SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Enterprising: 2018 Mercedes-Benz X220d Progressive

Pleasant to live with

Pics by Mercedes-Benz
Posted: 3 December 2018

The numbers
Price: R642 103
Engine: 2298 cc, four-cylinder, DOHC 16-valve turbodiesel
Power: 120 kW at 3750 rpm
Torque: 403 Nm between 1500 and 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 184 km/h
Real life average fuel consumption: About 7.2 l/100 km
Tank: 73 litres
Warranty and maintenance: 6 years / 100 000 km Premium Drive

There are eight South African Mercedes-Benz X-Class models. They are all dual-cab and all have diesel engines. Choices span two versions of the Mercedes-Nissan 2.3-litre motor and a 190-kW Mercedes-Benz V6 displacing 2987 cc; manual and automatic (Nissan and M-B) transmissions; 4x2 and 4x4 drive trains and two levels of trim. That’s lower grade Progressive and upper class Power. A third, workhorse, trim package only available overseas is called Pure.

Our test unit was an entry-level X220d Progressive with the 120-kW version of the jointly developed engine, a Nissan six-speed manual gearbox and 4x2 drive. It is the only one in the range using this motor.

Because it’s a Mercedes-Benz, it obviously can’t be completely basic. Standard kit features powered and heated external mirrors with automatic dimming; 17” alloy wheels with 255/65 street tyres and fully sized spare; tyre pressure monitoring; Dourados faux leather upholstery; heat insulating glass; rear window defroster; air conditioning; eight-speaker, Audio 20 CD music system with standard connectivity features; electric windows front and rear; rain sensing wipers; halogen headlamps and front fog lights.

Safety items include seven airbags; anchors for i-Size child seats; ABS brakes with ASR; hill start assist; reversing camera and anti-theft protection. Central locking (obviously), trailer stability assistance (the wiring is in place although a hitch costs R6900 extra), cruise control, and Util-Trac adjustable load securing hardware borrowed from Nissan are there too.

Two navigation and communications upgrades are available, as are various packages covering parking assistance, smarter seats, styling kit, winter-specific items, 18- or 19” wheels, six metallic paint colours and a suite of traffic aids.

As mentioned in our X250d review, the Mercedes-Benz version of the body is longer, lower and wider with corresponding increases in track width and interior dimensions. There are very few, if any, common panels and interiors are typically Mercedes.

Apart from a gremlin, shared by our test X250 a week earlier, that chose to reveal itself in front of a pack of rowdy Range Rover and Isuzu owners at a barbeque with friends, the X220 was pleasant to live with. Briefly, both vehicles’ tailgates sometimes refused to open when needed. The short-term fix was to apply impact training - simultaneous sharp thumps with the heels of one’s palms at both ends of the offending item – close to the spring-loaded catches. A dab of grease on each of them would probably fix the problem temporarily but one expects better, you know?

The 120-kilowatt, 403-Nm engine provided plenty of power for day-to-day activities, flattened hills and felt unbeatable. It loped along at about 2500 rpm for 120 km/h in sixth gear and was always ready to offer a bit more when needed. The manual transmission felt slightly notchy and required a fair stretch over to the one–two shift plane, but otherwise worked well. What we really liked about the vehicle was the fact that without any special treatment, or driver behaviour, it returned fuel mileage vastly superior to that of the X250d, 4x4 automatic – 7.2 litres per 100 km versus 9.2 litres.

Getting down to matters of interest to gentleman farmers and owners of small businesses, this X-Class’s load bin is rated at 1126 kg. That means it can carry 17 kegs of beer (and two more inside with the rear seat cushion lifted) or a DIN-standard pallet of fertiliser. Or mixed cases of wine and other bottled beverages. Let’s not be judgemental - caterers and shebeen owners are business people too. And should you spring for the trailer hitch, the potential towing capacity is 3200 kg.
 
While the X250d Power auto may have provided extra nice-to-haves, we reckon this one is more practical. It’s probably also cheaper to own over the long haul.

Test unit from M-B Vans SA press fleet

We also drove an X250d Power with  a/t



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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