Mercedes-Benz X-Class Pickup

[Lifestyle Overland]

Better start saving now! V6 Diesel? Sign me up.

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2016/10/25/mercedes-benz-x-class-pickup-revealed.html

 

[RaggedViking]

WEIRD. Doesn't look half bad... I'd be afraid to take it anywhere..

 

[Comanche]

I like it.

 

[AlysonH]

Doesn't look bad at all, but I wonder where the passenger side airbag is. Looks like a fire extinguisher is in its place. Love the tires.

 

[pl626]

I wonder If there are any Ram/Mopar parts?

 

[picklejuice]

WEIRD. Doesn't look half bad... I'd be afraid to take it anywhere..

Yeah, I'm with you. I feel better buying a car with dents, knowing I won't give it its first dent. That's why I bought a 17 year old car. But if you can afford the Benz, by all means!

 

[VCeXpedition]

See any similarities? Belt line little kick up near the c-pillar? Grill shape? Fender shape? Front and rear bumper are different so how could it be?

But it's a Nissan? Meh, everything is gonna look the same one day.
And to quote Adam Corolla, "one day we'll all be chicks".

 

[VCeXpedition]

I guess there distinct similarities here too, I do like the MB grill.

 

[pl626]

Nissan Navara based, but Renaut will also sell off that platform; none of which will be available in the US, at least there's no timeframe. This will just be another ROW truck that those of us in the States won't see...http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/why-everyones-going-nuts-over-the-mercedes-pickup-truck-1788198689

 

[ce4460]

I can't imagine buying from an unproven truck manufacturer. Stick with what works, and cheaper. Looks pretty though.

 

[VCeXpedition]

...but what about...?

 

[ce4460]

That qualifies as experience.

 

[IronPercheron]

I like my yota.

They can keep the benz.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I wonder if that's new Frontier update I keep hearing about?

 

[TreXTerra]

I can't imagine buying from an unproven truck manufacturer. Stick with what works, and cheaper. Looks pretty though.

Mercedes has a huge amount of experience with trucks. The Unimog was already mentioned, but they also built the G-class as a military utility vehicle. They have a thriving heavy equipment and truck division that builds a lot of the heavy commercial trucks from Europe to Australia and Asia.

The things that makes me balk at a Mercedes Benz pickup are the electrics and the lack of dealers outside major urban centers. Most backwater mechanics can work on a Nissan or Toyota because they are pretty common, that same mechanic probably has a stash of GM, Dodge, or Ford parts in the back because that's what all the farmers and rancher own. If you roll in with an ailing Mercedes, you are probably looking a several hundred miles out of your way to a certified dealer. Mercedes and the Volkswagen Auto Group both have had problems with their over-complicated electrical systems. They put so many farkles on their vehicles that there is much more to fail. Even the old W123, which is hailed as a million-mile tank and the 190 which is lauded as an unkillable cockroach have a slew of problems. None of them keep the cars from running, but even back in the 80s and 90s Mercedes was over-complicating things. Go find a W123 or 190 that has everything working properly.

A friend of mine was an auto journalist and even the press cars were plagued with problems. On one he logged on average one electrical fault per hour for the first 8 hours of a cross country road trip. He had to pull over repeatedly to "reboot" the car only to have another system crap out.

For the price of a Mercedes-Benz, I would much rather buy an FJ80 and pay an expert to go over it inside and out or a low-miles FJ100.

EDIT: Seriously, Mercedes?

No dropgate?

1970s brown velour?

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

This one isn't much better, it looks like a doodle in a middle schooler's notebook

Speaking of "fail"gates:

That might help keep stuff in, but it will have a terrible effect on fuel economy. The tailgate actually creates a vortex in the bed that helps the truck slip through the air more efficiently. Water spray and dust will be sucked into the bed, covering your gear with grime; plus, you can't put a topper on this to secure your gear.

I know these are only concepts, but c'mon!

 

[VCeXpedition]

A lot of impossible things on the concept, but I do like the rear bumper/winch that appears to be mounted to the body. Yeah, concept. If it is a re-badged Nissan with the Cummins 4 cylinder diesel, it may be interesting.

 

[pl626]

...I know these are only concepts, but c'mon!

Keep in mind, these are targeted at existing MB customers, not existing pickup owners. Additionally, these won't be available to those of us in the NA market and it's built on a Nissan Navara platform...

 

[VCeXpedition]

Keep in mind, these are targeted at existing MB customers, not existing pickup owners.

Keep in mind, these are targeted at existing MB customers, not existing pickup owners. Additionally, these won't be available to those of us in the NA market and it's built on a Nissan Navara platform...

Inside information? Usually makers introduce new products so they can get new customers, not just placate their current customers.
I gotta think that this is targeted to some day (2020?) come to the US market, not a real big market for these is Euro or other markets. Just my guess.

 

[pl626]

Inside information? Usually makers introduce new products so they can get new customers, not just placate their current customers.
I gotta think that this is targeted to some day (2020?) come to the US market, not a real big market for these is Euro or other markets. Just my guess.

Not inside, I believe it was in the presser, but the Truckyeah article talked about the MB marketing strategy. I'm pretty certain you're right about it eventually coming to the NA market, they just don't have a timeframe for that yet.

 

[ChadHahn]

So how much is Nissan and how much is Mercedes? Is it a Nissan truck with a Mercedes grill, engine and interior with most of the rest being Japanese? If it's something where I could go to the Nissan dealer and buy parts for 1/4 of the price of the Mercedes dealer that would be great.

Chad