Mercedes XCLass

[RobertRyan]

Will be interesting too what they want to do with this. Competition is now the Amarok according too MB. That has now 254hp and 420lbs ft of torque. Japanese are being a little bit agitated. Would not be surprised too see the Japanese bring out a well specked suitor.
Mercedes was released today in Australia

[RobertRyan]

200,000 Pickups are sold annually in Australia 300-400 US Conversions are sold as well.
So US Pickup sales are extremely boutique.
Many new manufacturers are entering the market, so it has been growing in leaps and bounds.

[RobertRyan]

Grit dog wrote:
A cop minivan?? Hahahahahaha.........hahahahahhaa!!!!

Bigger than this, it is not a Mini Van.Police Explorer is the same size as the Territory. It replaced the Explorer here. Explorer not very well received as it had many problems. Has a nickname of “ exploder” in the US, pretty well lived up too it here. Police here have tested US Police vehicles, but pretty lukewarm too them.

Then Police here show up in a range of vehicles More PR than anything else in this case

delete hotmail account

[Grit_dog]

A cop minivan?? Hahahahahaha.........hahahahahhaa!!!!

[RobertRyan]

rjstractor wrote:
Most of the Japanese cabovers I see where I live are used in construction, delivery or landscaping. Not a lot of farms. As far as full size vans go the Ford Transit is getting to be very popular. There are a lot commercial minivans on the market too. Ford, GM, Ram, Mercedes and Nissan all sell them.

Ford Transit not that popular. No Transit connect. Renault Master is popular as a delivery Van, as well as the Sprinter.. Korean and Japanese mid size Vans are pretty popular, not so much minivans. Some Police forces Use the Hyundai iLoad as a Cruiser..IVECO Daily the Fiat Truck division’s Van is used a lot in the RV industry. Seems the Truck Division competes with the Ducato for sales and is winning hands down

IVECO Based 28ft Class C

[rjstractor]

RobertRyan wrote:
GM HD Duramax as a daily driver, that makes sense as they do not use them for anything else here.. Another Truck owner had a Porsche Turbo as a Daily Driver.
Fuso’s and Hino’s on Farms? US Cities are using Japanese Light Trucks more, which surprised me. You will see an uptake of more Vans in the US. In fact the US has the fastest growth of Vans anywhere

Most of the Japanese cabovers I see where I live are used in construction, delivery or landscaping. Not a lot of farms. As far as full size vans go the Ford Transit is getting to be very popular. There are a lot commercial minivans on the market too. Ford, GM, Ram, Mercedes and Nissan all sell them.

[RobertRyan]

rjstractor wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:
You would never see US Pickups working on Farms/ Workplaces. Will see 3 litre Diesels used by Tradesmen. Then again you are not going too see a lot of MDT and HDT Japanese/European Trucks used on farms or worksites in the US/ Canada

More astute observations by the guy who has maybe visited here once or twice? In my area you can't throw a rock without hitting an Isuzu N-series. Lots of Fusos and Hinos as well. Probably right about US trucks in Australia, but here's a funny. I stumbled on a Netflix reality show about HHA, a heavy haulage company in Australia. The owner is a total truck nut, and his fleet is top of the line. His daily driver? Not a Toyota Hilux ute, but a GM 2500HD Duramax! 🙂

GM HD Duramax as a daily driver, that makes sense as they do not use them for anything else here.. Another Truck owner had a Porsche Turbo as a Daily Driver.
Fuso’s and Hino’s on Farms? US Cities are using Japanese Light Trucks more, which surprised me. You will see an uptake of more Vans in the US. In fact the US has the fastest growth of Vans anywhere
From a magazine called Delivery, they review Utes, Light Trucks and Vans. Not that well ai must add.
This the RAM 2500 with 6.7 Diesel

the RAM a go anywhere off-road challenger? Definitely not! With a wheelbase of 3797 mm and approach and departure angles of 21.8 and 22.3 degrees respectively, plus an overall length of 6027 mm, there would be an embarrassing moment at the first culvert. Is it capable of easily covering long distances on dirt roads or freeways? Absolutely! With one click of the switch selecting 4WD while on the move before reaching 88 km/h, you’ve got the benefit of additional traction and control from all-wheel-drive on loose dirt roads.

Strange comparison though he is comparing it with a Toyota Hilux/ Ford Ranger

Now that you are comfortable with your green credentials, matched only by some premium luxury, diesel-engined, Euro 6 compliant, prestige cars, we come to the question of fuel economy.
With a six-speed automatic transmission and more than double the torque output of your competitors, we managed a best figure on a highway run of 10.9 l/100 km and an overall average of 12.8 l/100km. This figure is undoubtedly helped by the top two ratios being over-driven at 0.82:1 and 0.63:1.
If you need instant acceleration for an overtake, the power comes through by the bucket load. If you need additional retardation such as when towing a laden trailer down a steep hill, you can switch on the exhaust brake, which slows down the combination without reliance on the footbrake.
When towing with the 2500 the weight limits are 3500 kg with a 50 mm tow ball, 4500 kg with a 70 mm tow ball and 6989 kg (15400lb)with a pintle hook. Your payload level is 913 kg and the RAM comes with an integrated electric trailer brake actuator with controls on the dashboard.
Becoming acclimatised to the size of the RAM happens surprisingly quickly, and within a couple of days a driver can feel safely in control, assisted when parking by reverse cameras that show the tow ball position and surrounding rear area, plus front and rear reverse park sensors. As you select reverse the wing mirrors tilt downwards, another benefit to safe reversing.
With a huge amount of interior space and six seats, RAM is much more upmarket in terms of its inclusions and comfort levels than any of the Japanese-style competition. A high-quality sound system with Bluetooth connectivity and voice actuated controls sets the scene for the premium level interior of the Laramie, and with leather trim and power seats with adjustable lumber support it sets a high standard of personal comfort.
Front seats are heated or cooled individually, and even the steering wheel rim has its own heater for frozen mornings in the snow season. If you want to have a warm interior you can start the engine remotely by pointing the key fob and pressing the engine start button. The engine will then idle for 15 minutes, warming up itself and your environment.
In the rear-seat area the seat bases lift upwards and a fold-out shelf then levels off the floor area making it suitable for carrying parcels or shopping, and not having it rolling around in a foot well. In the front seat the centre passenger seat has a fold-down backrest that turns into a centre storage area, creating individual left and right bucket seats.
With a tare weight over 3500 kg this is obviously not a vehicle to throw into corners and challenge the neighbours, but with its coil springs all-round and three-link front suspension with five-link rear suspension designs, it handles Australian roads better than expected. Remember though that your overall width is 2009 mm and you will need 13.38 m to complete a U-turn.
Finally, from a tradie perspective, the tray bed length is 1939 mm with a width of 1295 between wheel arches and 1687 wall to wall, with side heights of 511 mm. Standard equipment only provides a tie-down point in each corner, but you can add a genuine accessory in the form of additional side rails with sliding tie-down points. The same applies to adding a tonneau cover, some extra chrome bling and a chromed exhaust pipe tip.
The RAM turned out to be a complete surprise, in terms of interior appointments, quality of the conversion and general ability of the vehicle. Look past the initial potential for sticker shock of the pricing and you’ll find a work-oriented vehicle that is unique for safe towing and that offers so much more than the current standard ute alternatives.

[rjstractor]

RobertRyan wrote:
You would never see US Pickups working on Farms/ Workplaces. Will see 3 litre Diesels used by Tradesmen. Then again you are not going too see a lot of MDT and HDT Japanese/European Trucks used on farms or worksites in the US/ Canada

More astute observations by the guy who has maybe visited here once or twice? In my area you can't throw a rock without hitting an Isuzu N-series. Lots of Fusos and Hinos as well. Probably right about US trucks in Australia, but here's a funny. I stumbled on a Netflix reality show about HHA, a heavy haulage company in Australia. The owner is a total truck nut, and his fleet is top of the line. His daily driver? Not a Toyota Hilux ute, but a GM 2500HD Duramax! 🙂

[RobertRyan]

Editing software on this forum leaves a lot to be desired
GMW Photos.
Navara has had major problems with load stability

You can see the difference because the rear-end of the new Nissan Navara rides 25mm higher than before unladen and 40mm higher laden, giving it a more wedgy look. It’s the only way to pick out the Series 3 as it otherwise looks like its predecessor.

A quick check of Series 2 versus Series 3 ST-X dual-cab key measurements reveals that most stay the same, including the 3500kg (7,700lb)braked towing capacity. But overall height rises 15mm to 1855mm, kerb weight is up a few kegs to 1979kg (still light by class standards), approach and departure angles are both improved but payload drops 10kg to 931kg(1900lb).GVWR is also light at 5910lb

[RobertRyan]

gmw photos wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:

gmw photos wrote:
The poster that said: "rebadged Nissan Navara", this is correct. There is an interview with some manufacturer reps on the web that explains the relationship between Nissan and MB on this project.

To Robert Ryan, hey man, I enjoy your posts and seeing pics from down-under, but you are incorrect when you say the new design Navara ( Frontier to us ) is different in size to the "old style" ( 2005 to current ) Frontier.

I have and still drive a 2006 Frontier. I just went to the garage and got out my sales brochure from 2006 and compared the dimensions and specs to a "new" Australia spec Navara. All dimensions are within an inch. In some cases my old version is actually slightly larger than the new.

They are basically the same vehicle, with different powertrains (y'all get stuck with slow-azz small diesels, we get gas motors ) and different sheetmetal.

To the guy that said the rear overhang is too long for good towing, he obviously has not towed with one. I've towed over 50K miles ( my 19' TT or my horse trailer ) behind my Frontier, and it does very well indeed.

Back on topic, I suspect the new MB version will be a niche market product. They'll sell a few, just like Ford sells "a few" of the Lincoln badged F150's. There are always a few folks willing to pay extra for something a bit more unique and expensive.

Do not know where you got your information but Nissan poured a lot of money into the Navara which does not share anything..It will be the basis of the MB Class X but will have a different frame and body pAnels. I can tell you it is physically a lot bigger than the old model.
Nissan has FIVE factories globally making the Navara. It has no relation too your Frontier
Gas ( Petrol) engines were ditched.. Toyota has retired it’s 4 litre V6 none was buying it.

BOB ! Pay attention here. I told you where I got my information. I got it directly from the Nissan website. My "old design" 2006 Frontier is the same size as the Au market current Navara. Look it up Bob, it's on the websites.

Toyota did NOT ditch their gasoline engines for worldwide markets. The current Tacoma in the US market is a new design, 3.5 liter V6 gas engine. This engine replaced the previous 4.0 gasoline V6.

As a prolific poster, if you want credibility, check out the facts before you make absolute statements. The info is easily available on the internet.

As to the difference between the MB and the current Navara, what I read as far as the mechanical differences, it's most suspension tweaking for a more comfortable ride, and better handling. Which ironically ( for this forum's readers ) will likely make it less suitable for towing.

The body panels that are the least expensive to change tooling on ( fenders, doors, tailgate ) will be unique to the MB, but the main body structure ( cab, floorpan ) will be the same. As will the frame most likely.

This corroboration between Nissan and MB makes perfect sense for both companies. Euro companies like to work with each other, and now that Renault largely controls what Nissan does, we can guess that top mgmnt from Renault and MB had a nice long discussion about this project.

Side note: Nissan also build a re-badged Frontier for Suzuki here in the US recently. It was literally just a Frontier with Suzuki emblems. The Equator shared all the same body panels with the Frontier.

EDIT add: In Mexico, Chevy sells three "smaller pickups", the Tornado, S10, and Colorado. All have gasoline engines.

Couple of issues here. Yes Petrol engines in the US none in Australia or anywhere else.
Navara is all diesel. Those mini Pickups are like very much smaller versions Utes but based on unibodies. They are only sold in Mexico and Brazil.
I did not say they ditched them for the US/ CanadaThey offer the small 2.7 Petrol for the Hilux here, but very few take it up.

[RobertRyan]

Grit dog wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:
GMC Canyon being tested in Australia

Launched in 2014 just after the Chevrolet Colorado on which it is based, the US-built Canyon is currently offered with three powertrains – a 3.6-litre petrol V6, 2.8-litre diesel and 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder.

The diesel is the same Thai-made VM Motori unit as the sole engine offered in the Holden Colorado. The Canyon version generates less power – 138kW compared with 147kW in the Holden – but the same torque (500Nm).

It is conceivable that GMC might have opted to ramp up the Canyon’s diesel power to the Holden levels, perhaps to counter the Ford Ranger should the Blue Oval company be tempted to slot its premium 157kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine into the American vehicle.

So far, Ford North America has only announced a 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine with 10-speed automatic transmission for the Ranger that is slated for sale in early 2019.

The 2.0-litre Ford diesel – also hooked up to the 10-speed auto – is set to debut in Australia late this year in the flagship Ranger Raptor.

2.xx and 3.xx litre diesels are cute! Great for jeeps and compact trucks.
Get back to us when they grow up and get big enough to work in real trucks !

You would never see US Pickups working on Farms/ Workplaces. Will see 3 litre Diesels used by Tradesmen. Then again you are not going too see a lot of MDT and HDT Japanese/European Trucks used on farms or worksites in the US/ Canada

[Grit_dog]

RobertRyan wrote:
GMC Canyon being tested in Australia

Launched in 2014 just after the Chevrolet Colorado on which it is based, the US-built Canyon is currently offered with three powertrains – a 3.6-litre petrol V6, 2.8-litre diesel and 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder.

The diesel is the same Thai-made VM Motori unit as the sole engine offered in the Holden Colorado. The Canyon version generates less power – 138kW compared with 147kW in the Holden – but the same torque (500Nm).

It is conceivable that GMC might have opted to ramp up the Canyon’s diesel power to the Holden levels, perhaps to counter the Ford Ranger should the Blue Oval company be tempted to slot its premium 157kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine into the American vehicle.

So far, Ford North America has only announced a 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine with 10-speed automatic transmission for the Ranger that is slated for sale in early 2019.

The 2.0-litre Ford diesel – also hooked up to the 10-speed auto – is set to debut in Australia late this year in the flagship Ranger Raptor.

2.xx and 3.xx litre diesels are cute! Great for jeeps and compact trucks.
Get back to us when they grow up and get big enough to work in real trucks !

[gmw_photos]

RobertRyan wrote:

gmw photos wrote:
The poster that said: "rebadged Nissan Navara", this is correct. There is an interview with some manufacturer reps on the web that explains the relationship between Nissan and MB on this project.

To Robert Ryan, hey man, I enjoy your posts and seeing pics from down-under, but you are incorrect when you say the new design Navara ( Frontier to us ) is different in size to the "old style" ( 2005 to current ) Frontier.

I have and still drive a 2006 Frontier. I just went to the garage and got out my sales brochure from 2006 and compared the dimensions and specs to a "new" Australia spec Navara. All dimensions are within an inch. In some cases my old version is actually slightly larger than the new.

They are basically the same vehicle, with different powertrains (y'all get stuck with slow-azz small diesels, we get gas motors ) and different sheetmetal.

To the guy that said the rear overhang is too long for good towing, he obviously has not towed with one. I've towed over 50K miles ( my 19' TT or my horse trailer ) behind my Frontier, and it does very well indeed.

Back on topic, I suspect the new MB version will be a niche market product. They'll sell a few, just like Ford sells "a few" of the Lincoln badged F150's. There are always a few folks willing to pay extra for something a bit more unique and expensive.

Do not know where you got your information but Nissan poured a lot of money into the Navara which does not share anything..It will be the basis of the MB Class X but will have a different frame and body pAnels. I can tell you it is physically a lot bigger than the old model.
Nissan has FIVE factories globally making the Navara. It has no relation too your Frontier
Gas ( Petrol) engines were ditched.. Toyota has retired it’s 4 litre V6 none was buying it.

BOB ! Pay attention here. I told you where I got my information. I got it directly from the Nissan website. My "old design" 2006 Frontier is the same size as the Au market current Navara. Look it up Bob, it's on the websites.

Toyota did NOT ditch their gasoline engines for worldwide markets. The current Tacoma in the US market is a new design, 3.5 liter V6 gas engine. This engine replaced the previous 4.0 gasoline V6.

As a prolific poster, if you want credibility, check out the facts before you make absolute statements. The info is easily available on the internet.

As to the difference between the MB and the current Navara, what I read as far as the mechanical differences, it's most suspension tweaking for a more comfortable ride, and better handling. Which ironically ( for this forum's readers ) will likely make it less suitable for towing.

The body panels that are the least expensive to change tooling on ( fenders, doors, tailgate ) will be unique to the MB, but the main body structure ( cab, floorpan ) will be the same. As will the frame most likely.

This corroboration between Nissan and MB makes perfect sense for both companies. Euro companies like to work with each other, and now that Renault largely controls what Nissan does, we can guess that top mgmnt from Renault and MB had a nice long discussion about this project.

Side note: Nissan also build a re-badged Frontier for Suzuki here in the US recently. It was literally just a Frontier with Suzuki emblems. The Equator shared all the same body panels with the Frontier.

EDIT add: In Mexico, Chevy sells three "smaller pickups", the Tornado, S10, and Colorado. All have gasoline engines.

[RobertRyan]

GMC Canyon being tested in Australia

Launched in 2014 just after the Chevrolet Colorado on which it is based, the US-built Canyon is currently offered with three powertrains – a 3.6-litre petrol V6, 2.8-litre diesel and 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder.

The diesel is the same Thai-made VM Motori unit as the sole engine offered in the Holden Colorado. The Canyon version generates less power – 138kW compared with 147kW in the Holden – but the same torque (500Nm).

It is conceivable that GMC might have opted to ramp up the Canyon’s diesel power to the Holden levels, perhaps to counter the Ford Ranger should the Blue Oval company be tempted to slot its premium 157kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine into the American vehicle.

So far, Ford North America has only announced a 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine with 10-speed automatic transmission for the Ranger that is slated for sale in early 2019.

The 2.0-litre Ford diesel – also hooked up to the 10-speed auto – is set to debut in Australia late this year in the flagship Ranger Raptor.

[RobertRyan]

RobertRyan wrote:

gmw photos wrote:
The poster that said: "rebadged Nissan Navara", this is correct. There is an interview with some manufacturer reps on the web that explains the relationship between Nissan and MB on this project.

To Robert Ryan, hey man, I enjoy your posts and seeing pics from down-under, but you are incorrect when you say the new design Navara ( Frontier to us ) is different in size to the "old style" ( 2005 to current ) Frontier.

I have and still drive a 2006 Frontier. I just went to the garage and got out my sales brochure from 2006 and compared the dimensions and specs to a "new" Australia spec Navara. All dimensions are within an inch. In some cases my old version is actually slightly larger than the new.

They are basically the same vehicle, with different powertrains (y'all get stuck with slow-azz small diesels, we get gas motors ) and different sheetmetal.

To the guy that said the rear overhang is too long for good towing, he obviously has not towed with one. I've towed over 50K miles ( my 19' TT or my horse trailer ) behind my Frontier, and it does very well indeed.

Back on topic, I suspect the new MB version will be a niche market product. They'll sell a few, just like Ford sells "a few" of the Lincoln badged F150's. There are always a few folks willing to pay extra for something a bit more unique and expensive.

Do not know where you got your information but Nissan poured a lot of money into the Navara which does not share anything..It will be the basis of the MB Class X but will have a different frame and body panels. I can tell you it is physically a lot bigger than the old model.
Nissan has FIVE factories globally making the Navara. It has no relation too your Frontier
Gas ( Petrol) engines were ditched.. Toyota has retired it’s 4 litre V6 none were buying it.