autoevolution
 

Volkswagen Executive Thrashes the Mercedes-Benz X-Class Pickup

It looks like Volkswagen might have found its voice again after the Dieselgate scandal forced it to lay low for a while. Is it too soon? Well, nobody can really tell, but as long as it's not complaining about other companies' diesel engines, we guess it's all fair game.
2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class 1 photo
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
And these two years of hiding behind a rock seem to have given the Wolfsburg-based company quite an itch to go criticising other brands. We showed you just a few weeks ago how the big boss, CEO Matthias Mueller simply destroyed Tesla in one short burst that took less than a minute, but now the guns have been set on a much closer competitor.

Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz normally have nothing to do with each other since one is a premium brand and the other a mainstream one (albeit with slight premium claims). Recent developments, however, have shown Mercedes-Benz benchmarking its new A-Class against a new VW Golf, while the Golf R more than held its own against an AMG A45 in an acceleration test.

So the gap might be getting smaller and smaller with each passing day. However, Volkswagen's latest punt at another fellow carmakers is aimed at the Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck, which is one segment where everyone is equal.

Well, not exactly since Mercedes-Benz claims its product is the first premium pickup truck, something that Volkswagen (and they're not the only ones) seems to find ridiculous. Talking to Australian publication Motoring, Paul Pottinger, the Volkswagen head of communications for Down Under had a few harsh words on the X-Class.

"It’s very difficult to disguise a Nissan Navara,” he said. "If I was a buyer I might be surprised [with the quality]. When a Mercedes-Benz owner opens the door and sees Nissan hinges, the game might be up.” With prices going well over those of the Navara, one does have to wonder if paying for a badge and a slight bump in interior quality really makes sense for a truck (or a "ute," as they call them in Australia).

Volkswagen has been late to the pickup truck ball itself with the Amarok, at least compared to the old faces like Toyota, Nissan, Ford or Mitsubishi, but it's made a convincing effort. The company chose to develop the utility vehicle itself instead of striking a partnership as Mercedes-Benz did, which now allows it to hold its head high and dish criticism on the others. Or at least that's what they seem to think.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Vlad Mitrache
Vlad Mitrache profile photo

"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories