4x4 Action Group

This weekend I had opportunity to fiddle around a bit in the X-class, both the auto and the manual albeit only the 4 pott as no amount of begging can get Merc to release a V6 for public opinion yet! (I have it on good authority that some V6’s made it onto our shores, but head office them from even being pdi’ed

Now those of you that know me, realise my daily driver an Amarok V6 makes me extremely biased for this task! I’ll do my best to be objective!

The inside is certainly a comfortable environment as far as a bakkie is concerned, dashboard does have a fairly luxurious feel to it! If it was not for that double sided stuck on ipad, I would have been very happy!

The seats are comfortable by bakkie standards, but certainly not as plush as I would expect from Merc, it reminds me of the B-class, certainly not E or S-class!

The back is typically double cab cramped, but adequate for small kids on long journeys!

My biggest bug bear is getting in and out and maybe because of my own awkward build, but it is on par with the SLS[emoji15]

The outside is uninspired but functional, to my bias it seems as if the clay prototype was left in the sun for too long and the Merc identity sagged a bit.

As for the drive, it is bakkie, with rear coil springs and disc brakes, nothing more, nothing less! I did note that the stance of the nose is inspiring, but the rear appears to sag in comparison, my own experience dictates that it is more difficult to fine tune coils compared to blades. I do think this is an area where aftermarket can play a role.

Getting back to the ipad stuck on dash, its a radio, I expected it to do rocket science to the internals or even do something mundane as navigating or even answer the phone, maybe the demo were not equipped with these extras!

Comparing the auto gearbox of the Amarok would be unfair, it is on par with the d4d Fortuner and yes there are button activated lowrange, sadly no opportunity to test this!

In conclusion; a very nice double cab bakkie with not one single thing that sets it apart from the rest other than its price tag and for now novelty, hopefully the 6 pot will add some flare to this!


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The ars sags, even without a load on it, I did not have opportunity to load it.


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Should I explain it to you guys? I’d be happy to.

XJ Junkie wrote:Should I explain it to you guys? I’d be happy to.

Yes please

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Oppies3800 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 6:51 am

XJ Junkie wrote:Should I explain it to you guys? I’d be happy to.

Yes please

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x2

Coil springs in the rear make the ride a lot more comfortable than donkey cart leaf springs and do not need to compromise load carrying capacity. Chevy had a rear coil/front torsion bar set-up on the C10 (1/2 ton in the States and 3/4 ton in RSA) way back in the early 60's. It was by far the most comfortable bakkie around locally - although the Northern Cape farmers deemed the suspension to be "soft", the issue was with the front torsion bars and not the coils. In those days they did not realize that the torsion bars could be "wound up"

I had the old Navara, the D40 version, and it was pretty special ridewize on gravel in comparison to other bakkies. But it was mainly due to its titanic like length.

I have driven both of these coil springed versions, the Navara and the X-class.. Both drive better than the older version. Fact..

If you guys were expecting flying carpet smoothness I think you are being pedantic. It still has to carry a load ffs.

And no, a Defender does not drive better unladen, it also drives very bouncy when unladen, I know, anyone saying differently has had no actual comparable experience.

The Amarok does drive better!!! It is true. I also believe the damping at the front of the VW adds to the better drive feeling...

But...

The coils will out flex the leafs in standard form... and...What suspension would work better/easier when modded for even more flex?
In the end, if you want to add a canopy and what not to the rear of the coiled version, it will without a doubt, drive better than any other leaf sprung bakkie.

The coiled bakkies are better, just like a Fortuner drives better than a Lux, and Everest drives better than a Ranger..

The Navara and the Merc cannot carry more than two Woolies shopping bags at the back

I should have taken more photos, the coils are kept in place by fairly long lower control arms which should be good for some travel!


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Quack wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:08 pm

I should have taken more photos, the coils are kept in place by fairly long lower control arms which should be good for some travel!


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Anyone saying differently is just a theorist, and ignores practical fact

Hedgehog wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:27 pm

Anyone saying differently is just a theorist, and ignores practical fact

^5 Andrew!!!

Suspension setup is an exact science! I’m just personally not sure of how exactly it works![emoji12]

Having said that we all agree that every suspension setup is biased towards the perceived requirement of the end user.

Unfortunately I could not take the X on an extended drive, I did speak to some of the motor journalists that did and they were in agreement that on long distance it is pretty comfortable! None of them really put it through its paces in the rough, certainly not to the level this forum would expect from them!

A big limitation on most leaf spring setups is that the blades are under the chassis leg, which does hamper upward travel, this is normally overcome by curving the chassis leg over the axle.

What I like about the Amarok’s setup is that the blades sit outside the chassis leg, this allows for more stability and also travel while retaining the conventional benefits.

I’m one of those people who is not always content with conventional wisdom and forever have to fiddle with designs that took the engineers years to perfect for the masses[emoji12]

My comment on the X suspension was merely that it is easier to play with leaf springs than it is with coils.

To raise a leaf sprung suspension (if it is spring over axle) is to space it with a simple square block of steel, coils require you to be pretty cunning with lathes etc and does upset overall geometry much quicker, certainly if you deal with independent suspension.

And before anyone climbs down my throat and points out that the above is simply an enthusiast’s shortcut, I’m fully aware of the fact!


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Quack wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 1:08 pm

To raise a leaf sprung suspension (if it is spring over axle) is to space it with a simple square block of steel, coils require you to be pretty cunning with lathes etc and does upset overall geometry much quicker, certainly if you deal with independent suspension.




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The axle we are referring to is not an independent setup...

You just fit longer springs.. And shocks..