Early last year, rumours flew of a Mercedes-Benz pickup truck hitting the market. Well those rumours are back, and they've gotten a lot stronger. Auto Express is reporting that their sources have confirmed that the Mercedes pickup is planned to debut near the end of this year. With the current auto show schedule, that likely means the Paris show will be the debut for the Mercedes pickup, which is reported to be called the X-Class.
Expected to be based on the Nissan Navara (the replacement for the Frontier we get now), the truck would compete with rivals like the VW Amarok or the Ford Ranger on the world market. If it made it to Canada, this would be a very unique vehicle. A luxury compact pickup would be a first here, and it would be interesting to see if it caught on.
Underhood would most likely be the selection of gas and diesel engines found in Mercedes' other midsize entries such as the 3.0L diesel from the GLE 350d or 3.5L V6 from the gas GLE. Expect the usual Mercedes luxury interior and safety features, but the possibility of a more Sprinter-like commercial variant is there as well.
If the X-Class debuts late this year, don't expect it to see showrooms before late 2017 or early 2018, if it makes it to Canada at all.
