That’s one pretty fancy Navara.
Mercedes-Benz is certainly very excited about its new ute, dubbed “the first of its kind.” While we usually rib on manufacturers who make bold claims like that every time they release something new, Stuttgart actually has a right to say that. While plush utes have existed for a while, they’re usually upmarket top-tier trimlines of utes that you can also get with a steel bed. The X-Class has been designed from the outset as a luxury proposition, genuinely the first of its kind.
As expected with a teaser, the video released shows off the X-Class’ details without ever really showing off anything substantial. We see the head- and tail-lights, both of the LED variety, as well as the general shape of the thing. It’s a smart looking thing (least, the outline is), and it shows that the Mercedes-Benz X-Class will share very little design-wise with the Nissan Navara that it’s built on.
In case you don’t already know, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class is the result of cooperation between the German carmaker and Nissan, who will be lending the former the underpinnings of the Navara on which to build the first premium, luxury ute from a premium, luxury marque. Thus far, we don’t know the full extent of the cooperation, so there’s still questions in the air regarding where the engines will come from (as they could be sourced from either marque, as they both have a decent range of engines to their credit).
An interesting question that keeps popping up is the question of an X-Class AMG, especially if the powertrain ends up being sourced from Nissan as well. AMG has a history of turning up the wick on Mercedes-Benz’s off-road cars, and the X-Class AMG may serve as yet another platform on which to bring in even more success to the already-popular performance brand. Time will tell.
In the meantime, we suggest you block off the next minute of your life to enjoy the visuals of the teaser video, and maybe call your local Mercedes-Benz dealership to put down your interest.
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