Mercedes-Benz X350 vs Patriot X1

What's the difference?

The V6 X-Class is big, bold and bloody expensive – and it has segment-topping safety tech– but its price-tag swiftly climbs above more than $80,000 when you start adding one of the many optional extras and is it really worth that much beyond the cache of the badge? Really?

Sure, the bigger engine is what most potential X-Class buyers were pushing for after the launch of the four-cylinder-powered utes as part of the first-gen X-Class wave, but is there room – or even actual demand – for such a high-priced supposedly luxury ute?

Read on.

Over the past 12 months, some of the most significant names in camper-trailers have fallen victim to their own success. Ultimate Campers, one of the most interesting and (previously) desirable camping products was placed in voluntary administration and bailed out, while Kimberley Kampers, always the pinnacle of off-road camper design, still has a very uncertain future, if one at all. 

But amongst all that, here is Patriot Campers, an Aussie company essentially building $40,000 to $60,000 soft-floor camper-trailers and flourishing where others are failing. 

So what’s so good about them, and are they really worth all that money?