Mercedes-Benz X220 vs Mahindra Scorpio-N

What's the difference?

If there was a feeling at Stuttgart that any vehicle displaying a three-pointed star could do no wrong, the X-Class should be a wake-up call. It's a vehicle that appears to have drawn a line in the sand in terms of what people are prepared to accept as an authentic Mercedes-Benz.

Sure, the fastest and cheapest way into the booming dual-cab ute segment was to piggy-back an existing player, in this case the D23 Nissan Navara, as M-B has a tech-share agreement with the huge Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. The Navara/X-Class relationship is similar to Ford Ranger/Mazda BT-50 or Isuzu D-Max/Holden Colorado.

But we are talking Mercedes-Benz here. Given the high esteem in which the German marque is held and its pre-eminent off-road heritage, with icons like the Unimog and G-Wagen, the end result has fallen short of understandably high expectations. It's even built in a Nissan plant. Put simply, it over-promised and under-delivered.

However, are perceptions of the X-Class being a rush job or little more than a badge-engineered Navara fair or accurate? We recently put the work-focused entry-level X-Class to work in our search for answers.

The Mahindra Scorpio is back – but now it has upgraded safety tech (including AEB) and it’s only available in one variant: the Z8L+.

This is a 4WD wagon with a fair bit of appeal: seven seats, a stack of standard features, a low-range transfer case, an automatic rear diff lock and its price-tag – at just under $50 grand – won’t kick you in the space near the pocket where you keep your wallet.

It hasn’t undergone any mechanical changes so is the Scorpio any good off-road?

Read on.