Mercedes’ first ever luxury pick-up sees beauty meet brawn

The X-Class may be a Mercedes, but it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen

After months of waiting, Mercedes fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Earlier this week, the German automaker finally revealed the much-anticipated X-Class – the brand’s first ever luxury pick-up.

With five seats, four doors and a whole lot of hulk, the manufacturer took a gamble with this latest vehicle, and its announcement last year left many people worried that Mercedes was going off the rails. Hopefully any nay-sayers will be suitably silenced by the reveal, as, although the brand has taken a leap of faith, the car is still remarkably recognisable as a modern Mercedes.

The car will go on sale at the end of this year, and will be priced from £34,500. With four engine options, the choice of selectable or permanent four-wheel drive and a six or seven speed gearbox, the customisation levels are impressive. And, on top of the robust construction and sophisticated ‘smart’ suspension that gives these new wheels the brawn to back up their SUV name, Mercedes have also delivered on the luxury.

A premium cabin includes connectivity of almost every kind, extensive safety aids and even more scope for personalisation. Three varieties of dashboard finish, six upholstery options (including two in different types of leather) and three trim levels – Pure, Power and Progressive – show that although the X-Class will take anything you can throw at it, it’ll do so in unrivalled style.

‘It’s a vehicle of opposites,’ says designer Gordon Wagener. ‘Hot and cool, tough and elegant, wilderness and civilisation.’ Wagerer’s brief, and the hope of the brand heads, is that the core buyer will be an adventurer or ‘independent free spirit’, and thus they took inspiration from the more rugged end of the Mercedes spectrum – cars such as the G-Wagon and Unimog.

But, despite being finished to a higher level of trim in the cabin than any other pick-up on the market, the X-Class is still a powerful machine. Just look at the stats: 255 horsepower in the most powerful model, able to carry over a metric tonne on the back bed, and with the ability to tow an enormous 3.5 tonne load – that’s equivalent to a 8-metre yacht.

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