Mercedes X-Class Pickup Drive

Cowabunga · Aug 13, 2018

Didn't see a new Navara today and the nearest Nissan truck dealer [car dealers don't generally stock it] is about 70 miles from me. Did see this 17 registered one parked though, so took a quick photo. The gusset mentioned previously is fitted even then. There's far more contrast in this photo so it is clearer. Didn't think of looking at the other side to see whether this one has Adblue.

Notable points here are the pressed steel chanel profile trailing arm and the rash taking hold on what can't be more than a 17 month old vehicle. Not saying that it's a worse rash then you'd find on most other blacked chassis though. The number of holes in both Nissan and Mercedes chassis are exceptional though and Nissan chassis are known for it, including on the Patrol. First thing I did on the Terrano's was to block those holes off on the outer chassis wall and Waxoyl them, which probably explains why my old '95 one hasn't crumbled into a heap of iron oxide quite yet.

Cowabunga · Aug 13, 2018

Adam@Rumen said:
I guess the orders for the X Class haven't come rolling in as Merc expected. I've only seen 1 on the road.

Price 2 weeks ago for a Navara Tekna plus metalic paint, protection pack (mats & load liner) & tow hitch was £22k plus VAT

Hampton said:
Have a look at that Navarra link @Cowabunga put up earlier. It’s cheaper than that. I rang them up, seem a decent firm too.

£22k is about right after the tow pack and hitch are added. Perhaps they will discount them as well but it will be only a few hundred under 22k I guess.

colhonk · Aug 13, 2018

My 17 plate Nav is 11 months old and has the gusset strenghthening, and the rust.And the revised suspension Fully intended to oil inside chassis and block holes up but due to cicumstances did not get it done

ollie989898 · Aug 14, 2018

When the duck posts photos like that you realise how cheap these things are underneath. With the wheels persistently throwing stuff at the chassis and body and shot blasting it you realise no coating in the world is going to stick that for long. Keep until warranty is up (5 years now?) And get rid of it.

And why make the chassis full of holes like that to capture filth??

Cowabunga · Aug 14, 2018

ollie989898 said:
When the duck posts photos like that you realise how cheap these things are underneath. With the wheels persistently throwing stuff at the chassis and body and shot blasting it you realise no coating in the world is going to stick that for long. Keep until warranty is up (5 years now?) And get rid of it.

And why make the chassis full of holes like that to capture filth??

It is only spray and soft shite that lands on there. Better quality paint and materials plus at least a tiny attempt to stop mud and rust traps would at least double the service life of pickup chassis with zero user maintenance. Most manufacturers have achieved that with their sheet metal body panels, and better, compared to what they used to be like up until the late 1980's, but there has been zero improvement in chassis protection. Chassis rust is the number one reason that pickups are scrapped.

Why make the chassis full of holes in the most vulnerable areas? Why, to make sure that they rust from the inside out of course. They actually want to limit the service life of these things. There is no other reason.

While Toyota do not paint their chassis any better, they do not stamp it full of holes in the rear wheel arch area. What holes there are, are fitted with plastic blanking plugs. They still have a few rust traps but their general commitment to quality and long term durability may go a long way to explaining their high resale value. I have to declare that otherwise I have never actually liked any Hilux model to drive.

Jim B · Aug 14, 2018

colhonk said:
My 17 plate Nav is 11 months old and has the gusset strenghthening, and the rust.And the revised suspension Fully intended to oil inside chassis and block holes up but due to cicumstances did not get it done

What is the revised suspension?

Heard of people with Navara NP300 having trouble with rear suspension being too soft, frequently hitting or rubbing bump stops. Apparently no good for towing unless you fit airbags?

This may have changed on newer model years, as it’s been out since early 2016; but interested to hear what people on here have to say?

D14 · Aug 14, 2018

This is a vehicle I don't see the point of. Merc and pickups don't match which is why its a Navara and not their own because whats the point in them developing a new vehicle completely. I know the pickup market is quite large but at the end of the day most of them are used as workhorses. This is not a workhorse.

Cowabunga · Aug 14, 2018

Jim B said:
What is the revised suspension?

Heard of people with Navara NP300 having trouble with rear suspension being too soft, frequently hitting or rubbing bump stops. Apparently no good for towing unless you fit airbags?

This may have changed on newer model years, as it’s been out since early 2016; but interested to hear what people on here have to say?

They have been 're-engineered'.

ollie989898 · Aug 14, 2018

Are they still coil-sprung at the rear? My chief complaint with the D40 was that the rear suspension was clumsy and had unpredictable responses that differed according to how much load it was carrying. It was crashy when lightly laden and wallowy when loaded. You almost wanted to be carrying 15 bags of grass seed around all the time to moderate the effect of it.

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

If you are in the market for a "premium" double cab pick-up at the moment its fair to say that the choice at this higher priced end of the market for most will be between the Merc and the VW

The price after discounts etc is similar so the comparison is between 2 pickups of similar price

The DNA of the Merc is not relevant IMO, it may well share a lot of components with the Nissan (as is common amongst many manufacturers these days) but you are buying a different body style, interior, suspension and gearbox components and (seemingly disputed !!) chassis mods, badge on the front and dealer service. All maybe better or worse depending on your opinion..................................... but it is different, if you want a Nissan you buy a Nissan and save some £££. If you want a Merc then you don't want a Nissan !

After a couple of days in them both they are both very nice pick-ups, for me the v6 of the VW makes that the choice right now but when the Merc also gets a V6 I think I the choice will be less clear, the merc is nicer inside than the VW, the drive is similar and from a practicality point of view no different so it will all be down to price and deal or a preference for one dealer over anther at that point I think

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

ollie989898 said:
Are they still coil-sprung at the rear? My chief complaint with the D40 was that the rear suspension was clumsy and had unpredictable responses that differed according to how much load it was carrying. It was crashy when lightly laden and wallowy when loaded. You almost wanted to be carrying 15 bags of grass seed around all the time to moderate the effect of it.

Merc is coil spring, VW has leafs - bith drive very similar and we tested a 750kg load on it and it was still ok to drive. Nothing to choose from that perspective IMO. The only notable differences were in engine performance and interior quality

both are a long way removed from our old farm d22 Nissan that has the handling characteristics of a mk2 escort on snow at all times !!

Cowabunga · Aug 14, 2018

ollie989898 said:
Are they still coil-sprung at the rear? My chief complaint with the D40 was that the rear suspension was clumsy and had unpredictable responses that differed according to how much load it was carrying. It was crashy when lightly laden and wallowy when loaded. You almost wanted to be carrying 15 bags of grass seed around all the time to moderate the effect of it.

The Navara is mostly coil sprung but the king cab version has leafs at the back.

Cowabunga · Aug 14, 2018

Clive said:
The DNA of the Merc is not relevant IMO, it may well share a lot of components with the Nissan (as is common amongst many manufacturers these days) but you are buying a different body style, interior, suspension and gearbox components and (seemingly disputed !!) chassis mods, badge on the front and dealer service. All maybe better or worse depending on your opinion..................................... but it is different, if you want a Nissan you buy a Nissan and save some £££. If you want a Merc then you don't want a Nissan !

After a couple of days in them both they are both very nice pick-ups, for me the v6 of the VW makes that the choice right now but when the Merc also gets a V6 I think I the choice will be less clear, the merc is nicer inside than the VW, the drive is similar and from a practicality point of view no different so it will all be down to price and deal or a preference for one dealer over anther at that point I think

Gearboxes are identical for four cylinder versions. The Mercedes uses the Jatco seven speed transmission, not a Mercedes one, which is reserved for the V6 model.

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

Cowabunga said:
Gearboxes are identical for four cylinder versions. The Mercedes uses the Jatco seven speed transmission, not a Mercedes one, which is reserved for the V6 model.

again not according to what they told us - its the same box but apparently has some different components / spec

We can only report what we are told

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

shared components and platforms is the norm these days, you even see it on very high end cars, engine and platform development is too expensive to be exclusive, i don't see this sharing as a bad thing at all as each manufacturer brings their own spec and styling changes along with their service / network which all would claim be better than their competition

even my Defender has a Transit van engine in it .................... but its not a ford transit is it

roscoe erf · Aug 14, 2018

Clive said:
If you are in the market for a "premium" double cab pick-up at the moment its fair to say that the choice at this higher priced end of the market for most will be between the Merc and the VW

The price after discounts etc is similar so the comparison is between 2 pickups of similar price

The DNA of the Merc is not relevant IMO, it may well share a lot of components with the Nissan (as is common amongst many manufacturers these days) but you are buying a different body style, interior, suspension and gearbox components and (seemingly disputed !!) chassis mods, badge on the front and dealer service. All maybe better or worse depending on your opinion..................................... but it is different, if you want a Nissan you buy a Nissan and save some £££. If you want a Merc then you don't want a Nissan !

After a couple of days in them both they are both very nice pick-ups, for me the v6 of the VW makes that the choice right now but when the Merc also gets a V6 I think I the choice will be less clear, the merc is nicer inside than the VW, the drive is similar and from a practicality point of view no different so it will all be down to price and deal or a preference for one dealer over anther at that point I think

your hardly likely to slag it off

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

roscoe erf said:
your hardly likely to slag it off

why not ? I'm saying what I think of it

and if you read im also saying I would still buy the VW right now not the Merc as for that money I would want the V6

Newmavh2 · Aug 14, 2018

Clive said:
shared components and platforms is the norm these days, you even see it on very high end cars, engine and platform development is too expensive to be exclusive, i don't see this sharing as a bad thing at all as each manufacturer brings their own spec and styling changes along with their service / network which all would claim be better than their competition

even my Defender has a Transit van engine in it .................... but its not a ford transit is it

Your defender is a defender though with a transit van engine, not a transit with a different badge, and different interior!!

And yes, a Ctiroen C1 is a Toyota Aygo, and a L200 is a Fiat fullback, but you don't pay a lot more for the same thing!!

I have nothing against the Mercedes at all, but the basic one is a Nissan in disguise, there may be small differences (interior for example), but nothing big enough to make up for the price difference!

What's the warranty on the Mercedes? 5 years as with Nissan?

The Mercedes V6 I am looking forward to hearing about, will you be testing that?

Clive · Aug 14, 2018

Newmavh2 said:
Your defender is a defender though with a transit van engine, not a transit with a different badge, and different interior!!

And yes, a Ctiroen C1 is a Toyota Aygo, and a L200 is a Fiat fullback, but you don't pay a lot more for the same thing!!

I have nothing against the Mercedes at all, but the basic one is a Nissan in disguise, there may be small differences (interior for example), but nothing big enough to make up for the price difference!

What's the warranty on the Mercedes? 5 years as with Nissan?

The Mercedes V6 I am looking forward to hearing about, will you be testing that?

if its value or not is a different issue (and I agree its probably not value over the Nissan) .................... but it is different in several (significant like body and interior, brand and dealer) respects that are very important to some buyers

We should get a v6 when they launch and with any luck a few other brands as well ................ as you say the v6 merc is the one that's significant IMO in this higher priced end of the pick-up market and a far better comparison to the VW v6

Newmavh2 · Aug 14, 2018

Just out of interest (and I have no real idea here), how does it differ in body? Other than the actual look of it of course. .

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