Mercedes debuts all-new X-Class pick-up

Mercedes has taken the wraps off an all-new model that sees the company enter into the pick-up market for the first time.

The X-Class is based on the Nissan Navara, says AutoExpress, "the result of a parts-sharing deal between Mercedes and the Renault-Nissan Alliance".

However, Mercedes plans to distance itself from Nissan's pick-up by "building in a higher level of quality and technology", including an 8.4ins Garmin-powered sat-nav and a digital instrument cluster on models higher up the range.

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The cabin is full of leather and "aluminium door sill finishers", says Car. The pickup even incorporates the jet-inspired air vents from the S-Class saloon and can even be specced with sporty carbon fibre highlights.

It will be offered with a host of diesel engines ranging from a 161bhp X220d to a X250d 4Matic with "selectable four-wheel drive", Autocar reports. There's also a 163bhp petrol model available "in some markets."

Mercedes has designed the X-Class to perform well off-road, continues the mag, with all versions equipped with "low-range gearing" for driving up steep surfaces. There is also "long spring travel" to absorb impacts without damaging the vehicle.

It's already proving to be popular, says AutoExpress. Mercedes has "taken several hundred reservations" despite there being "no official confirmation on pricing yet".

However, the magazine expects it to cost "around £28,000 excluding VAT", with first deliveries reaching customers next January.