The Mercedes X-Class Is A Chunky Pick-Up That's Headed For Production

Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan lacking the kind of badge you want on your truck? Say hello to the posh-ified cousin of that pick-up duo: the Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

Yep, a Mercedes pick-up truck, something which we’ve actually been expecting for some time. And while the vehicles you see here may just be concepts for now, a production version will indeed be here late 2017.

We’re saying ‘vehicles’ plural, as Mercedes has actually cooked up two concepts. We have the ‘powerful adventurer’ seen at the top of the page, and the ‘stylish explorer’ you see above. Essentially, the first one is for conquering rugged landscapes and indulging your inner Bear Grylls, and the second one is for making people think you like to conquer rugged landscapes, and indulging your inner Bear Grylls.

The adventurer has a raised ride height, chunky tyres and a ruddy fire extinguisher planted into the dashboard, while the explorer sports spangly 22-inch wheels and does without the adventurer’s tough grey plastic bits and running boards for a cleaner, more Chelsea-friendly look.

Peel away the skin, and you’ll find the Navara/Alaskan’s ladder frame chassis. We can expect a mix of rear-drive and all-wheel drive models for the final production version, and according to Mercedes, a V6 diesel will sit at the top of the range. No talk of V8 AMG shenanigans, I’m afraid…