based upon, the X-Class features a ladder-frame chassis combined with the super-high-tensile-strength steel to ensure it's tough enough to go anywhere and it has engageable 4MATIC with two different modes; low-range that sacrifices top speed for better offroad capability while high-range for better traction offroad. Come next year, it will come with the permanent 4MATIC that can handle almost everything.
Under the hood, the X-Class is powered by a 2.3L four-cylinder turbodiesel engine in two different power outputs with the highest producing 190PS of power and 450Nm of torque, mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic gearbox. Although average, that torque output is healthy enough for some pull and go but for those who need more for the X-Class, they'll have to wait until next year for the more powerful V6 diesel variant because it has the best towing capacity and the best functionality tough enough to get through different jobs that are so much more than just 9-to-5 hours of working time directive.
Along with the toughness the X-Class delivers, it's also the smartest because it promises a wide range of tech features no pickup has ever possess but some of the bits are not yet available for now so we have to make do with the features that helps drivers park the X-Class with ease including this nifty 360-degree camera that makes this pickup aware of almost everywhere. While waiting with the most important safety tech to arrive by some other time, it's ideal to make do with the one with the Park Assist because it feels like your driving experience with the truck might be taking over by such driver aids like...the one I'm toying around everyday where that talking gadget's taking over your game for no reason.
Because this is the Mercedes-Benz, the X-Class starts at 31,340 Euros plus VAT and it's quite the most expensive pickup truck you can buy right now. Despite its expensive price tag, the X-Class works like every other pickup truck in the world and it's glad a First World country like Germany is selling trucks like these and while the pricing is not as friendly as the other First World pickups sourced from Third World countries, it still is a worthy contender in the battle of the midsize pickups.
Source: Daimler AG
