Utility vehicles have always found a favour with buyers across the world. Pickup trucks for instance, have been a hit in many markets. Mercedes-Benz is one of the latest manufacturers to get into this trend and have revealed its first ever pickup truck, the X-Class. Mercedes-Benz is the first ever premium car manufacturer in recent times to launch a pickup truck (Yes! The X-Class is production ready and deliveries will begin in November 2017). The overall design and styling of the X-Class has been kept as close to the concept car as possible. The front end is adorned with a big twin-louvre grille, a centrally positioned star along with front bumper wearing chunky black cladding. The pickup makes use of a twin cab design and will be available in three variants; Pure, Progressive and Power.
(Mercedes-Benz X-Class- cabin)In typical Mercedes fashion, the interior feels premium and customers can choose from leather and fabric upholstery with contrast top-stitching. The dashboard feels a little plain but the car does get a 5.4-inch COMAND infotainment system along with a host of connectivity options. Mercedes-Benz will also be offering a variety of accessories and customisation options such as side bar, styling bar canopies and other cargo and off-road options.
(Mercedes-Benz X-Class-rear)The X-Class will be offered with two diesel engines and one petrol engine. The diesel engines make 160.8 bhp and 187.4 bhp while the petrol engine will make 162.7 bhp. Mercedes-Benz will also introduce a top-of-the-line V6 petrol engine which will make 254 bhp. As is with other Mercedes-Benz SUVs, the X-Class gets a 4Matic AWD along with low-range gear and differential lock on the rear axle. From next year onwards, the company will offer permanent AWD. The X-Class gets a host of active and passive safety equipment such as active brake assist, lane keeping assist, traffic sign assist and so on. The starting price of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class in Germany is 37,294 euros.
(The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is the first pickup from the company in recent times)The X-Class of course, does not figure in Mercedes-Benz' scheme of things for India, unfortunately!
