There has been a lot of hype about the Mercedes Benz X-Class dual-cab ute, and people seem to have very mixed opinions about the idea of a luxury ute! So I am really excited to drive one and see how good it is as a family car and give it the BabyDrive testing!!
First impressions of the Benz X-Class is very branded, with the logo etched into the bars on the tray and protruding out of the tray walls too!
The interior is a little bit more luxurious than standard utes but apart from that, I can't really tell the difference! There are the same problems with legroom inside the cabin, the top tethers aren't easy to use and the cruise control isn't great either!
The clarity of the 360-degree camera is so good it almost looks computer generated! This is really useful when parking and maneuvering as visibility is difficult, especially out of the back. There are front and rear parking sensors too which is great as most utes don't tend to have them.
I could reach about a metre into the tray when standing at the back and I am 164cm, which meant it was only the first two rows of bags I could access easily. I could fit the Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller easily into that space with three shopping bags beside it, which would be enough space in reality to carry the stroller and shopping bags. I could reach over the sides of the tray too. All other smaller strollers fitted in the reachable area too.
Storage inside the cabin is a little disappointing, there is only one cup holder in the whole car!? It's in the central console. There is no tray for your phone or cordless charging, your phone has to go in the central console storage box, which is also small and the glove box is small as well! There is a glasses case in the ceiling and the door bins in the front and back will hold a large refillable water bottle and in the back, there are two small map pockets and little wells in the rear door handles.
The front seats are nice and comfy, with electric adjustment and heating controls down the right side of the seat base. In the back, the seats are comfy too but you seem to sit much higher in the back and headroom is really limited. There was only about 4cm above my head and I'm only 164cm!
There is ISOFix in the two outer seats, all within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to. There are top tether anchor loops on all three second-row seats, between the headrest prongs. They are woven loops rather than metal bars, just like in the Nissan Navara. I found these EXTREMELY difficult to connect to as you have to post the top tether strap through the loop on the chair you are putting the child seat in and then across to the loop on the seat to the left or right of it and attach the clip on there. It was difficult not only to get the straps through the loops but then to attach them and to tighten the top tether strap to the required amount in such a small space, especially once more than one child seat is installed! These woven loops are a bit of a grey area and it is uncertain if they are tested to hold three child seats.
The rear seat is nice and flat and wide and there was room for three child seats across the back row. I installed the Britax Platinum and Kid Guard Pro forward facing using seat belts and the Britax Graphene rear facing, using the ISOFix. Again, it is worth bearing in mind the top tether woven loops are a bit of a grey area and it is uncertain if they are tested to hold three child seats. When I tested the Nissan Navara that has an almost identical top tether setup,  it was almost impossible to get a straight answer from them about whether it was OK to install three seats or not.
The media screen system is very crisp and clear and especially the 360-degree camera has amazing image quality!
The media screen is controlled with a rotary controller situated in the central console and I find it really difficult to use, especially with my left hand because I am right handed! I found the media system quite difficult to navigate because of this. For someone already used to this Mercedes system, it would be fine but it is not straightforward for someone who isn't, and it would take some time to learn it. The system has inbuilt sat-nav but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The X-Class was a noisy vehicle to drive! The engine was extremely loud and tractor like, it felt like it was using as much effort when driving down a suburban street as it would climbing a mountain!
A lot of people have utes as family cars as they can double as a work vehicle after the school drop off! As a family car and a BabyDrive, the X-Class does fit three big child seats in the back but installing them is a real fight with the woven top tether loops. There are some interior aesthetic luxuries for the front passengers but on the whole, the legroom is very minimal even without child seats installed and the cab feels cramped, especially with the lack of headroom in the back. The lack of cup holders is a worry and the interior storage is small for a vehicle of this size. The clarity of the 360-degree camera helps tremendously with visibility but cruise control accuracy is appalling for a car of this price.
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class got a 5-star ANCAP safety rating in February 2018 and comes with seven airbags as standard.
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
In the Mercedes-Benz X-Class Ute, there is only one cup-holder!! WHAT!!!!? That's one for my tea, but where is everyone else going to put theirs?! There is a very shallow storage area next to it but it would not hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup and I didn't really find a use for it the whole week I had the ute. There is also no phone charging or storing tray in the central console just the central console storage box, which was small but has two USB sockets and a 12V too.
The glovebox in the X-Class is small too, but it is nicely felt lined and will hold my wallet and is just big enough for the iPad too with the manual.
There is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and lit vanity mirrors on both sides in the front.
The front door bins will hold a large refillable water bottle, a 600ml bottle and an iPad!
In the back of the X-Class, there are map pockets in the back of both front seats and the door bins are large enough to hold a large refillable water bottle.
The doors have wells as handles in them, which I find great for storing small items from my daughter's hands when I'm putting her in and out of her child seat, or for the keys whilst doing up her harness.
I have used the rear seats and footwell for storing shopping bags in when I only have one child seat installed because it is covered and I found easier with my toddler and put her stroller in the tray. I could only reach a meter deep into the tray which was enough to put the strollers in and out.
The tray of the X-Class would hold 30 shopping bags! That's the same amount as the Holden Colorado, one more than the Mazda BT-50 and Toyota Hilux, two more than the Mitsubishi Triton and six more than the Nissan Navara and Isuzu D-Max.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres ia not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted nicely in the reachable space with 22 shopping bags around it.
With the Britax Flexx tandem stroller, I could fit 24 shopping bags.
Our Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle stroller fitted with 23 shopping bags around it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller would fit with 28 shopping bags.
Or you could put any number or size of dogs in the tray. The trays surface is grippy without being rough and abrasive like the surface of the VW Amarok I tested.
I'm always mindful of the tailgate on utes as they come down quickly as they are so heavy! They are also at toddler height with very sharp corners so I worry my little one will walk into it. I also struggled when going to the X-Class with arms laden with child and child stuff because the tailgate really needs two hands to open and lower down gently.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
There are front and rear parking sensors in the X-Class I tested, which is quite rare on a ute, and I haven't tested many that have them. The sensor visuals are displayed as bars at the top of the digital screen in front of the steering wheel.
Parking sensor visuals are shown on the media screen camera view as well. The reversing camera is very good and very clear with a lot of different camera angle options.
The parking sensors can be turned on and off with a button by your right knee but not just muted.
Lane keep assist in the X-Class is more like lane departure warning, it vibrates the steering wheel when you drift out of lane but doesn't seem to steer you back into the lane. You can turn it off using the button by your right knee.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The doors open nice and quietly but they shut with a real slam which would disturb any sleeping passengers. Also, the window mechanisms are quite loud too and all of these with the loud engine, it's like they're all trying to compete!
You can come to a stop with the engine running and open the door without an alarm going off which is fantastic for not waking sleeping Bubs!
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
The indicator sound is quite abrupt and not a dull tone so I think it would affect a sleeping child on board. I didn't find a way to alter the indicator volume.
A lot of the time I mute the Sat-Nav voice until I get to the section of the journey where I don't know where I'm going. I don't want it blaring at me for the entire journey and disturbing my little passengers!
I didn't find it easy to connect my phone to the X-Class, there is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and the inbuilt system is navigated using a rotary controller situated in the central console that I found really difficult to use. Especially because I have to do it with my left hand and I am right handed! For someone already used to this Mercedes system, it would be fine but it is not straightforward for someone who isn't, it would take some time to learn it.
The X-Class did not have auto engine cut out to save fuel when you are stopped at traffic lights.
The X-Class engine is noisy and it really feels like it is working to climb a mountain when you are just driving down a suburban street.
There is a rear seatbelt reminder and warning.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
The X-Class is a five-seater, dual cab. The second row seats are nice and wide and flat with minimal shaping, which makes them great for fitting child seats. Ther are not very fussy, there are no perforations and just some rows of stitch details, so won't trap too much child detritus!
There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats, which are with plastic guides and quite easy to connect to.
For the top tethers, there are three woven loops behind the headrests, attached to the frame of the car, just like in the Nissan Navara. This is because the X-Class is built for Mercedes by Nissan in a European Nissan factory! To fit a child seat into the outer seat position you pass the top tether through the loop behind the headrest and then across and connect it onto the loop behind the central seat headrest.
I was concerned with this method of top tethers because I found them really quite difficult to use. Getting the top tethers through the loops is not easy because of the small space you are working in and connecting and disconnecting off the central loop is difficult too.
Also, I was worried that over time the metal top tether clip against the woven loop will wear away at it, possibly causing fraying?
It was the same with the Nissan Navara and concerns have been raised that having the two outer seat top tethers attached to the central loop in the event of an accident each seat will move differently pulling on that loop and could cause a kind of tug effect on the loop depending on which seat has more momentum.
I did raise my concerns with the Nissan salesmen and ask if the top tethers are tested to hold three child seats at the same time and they put the question to their Nissan contact but there was no real answer, I was just told there are three top tether loops. I also got no clear answer from a journalist asking someone high up in Nissan directly. It isn’t just me who questions the Navara top tethers. ACRI has asked for clarification on how many child seats are safe, also to no satisfactory answer from Nissan. It may be that there are completely safe to install three child seats but some official clarification would be good.
With that aside and ignoring the politics, there was room for three child seats in the back of the X-Class, installing three child seats wasn’t simple, I found I had to be inside the cab to reach around and do it all and it was all quite confined. Also, the logistics of getting a top tether clip through the webbing loops was very fiddly and difficult and tightening them almost impossible!
I could physically fit three child seats into the second row, the Britax Maxi Guard Pro and Kid Guard Pro forward facing and the Britax Graphene rear facing.
Legroom is limited in the X-Class, so with the rear-facing Britax Graphene installed the front passenger has just 16cm of knee room.
Posting Bub into their child seat from inside the cab, there is not a lot of room in the back and the ceiling is quite low which makes the post quite difficult. From outside the post was easier because you are lifting them up to your chest height and not having to bend down.
Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed Bub in the back seat if you only have one child seat installed but it does feel quite cramped.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
The seats in the front of the X-Class are very comfortable! They are simple black leather with minimal stitching which is great for cleaning them.
The front seats are easily adjusted using electric switches on the side of the seat bases and the heated seat controls are there too.
I was able to wear a ponytail with the headrests too!
I spent ages this morning doing my hair, said no new mum ever!!
In the back, the seats are equally as comfortable, even the central seat! The floor is almost flat so your legs don't have to straddle a hump in the central seat. It is a very upright seating in the back and headroom is limited, at 164cm I had about 4cm above my head and it felt like I was going to brush my head on the ceiling constantly.
For the first year of Tulsi's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is only adjustable up and down, not in and out, which I find is the case with the majority of utes. The cruise control is on a lever just behind the left of the steering wheel. Once I had located the lever I found it relatively easy to use but extremely inaccurate and went up to 18km/h over the set speed on undulating roads at 60km/h.
There are six air-con vents across the front dashboard, four in the centre and one at either end of the dashboard. From a distance, the vents look kind of cool but close up they feel like they are flimsy plastic.
For the rear passengers, there are vents in the back of the central console storage box that you can reach from the front while driving to adjust.
The controls for the air-con are centrally located on the dashboard and easy to use while driving.
There is a 12V socket on the dashboard, one in the central console storage box and another in the back of the central console storage box for rear passengers too.
Visibility in the X-Class is hard for rear-facing passengers in the back because the windows slope up drastically towards the back and with the flat back window, rear-facing passengers get cooked by the sun in their face. Forward facing, little rear passengers would have a good view out but I found I sat so high in the back I had to duck to see well out of the front window and sides!
With three child seats installed, I could hardly see anything out of the rear window at all, the child seats came almost to the ceiling! The side windows were covered too with rear-facing child seats installed.
The 360-degree cameras definitely help with parking and maneuvering the X-Class as visibility is difficult. The clarity of the camera image helps as well.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get the cars as parking is tight in our apartment block carpark, the X-Class 360-degree camera helped to make it slightly less stressful when parking!
The vanity mirrors in both sides in the front of the X-Class are lit but the visors are not extendable.
There are lights in the ceiling for the front passengers and in the second row, there is one in the ceiling between the front seats. This is easily reached by the driver and turned on and off while driving. There are also handles above the rear doors that are well positioned to hang children's toys.
I find it important to reach the interior rear lights so that when I am driving bub at night I can turn the lights on while she is awake so that she is not scared in the dark and then I can switch them off once she is asleep.
The X-Class has a noisy engine and the motion of the vehicle feels like it is putting in the amount of effort it would climbing a mountain when it's just driving around town, which perhaps makes the suburban drive more interesting.
The exterior of the X-Class is stylish compared to many utes and it is heavily branded.
The interior is more aesthetically pleasing and appears more stylish than most utes, however, at closer inspection the surfaces and air vents, for example, feel like they are cheap plastic.
There are rubber floor mats throughout the X-Class which are great for taking out and hosing down if your kids have any spills!
The tailgate is heavy which always concerns me, and they are at toddler head height and have such pointy corners. Apparently Mercedes will sell you a “tailgate damper” for a few hundred dollars, which should help a bit.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class has seven airbags as standard. Driver and front passenger frontal airbags, front only side chest airbags and side head curtain airbags for front and second-row passengers and the drivers knee airbag.
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2017, with an adult occupancy protection score of 90%, and rating of 34.5 out of 38 points.
It scored 6.27 out of 8 for the frontal offset test, and 8/8 for the side impact test and 7.85/8 for the pole test.
For child occupancy protection the X-Class scored 87% (43 out of 49.)
In the testing, they found in the frontal offset test, protection of the chest of the six-year-old was marginal, for all other body regions, protection of the 6 and 10-year-old dummies was good or adequate. In the side impact test, protection of both child dummies was good for all critical body regions.
For onboard safety features the X-Class scored 9/13 and child seat installation it scored 11.5/12.
For pedestrian protection, the X-Class was scored 80% (34 out of 42) and for safety assist it was scored 72% (8.8 out of 12).
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class comes with active brake assist (autonomous emergency braking, radar type), anti-lock braking system (ABS), (ESP) electronic stability programme, lane keeping assist, acceleration skid control (ASR), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), trailer stability assist, daytime running lights, hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), seatbelt reminder and automatic co-driver airbag deactivation, comfort turn signal, 3- ashes come as standard in the three X-Class models.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
Thank you – as a mum of 2 small kids this was great – comprehensive and covers all the things I also look for.
Thank you Melissa, glad we could help 🙂