Summarize

I’ve been testing bakkies since those very first double cabs hit the road and one cliché I have come to expect every time we are about to hop into another new one, is that oh so hackneyed phrase that ‘this bakkie is car-like’. To this day I still had to find a chassis-cab bakkie that really was car-like.

But that’s just all changed – Merc’s million-buck X350d really does deliver carlike tendencies. Not quite AMG E-Class carlike; but drop me in there and ask me what I was driving, and I’d be blown if it were not at least in a GLE. Powerful, sophisticated, quick and capable, the big X also addresses many a perhaps unfair criticism levelled at it just being a clone of the Japanese cousin X shares much of its guts with.

See, this one tosses all the 4-cylinder’s oft controversial Japanese innards and substitutes all that for not just a real 190kW 550Nm (SA’s most powerful bakkie right now, by the way) Mercedes-Benz turbodiesel V6, but it also gets a genuine Benz 7G-tronic Plus 7-speed automatic gearbox turning a full-Mercedes-Benz 4Matic permanent four-wheel drive through a transfer box nicked straight out of the legendary G-Class.

All of which conspires to deliver a machine as capable of hanging off a rocky Cape tor as it is dashing across Franschhoek Pass as it is cruising through the Karoo in epic comfort and style. Never mind that all of that abovementioned kit is tried and tested Mercedes state of the art.

Now very much the Mercedes-Benz of bakkies, X350d will also go a hell of a long way to curb all that nonsense of it being a rebadged Nissan – yes, the 4-pot X indeed shares its innards with Navara, but it is completely reworked. This one is far more a Mercedes though and the rest of the range can now hang far happier from its apron – it’s just a pity this one had to follow its kin – there’d have been far less flatulence the other way around.

X-Class V6 unashamedly aims straight at executive-level business-owners, families with an affinity for premium products, trend-conscious individuals, as well as sporty and enthusiastic adventurers.  The 3-litre common-rail direct injection turbodiesel V6 delivers its 550Nm across a broad 1400 to 3200rpm band to ensure serene and effortless progress whatever the driving situation. 

The standard 7G Tronic Plus gearbox boasts steering wheel paddle shifters and seamless gear-changing across a broad set of ratios, while Dynamic Select offers the choice of five engine and transmission response driving modes from relaxed and comfortable Comfort through Eco to Manual and Off-road to dynamic Sport modes. And Eco start/stop function is available in all driving modes except Off-road. 

X350d also comes with 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive with low-range reduction gear and a differential lock at the rear for optimal performance and traction on a wide range of driving surfaces in three dynamic, all-wheel-drive and hard off-road modes. Add 222mm ground clearance, 45-degree gradient ability, 600mm water fording and the ability to deal with inclines of to 50 degrees.

A comprehensive range of safety equipment seldom seen in this segment includes a robust passenger cell able to absorb energy by specific deformation, seven airbags and i-Size child seats attachments, optional Active Brake Assist and Traffic Sign Assist and Active Lane Keeping Assist.

X 350 d 4MATIC comes in Progressive and Power equipment lines promised to set new double cab comfort and value standards. Progressive includes 17-inch alloys, chrome vents, leather-lined multifunction steering wheel and parking brake, and eight-speaker Audio 20 infotainment. Power steps up to 18-inch alloys and adds a chromed front bumper under rider and rear bumper, LED headlamps, power seats, and a multifunctional infotainment touchpad. 

Add an extensive range of accessories to enhance your X350d’s design, functionality or off-road capability, a new sports bar, styling bar, hard cover, hardtop, stowage box, load bed liner, load-securing rails in the load bed, and an under-guard protector. 

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class V6 is now available to order from R904K in Progressive spec or R962K in Power get-up via www.x-class.co.za.