Mercedes is entering the pick-up truck market with a posh take on the format, and we’ll see it on 18 July
Mercedes has released a teaser video for its upcoming pick-up truck – the X-Class – confirming that we’ll see the firm’s posh rival for the likes of the Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi L200 later this month.
An official reveal is pencilled in for 18 July, but the teaser video gives us a tantalising glimpse at the all-new model. It’s clear to see that the production model will closely follow the firm’s two X-Class concepts in terms of design, keeping its muscular, bulging lines. At the front will be a large, trademark Mercedes grille flanked by LED headlights, while a tough looking skid plate sits underneath the front bumper. At the back, a pair of vertical taillights are placed right on the flanks of the tailgate.
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Interested customers can leave a £1,000 deposit with Mercedes to secure their trucks already, and it has also been confirmed that Mercedes will utilise a platform sourced from Renault-Nissan. Here’s everything we know so far.
Mercedes X-Class Concept details
We’ve been treated to not one but two distinct concept versions of the new X-Class truck, with confirmation that it’s being built on the robust ladder frame platform shared with the Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan pick-ups under Mercedes’ deal with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
First, the Concept X-Class Powerful Adventurer is an off-road focused design that sets out to underline the fact that a truck carrying the three-pointed star will still be tough. Second, the Concept X-Class Stylish Explorer is intended to showcase the premium refinement that will set the Mercedes pick-up apart from rough-and-ready rivals with less illustrious badges on the nose.
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The X-Class, Mercedes proudly claims, is the world’s first premium pick-up truck. None of the brands that the Stuttgart firm would count as direct ‘premium’ rivals have yet ventured into the sector that is growing in the UK but is already a huge market around the world. Speaking at the reveal event, Chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche said: “With the Mercedes-Benz pick-up, we will close one of the last gaps in our portfolio. Our target: we want to offer customers vehicles matching their specific needs. The X-Class will set new standards in a growing segment.”
The core attraction driving the pick-up truck’s growth, in Europe and other regions, is centred around its dual use as a passenger and working vehicle and Mercedes thinks it can pull off this mix better than most. The brand points out that it blazed the trail in the SUV segment with the M-Class in the early 90s before any other premium brand took the plunge with a road-biased ‘sports utility’ model. And just look how that one turned out…
Mercedes X-Class concept design
In line with this dual recreational and commercial use at which pick-ups tend to excel, the Mercedes X-Class is a 5-seater double cab model. The links to its Nissan Navara sister vehicle can be clearly seen in the profile but Mercedes has dropped in its familiar brand styling cues to make the model its own.
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The Concept X-Class gets a bold front end, even by the standards of the never shy or retiring pick-up class. The slim, high mounted LED headlights give a sporty look that’s a break from convention in the sector but the oversize grille with huge three-pointed star is very much the norm. Below, the Concept has a vast air intake that may well be toned down in production guise and a large power bulge in the centre of the bonnet hinting at the potency that lies beneath.
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At the rear we would expect the unusual oval lighting arrangement that laps the entire tailgate to get the axe as this X-Class concept makes the transition to production car – replaced by more conventional LED light clusters – while the huge 22-inch wheels on the X-Class Stylish Explorer might well be confined to the options list. The dramatically flared wheelarches are bespoke Mercedes styling additions that are likely to make the cut, however.
[Source”timesofindia”]
