Mercedes-Benz is the first luxury automaker to venture into the bakkie world. Mercedes-Benz unveiled the X-Class concept in October, now Mercedes-Benz will be lifting the covers off the production X-Class on a dedicated website on July 18. There is no other detail about the bakkie except for the teaser video. On the video, we can see that the production X-Class keeps the striking headlights we saw on the concept.
What we can also see is that the X-Class bears a striking resemblance with new Nissan Navara, especially the side profile. The reason the X-Class and the Navara have similar proportions is that they share platforms. This means that the X-Class will benefit from the Navara’s five-link rear axle with coil springs. The rear axle set up will help the X-Class handle better on road. We know that Mercedes-Benz has gone a step further and re-calibrated the suspension make sure that their bakkie is more optimised for comfort.
There’s no word yet on engine choices but an AMG bakkie is something we would like to see. And yes it is coming to South Africa, Mercedes-Benz has identified South Africa as a key market. No word on price too, but the V6 VW Amarok costs more than R750 000 so if we are going to get an AMG version it will be around that price range.
Mbizozo 