The cabin furniture is made from hard plastics, but they’re stout and dense and feel like they’ll last. The media screen is standard on all models, even this base-speccer, which is also the only version not to get nappa leather – and all the better for it, in our opinion. The seats are well shaped and supportive, but after several hours behind the wheel you might start wanting for an adustable lumbar cushion We mention this because, in case you’ve been living on the moon, the X-Class is based on the Navara’s chassis and drivetrain. Merc is keen to stress that the vehicle’s design was re-engineered from scratch, but there are plenty of similarities between them. While no manufacturer likes to admit to badge-engineering someone else’s work, at any rate, if you’re going to do it the Navara is a pretty good place to start. It’s set apart from the rest of the doublecab A-listers by the fact that it’s coil-sprung at the rear – and while this is by no means a magic wand for ride and dynamics, it presents its own set of opportunities for settling the uncivilised back ends for which trucks are known. Despite all the hype about Merc’s premium credentials, then, the X-Class is a commercial vehicle rom a prolific commercial vehicle maker. And what we have here is not so much a premium pick-up as one which reminds you that Mercedes has plenty of form when it comes to building work trucks. What we don’t have is a truck hose price re ects its e tr level status. The base-spec Pure model
PICKUP GUIDE 2019
4pp X-Class Pure.indd 53
costs £29,310 plus VAT in 250 d auto form; with a manual box, this one should cost around a grand or so less but, being a special order, we wouldn’t count on it.
CABIN AND PRACTICALITY The X-Class feels good inside, even though the model tested here is as utilitarian as they come. Its dash is shaped from hard plastics, but they feel dense, stout and tough. Longevity is unlikely to be an issue, though there was enough creaking from behind the dash to suggest that the odd trim rattle might surface some way down the line. The trademark bank of air-con vents mounted on the main dash panel could be wobbled up and do too t the oor co sole is absolutely rock solid in its mounting to the chassis – and wherever your fi ers roam the s itch ear has a fi e positive eel to it The seats are trimmed in a nononsense fabric that feels as if it will last forever, and they’re well shaped to keep you in place under hard
cornering or side-slope action. We did a lot of miles in our X-Class, and after a few hours we’d have welcomed the adjustable lumbar support that comes with higher spec models, but even without this they’re very well above average for the pick-up market.
Oddment stowage is less than generous, though, with a rather small cubby and glovebox backed up only by an average set of door pockets. It’ll do, but in a vehicle designed to be your self-propelled workplace there’s very little about it to get excited about.
The front seats are as roomy as you need, but a tall driver will need to adjust his pew all the way back – making things a bit snug if you’re another six-footer trying to get in behind him. By far the biggest problem in the back, though, is a lack of headroom – – you don’t need to be freakishly tall for your eyes to actually be above the top of the door windows
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