Summarize

Let’s cut straight to the point. Look up the adjective ‘competitive’ and you’ll find that it defines what it describes, ‘as good as or better than items of a similar nature or price.’ Synonyms for ‘competitive’ include reasonable, moderate, economical and keen; while antonyms – or words with opposite intention, are exorbitant and uncompetitive, among others. Now hold that thought….

You must be wondering what the hell I am on about, but bear with me. See the Mercedes Benz X-Class has finally arrived on South African roads and as is customary around so significant a motoring event, we rounded one up along with its friends to figure out how it fits in. 

So here we have a collection of the finest four-by-four double-cab turbodiesel four-pot bakkies on the market including the new pretender to the throne and four previous Best Bakkie winners, to figure out if X really marks the spot where the best now sits…

Well Mercedes-Benz makes no bones about the fact that X-Class is on a new level and to be honest, in most respects it delivers on that promise. Look at it and it is without doubt a Merc – it probably better defines its roots than its rivals and that’s a start. Not that there is much wrong with the rest, but there’s more of a Mercedes stamp on X-Class than there is a Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota or VW stamp on Triton, Navara, Hilux or Amarok.

I also like the X-Class look best and I think the Nissan takes the styling bridesmaid slot by a whisker – Amarok’s new jewellery and flashy lights help keep its basic style current, while the Mitsubishi has a certain Oriental allure and the Hilux does Hilux very well too. Be that as it may, looks are always a moot point, so you choose which best turns you on, all of which makes all of these bakkies quite competitive when it comes to how they look.

Swing open the doors and Mercedes’ claims instantly become quite a bit clearer. Its cabin sets X-Class even more out as a Mercedes-Benz than a bakkie and that is where its biggest plusses sit – you would never believe that it shares its core with the Nissan – not that the Nissan is at all bad from a bakkie point of view, but the Mercedes now takes bakkie cabins to another level altogether.

So, the Mercedes is a Mercedes inside – especially at this Power level – it looks the part, is beautifully snapped together and was crafted out of the best materials. Never mind that it adds a level of kit unheard of in a bakkie – especially at this top end of the range.

But there are drawbacks – the Mercedes steering lacks the telescopic adjustment of some of its rivals – quite annoying because I was less comfortable in the car than that amenity would allow. Another X-Class slip is a lack of goodie space – bakkie owners are practical people who have gadgets and wallets and things they prefer to store close at hand and loose in the center console.

X-Class boasts a beautifully-crafted chrome binnacle around the gearstick, but it is awkward and unfriendly to the mobile phone and wallet once the house and factory keys have filled up the tiny cup holder receptacle. One would expect the division that paid such intricate attention to the workman’s needs so well in the all-new Sprinter, to have carried a bit of that logic over here too.

It’s six of one versus half a dozen of the other when it comes to the cockpits of the Japanese trio and while the Merc certainly raises the bar, I’d say the Nissan boasts the coolest cabin of the rest, even though like its step-sibling X, its driving position is a little less adjustable than in either the Triton or the Toyota, both of which pack in a bit more spec too.

The Hilux however represents a major step forward versus its predecessor inside, but the Amarok’s slab-sided dash is a victim of its age, which leaves the cabin runner-up slot to the Mitsubishi by a hair’s breadth. Once again, it’s all pretty competitive, although the Mercedes is a clear winner here...

This quintet perfectly represents just how efficient bakkies have become – you can throw a blanket over them across the athletic board and even if the Toyota is the biggest bore, it sits with the Mercedes in the middle of the mob on outputs. All five are also 6-speed manual four-by-fours, so we’re comparing apples with apples here, which makes for pretty interesting reading.

The biggest capacity 130kW 420Nm 2.8-litre Hilux wins the 0-100 km/h race by two-tenths of a second, over the smallest 132kW 420Nm 2-litre Amarok; the 133kW 430Nm 2.4-litre Triton is next up ahead of the identically equipped 140kW 450Nm 2.3 litre duo, with the Mercedes pipping the Nissan.

By the time these bakkies reach the quarter-mile, the Amarok edges the Hilux, with the Merc a dead heat for third with the Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi however returns the best overtaking acceleration ahead of the Mercedes, the Toyota and the VW, so there really is nothing to split them in performance. Same with economy and emissions – the different bakkies swap places in different driving environments, so rest assured that they are all most competitive when it comes to performance.

The Mercedes enjoys another advantage on the road – on cue, it possesses a more sophisticated feel, rides very well on smooth surfaces and it’s quiet and plush to drive, but then the others deliver a surprisingly good ride on smooth tarmac, although the group spreads apart when you encounter bumpier surfaces. The X-Class remains surprisingly composed on the dirt and seemed to better deal with our route than the rest, where the Amarok runs it closest, a short head clear of the Triton. The Nissan seemed out of sorts over some more challenging surfaces, even though it shares the same basic underpinnings as the X-Class, so Mercedes seems to have better delivered on ride, comfort and chassis versatility out of that common platform.

Getting down to bakkie basics, Mercedes says X-Class has the best loadability, but it only beats the Mitsubishi by a hair’s breadth on actual payload, with the Nissan a close third and the Hilux and Amarok disappointingly some way off. The Merc, the Nissan and the Toyota tie the towing contest with 3.5-ton braked trailer abilities, with the VW a short head behind, but its pulling ability is where the Mitsubishi falls apart.

So, let’s wrap this thing up. Looked at straight up, Mercedes-Benz certainly has delivered a bakkie blow in X-Class. Not only is it without doubt a Mercedes-Benz, but it has a cabin that seems to have been nicked out of an S-Class to elevate the bakkie to a level we have never seen before. Yes, there are some trivial concerns, but sit in any of the others and you are sitting in a bakkie. Sit in X-Class and you are clearly in a Merc.

That advantage opens wider when you consider the level of specification and kit that X-Class packs – from its interactive controls to all that standard Benz safety spec that sees it to a 5-star safety rating versus the similarly-based Nissan’s four – all aspects where the Mercedes quite comfortably shadows its rivals. OK, X-Class runs in the pack from sprinting through elasticity to economy, but it is for sure competitive in every physical aspect it fails to take the lead on and at this point I can readily offer that the Benz is also the best bakkie here…

I’d go as far as to concede that X-Class should indeed carry a premium and I for one, would be content to add a fair dollop over the price of the most expensive of its rivals. But this also is where I remind you to remember that thought I asked you to hold up top, because there is one area where X-Class fails to compete, even though Mercedes-Benz so proudly announced its new baby boasted such ‘competitive’ pricing.

Trouble is, X-Class is not at all competitively priced, especially considering that some of the bakkies here beat it in some respects and run it so close in others. The Mitsubishi Triton – the most elastic, most economical and cleanest burning bakkie here sells for R540 000. The Toyota Hilux – the quickest accelerating and best-selling bakkie of the lot will set you back R585 300; the Nissan, which is largely the same thing as the Merc under the skin, costs R591 500 and the double-Best Bakkie Amarok goes for R605 700 these days.

So, knowing that a Merc carries a bit of a premium anyway and that this X-Class is the best bakkie here, I’d expect to pay a premium over the most expensive of its rivals here, which I imagine would have put it somewhere just this side of R700K. Mercedes-Benz is however demanding all but R800K for this X 250 d Power, which quite frankly seems a bit much…

Sure, people buy Mercedes-Benz on other merits and this bakkie represents a breakthrough for the brand. As mentioned, I rate it as hands down the best bakkie here, but that asking price puts it out of context and none of us can figure how the Mitsubishi can possibly set one back a quarter-million rand less than the Mercedes? 

All of which serves to once again completely stir up the pot. Yes, X-Class is the best bakkie here, but it is not at all as competitively priced as Mercedes suggests – I’d go as far as to say that its pricing is exorbitant rather than competitive and that’s enough to cost X-Class this crown.

So the brilliantly positioned reigning Best Bakkie Mitsubishi takes an unexpected win from Amarok, with the Merc tied for third with Hilux and Navara. Maybe Mercedes needs to read that definition up top, but it’s ludicrous pricing blunts an otherwise brilliant X-Class effort to allow its competitive rivals to fight another day…