It was only from last year that the words Mercedes-Benz and bakkie went together for the first time. Until then, you had Mercs, and you had bakkies, and ne’er the twain shall meet.
Then out came the X-Class in 2017, a luxury pick-up with a four-cylinder diesel under the hood. With its premium cabin, trademark quiet on the road, lots of bells and whistles and digital connectivity par excellence, the X-Class arrived in style.
Now it’s getting some oomph. At the Geneva Motor Show the carmaker announced a top-of-the-line variant to its offering. The X-Class is getting a powerplant to match those sterling interior features. The X350d 4Matic now has a three-litre V6 diesel engine, which will undoubtedly make the bakkie that much more fun to drive.
RUGGED: The X350d will cost a cool R886 000
Look, it’s a bakkie, so you can imagine that much of that torque will be channelled to the lower ranges, but Mercedes still claims it can do zero to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds, can reach a top speed of 205km/h , and delivers 190kW with peak torque coming between 1 400rpm and 3 200 rpm.
The X-Class is a permanent all-wheel drive show, sports a 7-speed automatic transmission and will set you back a cool R886 000, give or take a couple of buffaloes. This is an indicative price, dependent on the exchange rate between now and the launch in May this year.