Mercedes-Benz X-Class News

Hyundai's new workhorse family could get a premium sibling, with Genesis boss Manfred Fitzgerald not ruling out the launch of a Mercedes-Benz X-Class-rivalling ute. Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Mr Fitzgerald told CarsGuide that he wasn't rul

Ford’s Ranger ute has stolen the lead in the 4x4 pick-up segment from the evergreen Toyota HiLux, edging ahead in year-to-date sales by just 75 units.

Mercedes-Benz will drop the struggling X-Class from its lineup in the wake of disappointing global sales as the brand looks to reduce costs and complexity from its business, according to international reports.US outlet Automotive News is quoting company s

Mercedes-Benz Australia has again reset the benchmark for how much a dual-cab pick-up is worth, with its limited-edition X350d 4Matic Edition 1 to kick off from $87,500 plus on-road costs when it enters showrooms in July.

Yes, Australia's new-car market has mostly been a tale of doom and gloom in 2019, but there are some brands that defied the shrinking market to post record sales results in March.

The next-generation Mitsubishi Triton may still be years away, but there are already details leaking out about what to expect.It has been confirmed by the Japanese company’s chief operating officer, Trevor Mann, that the next-generation Triton ute will also form the basis for the next Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan.Mr Mann told industry journal Automotive News that the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has made the decision that Mitsubishi offers the best depth of knowledge and hardware for the next-gen versions of each of the brand’s pick-up trucks to be based on."Shortly after the Alliance, we did a detailed technical study between , and we found that Mitsubishi had many advantages over the Nissan platform," Mr Mann is quoted as saying. The announcement flies in the face of public statements made to the contrary by Nissan execs a few months ago, when it was suggested Mitsubishi had jumped the gun by asserting it would take the lead on development of the next-generation utes.The current-generation Triton architecture underpins that particular pick-up model, as well as the Pajero Sport off-road SUV. By contrast, Nissan’s current-generation Navara’s underpinnings are spread quite a bit further, being found beneath the Terra SUV from the same brand, plus the Renault Alaskan pick-up and the Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute. It’s too early to say what that could mean for the development of a second-generation version of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class - whether the brand will continue to form part of a commercial vehicle alliance with is unclear.  The next-generation version of the Triton is likely more than four years away.Existing alliance products produced for Renault-Nissan-Mercedes have fallen by the wayside - the Infiniti Q30/Mercedes A-Class mingling only lasted one life cycle, while the Renault Twingo/Smart alliance - the latter brand may be culled entirely within weeks.That said, commercial vehicle alliances are stronger in general - Renault-Mercedes has an existing agreement on small vans, producing the Kangoo/Citan as a result. That hasn’t been replicated in larger vans, though - Mercedes went on its own for the Vito and Sprinter. 

March is traditionally a breather month after a usual weak sales start to the year. Given the market downturn so far, it could be a bit tougher than before. That means the new car deals will start coming hot and strong so we’ll publish some of the best that could save you some big bucks.

Yes, at a glance it seems Australia's new-car market is a sea of red ink and plummeting sales, with numbers seemingly down across the board.

Mercedes-Benz Vans Australia has outed pricing for its upcoming X350d 4Matic, with the V6-powered pick-up set to arrive Down Under in December with a starting price of $73,270 plus on-road costs.At launch, the vehicle will be available in two grades, Progressive and Power, with the latter topping the X-Class line-up at $79,415.The Power is $4425 more expensive than the freshly launched Ranger Raptor and it takes the title of the priciest mid-size pick-up on the Australian market.The added displacement that the X350d brings to the X-Class range comes at a significant premium over the 2.3-litre four-cylinder X250d that launched in April. The X350d Progressive is $15,470 more than the four-cylinder X250d Progressive, while the flagship V6 Power commands a $14,915 premium over the equivalent four-cylinder model grade.Jumping from the top-spec four-cylinder variant to the most affordable V6 Progressive costs $8770.However, the extra money will afford customers stronger performance, gaining 50kW and 100Nm over the next-best X250d, and making use of Mercedes' 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive system as standard.Unlike the four pot which is sourced from Nissan, the V6 is a Daimler engine, which may also add to its value for some buyers.Motivating the pick-up is a 190kW/550Nm 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine that is mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission, propelling the vehicle from 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds, 4.3 seconds quicker than the X250d Power.Drivers will also be able to filter between five modes, Comfort, Eco, Sport, Manual and Offroad which modifies the engine response, transmission shift points and toggles the automatic start/stop functionality.The specification of the two grades, Progressive and Power, mirror that of the four-cylinder X-Class range, but add keyless start/stop, dual-zone climate control and new 18-inch light-alloy wheels on the Progressive.Exclusive to the X350d Power is aluminium dash trim, black roof liner and 19-inch light-alloy wheels.Other noteworthy standard equipment on the Progressive grade includes a leather-lined steering wheel and parking brake, fabric seats, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, eight-speaker sound system and halogen headlamps.Meanwhile, the top-spec Power features chrome-plated underbody protection, a chrome-plated rear bumper, 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, matte black pixel and microfibre dashboard trim, leather-effect seat upholstery and power seats.On the safety end, the X350d features auto emergency braking, active lane keep assist, a surround-view monitor, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitor, trailer stabilisation and seven airbags.2018 Mercedes-Benz X350d list pricingMercedes-Benz X350d Progressive – automatic – $73,270Mercedes-Benz X350d Power – automatic – $79,415

The UK order books have opened for a new and more powerful Volkswagen Amarok (just in time to meet the incoming Mercedes-Benz X-Class head-on), providing a possible sneak-peek at what we can expect to pay when it arrives in Australia. As flagged earlier this year, the most powerful diesel engine in the Amarok range