Is Mercedes Trying Too Hard With The New X-Class Pickup?
Why would you use wild American truck marketing on a truck the US won’t even get?
When it comes to interesting compact pickup trucks, Europe gets all the good toys. The VW Amarok and Ford Ranger are just tastes of the small trucking happening across the pond. And now we’re getting a luxury entry thanks to Mercedes. The upcoming Euro-sized X-Class pickup is on its way, and Mercedes just unleashed a teaser trailer. There is one problem though… Mercedes looks like it’s trying way too hard. In the first 30 seconds of this teaser, we have some of the most aggressive “butch and angry” marketing we’ve seen from MB in years. We understand that pickups are tools made to do work, but seriously Mercedes? Mountains, tsunamis, lightning strikes, and a massive arctic avalanche seem like overkill for what’s essentially a luxury competitor to the Toyota Tacoma.
Even if this truck was coming stateside (which it isn’t according to current plans), you’d have a hard time getting a Ford dealer in Texas to sign off on this kind of video for the new F-150 Raptor.
Once you get past the obnoxious imagery, we’re treated to some new glimpses of the upcoming truck. Compared to the concept, the new X-Class is much more chiseled. The body has squared up, the round full-length taillamp is gone in favor of more traditional vertical units, and the bed rail has been dropped slightly. We also have a large rear frame mounted in the bed, similar to the option Chevy offers on the Colorado pickup.
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Regardless of how we feel about the video teaser, Mercedes is at least bringing a real truck to market. Developed with Nissan-Renault, the X-Class makes use of body-on-frame construction and borrows a live-rear axle from the Np300 Navara pickup. So for everyone out there who needs the luxury and capability of something like a G-Wagen, but wants a more usable body style, the new X-Class should be what you’re looking for. The official reveal is coming in just over a week on July 18th.
We’ll be here to give you folks all the pertinent info and photographs of the new truck. Be sure to keep it locked here on MBWorld so you don’t miss it.
