Ford Ranger vs Toyota HiLux vs Mercedes-Benz X-Class 2018 ute comparison review

Buyers are spending more money on their four-wheel drive pick-up trucks than ever, and our trio of top-of-the-range 4x4 automatic offerings are designed to work and play hard - as well as possibly offering up a bit of a statement to the neighbours about how much you spent on your double cab ute. 

The most expensive model on test is the Mercedes-Benz X-Class. Surprised? Neither were we.

Our Power X250d had a list price of $64,500 plus on-road costs - and while the standard equipment is decent, there are some notable omissions compared with the other utes we have here.

Our trio of top-of-the-range 4x4 automatic offerings are designed to work and play hard.

First, let’s look at a span of standard gear across all three: alloy wheels (17s for the HiLux, 18s for the others, 19s on our test Benz ute), touchscreen media systems with Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, USB connectivity, DAB digital radio and sat nav (see the interior section for notes on usability), leather steering wheel and gear-knob, leather seat trim (part-leather in Benz and Ford), electric driver’s seat adjustment (the Merc adds electric passenger seat, too), heated front seats, power side mirrors, and climate control air-conditioning (single zone for Toyota, dual-zone for the other two).

In the Mercedes there is no standard tub liner ($899 - standard in the Toyota and Ford), towbar ($1298 including wiring - the others have that standard), and no alarm ($590 - again, standard in the other two). The other utes have all of the standard, and there are some other things that you might expect in a high-end ute that you have to pay extra for, too, like the sports bar ($1551) and side steps ($1337).

Our X-Class had the 'Style Pack', too, which is a $2490 pack with tinted rear glass, an electric rear window to the tray, side steps, roof rails, and those aforementioned 19-inch wheels. 

However, it did have a few things the others couldn’t match, like an eight-speaker stereo (the others have six), plus an in-built hard-disk for music storage, and a DVD player. And it’s the only one with colour-coded mirror caps.

Even so, with the options on our X-Class, it was more than $70,000 plus on-road costs.

The next most expensive is the newly added Toyota HiLux Rugged X - a more off-road-ready interpretation of the popular SR5 dual-cab, priced at $63,690 plus on-road costs.

It has plenty of hardcore gear that the others don’t get, like a winch-compatible heavy-duty steel front bar with an integrated (5mm thick) bash plate, an LED lightbar and driving lights, heavy-duty side rock rails (which can double as side steps), rated front and rear recovery points, a new steel rear bar and a sports bar that can support a vertical load of 75kg. Price those options up from an aftermarket supplier, and you’d be pushing towards the $70K mark, too. 

The other utes here are on 18-inch wheels, but the HiLux rides upon 17-inch wheels because, Toyota says, 18s are harder to get serious off-road tyres for, if the buyer so chooses. But it falls short on a few niceties that the other utes here have - things like rain-sensing wipers, heated side mirrors, a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your data plan with friends or family, and there’s no tyre pressure monitoring, either. 

The Ford Ranger Wildtrak is the most affordable of this trio, with a list price of $61,790 plus on-road costs.

For that expenditure you’re getting a Ranger that stands out from its more affordable stablemates with items such as model-specific design elements (dark grey grille and Wildtrak decals), dark grey handles and highlights, a sports bar, roller lid for the tray, roof rails, model-specific floor mats, and a full redo of the interior compared to the lower-spec Ranger models, with orange/grey/black trim and stitching. 

However, it lacks some of the goodies the other utes here have. The Wildtrak doesn’t have a smart key, so therefore no keyless entry or push-button start. And its headlights are dowdy halogen things, which aren’t nearly as crisp at illuminating the path ahead as the LEDs of its rivals. It hits back, being the only one with auto high-beam tech. 

And in case you’re wondering, metallic paint is optional on all three utes, priced at $550 for the Ranger, $580 for the HiLux and $950 for the X-Class.

You can read all about the safety features in the safety section below - and there's a bit to talk about, too…

Obviously if you’re shopping for a dual cab you’ve foregone the idea of an extra or single cab model, and cargo capacity is not as important to you as interior size and dimensions. You will be able to fit a family of five in each of these utes, just with varying degrees of comfort.

All three utes feature five seats, plus dual ISOFIX child-seat anchors and top tether points if you have kids. The back seats offer a little bit of flexibility, too, if you need to store tools or hide things away. But only the Ranger lacks rear seat air-vents - it makes up for that shortcoming with a 240-volt power point in the back. 

That power point was one reason the Ford Ranger set the benchmark several years ago for interior tech, and it remains the standard setter - at this price point, anyway. The media system is a cinch to use, and with the smartphone mirroring tech, you hardly even need the standard platform (neither of the other utes have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto). The Mercedes was next best for multimedia, with a system that is fine once you get used to it, but not the most intuitive initially. The Toyota ran last in the multimedia stakes, with a slow and frustrating touchscreen system.

The Ranger Wildtrak's interior feels properly special.

Plus in Wildtrak guise the interior trim looks and feels properly special for what you’re paying. The finishes on offer truly set it apart in this trio, even if orange isn’t your favourite colour. Plus of these three, our judges all agreed the Ford’s seats were easily the most comfortable, whether up front or in the back.

The Ford feels the best, even in the back seat.

The interior of the HiLux doesn’t feel as premium as it’s price tag suggests, and in this company it actually feels pretty cheap. The plastics are harder and shinier, and the media screen is a bit of a disaster zone: a knob for the volume would be much appreciated, and so would the ability to use the navigation or connect a phone while the vehicle is moving. This is seriously annoying if you’re in a rush to get somewhere and can’t get the voice control to work. 

The HiLux feels pretty cheap in this company.

However, the fit and finish was good, and the fit for purpose was pretty bang on, too. Sure, it’s not the most comfortable truck out there - front or rear - and it was by far the narrowest feeling of these three as well, but the storage is thoughtful, and while you have pretty tight kneeroom, the seating position in the back row is pretty good.

The seating in the back row of the HiLux is pretty good.

The back seat of the Mercedes was the worst here for taller occupants, with limited headroom and a ‘stoop-to-see-outside’ window-line making it feel more uncomfortable than it actually was. At least it has a little extra width to work with.

The X-Class had a sub-par fit & finish despite the C-Class steering wheel and leather/suede seats.

And the Mercedes, surprisingly, suffered poor fit and finish. The glovebox in our test car fell out in my hand, some of the headliner sections weren’t tucked into the rubber seals, and it generally just didn’t feel close to the standard we’d expect for the money being asked. 

Admittedly there are some typically Benz finishes here and there, like the C-Class steering wheel and the leather/suede seats, but even then it doesn’t feel like a true Benz. 

The rear seat of the X-Class had limited room and smaller windows.

It does, however, live up to the brand’s safety credentials - it’s the only ute on sale currently with auto emergency braking (AEB). You can read more about the safety specs below.

It’s a given that dual cab tub dimensions aren’t as capacious as a flat tray cab chassis model, but there’s still some excellent practicality on offer with these three.

Let’s start off with the X-Class, which - along with only the VW Amarok pick-up - can fit a standard Aussie pallet between its wheelarches, unlike its rivals in this test. The dimensions for the tub are 1581mm long, 1560mm wide and 1215mm between the arches. The tray depth is 475mm. But you don’t get a tray liner fitted standard - it’s the only one of these three without that.

Unlike the others, the X-Class can fit a standard Aussie pallet between the wheelarches.

The Ranger has a tub that is 1549mm long, 1560mm wide and 1139mm between the arches. It has the deepest tray of these three, at 511mm. But its big built-in roll-top cargo lid impacts on cargo space at the cab end of the tray.

The Ranger has the deepest tray, but space is impacted by the roll-top cargo lid.

The HiLux’s tray is 1569mm long, 1645mm wide (1109mm between the wheel arches), and the sports bar eats into space on both sides of the tray, so keep that in mind. Its tub is shallower than the X-Class, at 470mm.

The HiLux tray is the widest, but smallest between the arches.

Now, while you mightn’t think of the room in the back of a ute as boot space, you could theoretically option a hard tonneau cover or ute canopy, and all three makers have options for you to choose in that regard. But, as mentioned, they’re all built in the pick-up body style, so if you want an aluminium or steel tray, you’ll need to do that yourself post-purchase. 

Only the Ranger has roof rails fitted standard (our X-Class had them as part of the optional Style Pack), making for much easier fitment of roof racks for even more storage.

The Ford Ranger and Mercedes X-Class both have the benchmark 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity, whether you opt for the drivetrain with a clutch or if you choose the automatic gearbox. The Toyota HiLux has a lower rating - 3.2 tonnes braked - for the auto, but the manual matches the other utes here - so, you’ll need to weigh up the whole manual vs automatic thing based on what your needs are. All three have 750kg un-braked capacity.

Of this trio, only the Merc doesn’t come with a towbar fitted as standard. But we made sure all three were fitted with a towbar and electric brake controller to ensure we could stop all the weight behind us. And we chucked on a set of trailer mirrors to see what was behind, too.

The gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle mass (GVM) of the HiLux is the reason it has such a low payload - it’s just 3000kg, with a gross combined mass (GCM) of only 5650kg. The GVM of the Ranger is 3200kg and GCM is 6000kg. The X-Class reigns supreme, with a GVM of 3250kg and a GCM of 6130kg.

And if you’re curious, the X-Class is actually the lightest in terms of kerb weight, at 2155kg. The HiLux is 2252kg (and, for reference, the SR5 auto weighs 2045kg - the Rugged X adds lots of extra weight through its accessories). But even so, the Ranger weighs the most, at 2289kg - and as anyone who tows a lot will know, extra weight is good because it helps keep the towing vehicle planted. 

Other considerations we kept in mind included wheelbase length - the longer, the better the stability on offer. To recap, the Ranger has the longest at 3220mm, followed by the X-Class (3150mm) and the HiLux (3085mm). 

And we also measured the distance from the rear axle to the towball - this time, the lower the figure, the better. The Ranger again came out on top, at 1305mm, followed by the HiLux at 1340mm and the X-Class at 1385mm.

Both Crafty and I deemed the Ranger the best for regular road driving. I’ll explain why in a sec, but first here’s why the Toyota and Mercedes weren’t the picks of our judges.

The HiLux sets no new standards in the ute class in terms of the way it drives, but it feels solid on the road. The ride is the firmest of these three, but the steering offers decent feel - even if it’s a bit heavy. 

The engine is a bit noisy, revving loudly but pulling honestly enough - but in this company it feels pretty slow, without the levels of refinement of the X-Class or the grunt of the Ranger. 

The Ranger was the most well-rounded of the three when it came to on-road performance.

The X-Class may have a wider track than its competitors but it doesn’t feel like it has as firm a grip on the road below as some other Mercedes products. It handles in twisty corners pretty well, but in day-to-day use the steering is slow, especially in roundabouts. It’s better at highway pace, but still not nearly as good as the Ranger. 

The coil spring rear end doesn’t move the game on in terms of feeling settled with nothing in the tray, with some notable jitterbugging over offset bumps. We expected a bit more of the Merc, here.

And the engine? Well, it’s fine; but the transmission can be a little confused at times. It’s not fast, but it’s faster than the Toyota, gathering pace without as much fuss as we’ve found in the Navara donor vehicle, as it doesn’t quite flare between shifts as much. 

As for the Ranger, it’s pretty hard to beat. The steering is the best in the ute segment - not just in the way it  pivots through corners, but the usability of it all round. It’s good at high speeds, when you’re parking, and around town as well. 

The ride is very good, too, coping better with big and small bumps than either of the other two utes on test. 

The drivetrain has the most grunt of these three and it feels the punchiest as well. And while it is a bit noisy and the transmission is a bit busy at times, the overall everyday drive experience is the best of these three.

This was another easy decision for us - the Ranger was simply more effortless when it came to driving with weight in the back. 

From the way it steered, rode over bumps and handled corners and higher speed driving, there was no question which would be our pick as a work ute that doubles as a lifestyle truck.

That said, it wasn’t perfect. It didn’t settle at the rear as quickly as the Mercedes or Toyota, but it felt more comfortable in regular driving, with better general compliance and comfort, not to mention a level of security and assuredness that wasn’t matched by its rivals.

It was neck and neck between the Toyota and Mercedes when it came to running around with 500 kilos in the tray. 

The Mercedes was the quickest when it came to in-gear acceleration on our load test.

The Toyota felt stiffer over bumps, feeling the most jittery of these three when it came to coping with smaller offset bumps and minor road irregularities. But it rewarded with quicker steering in roundabouts and through corners than the Merc, meaning more assuredness for the driver.

The Toyota’s engine felt up to the task, but it was the slowest of these utes when it came to getting things moving with the weight on board. It was also the noisiest, and its transmission was a little on the slow side. It may take some time to get used to the aggressive nature of the grade braking system, as well.

The Mercedes was the quickest when it came to in-gear acceleration, with its twin-turbo drivetrain offering up surprising pace, while also being decidedly quieter in terms of engine, road and wind noise. 

But its steering was slow, and while it had a lot of rear suspension sag to contend with because of the weight in the tub, it rode over bumps reasonably well but didn’t quite feel that comfortable with that much weight in the back compared to the other utes here. 

We didn’t just go by the feel at the wheel for this - there was some science behind our testing, too.

We measured the amount of rear suspension sag in all three, and also how much the front end lifted up. Then we compared that to how they sat on the same patch of flat ground without any load in the back. 

Without boring you with a spreadsheet and hundreds of numerical values (we have one if you want to see it), the evidence was clear: the Ford sagged the least at the back (5.9 per cent compared with the unladen level), and lifted the least at the front (0.5 per cent compared with unladen).

The HiLux lifted more at the front than either of its rivals, up 1.0 per cent compared with its unladen stance. It didn’t sag as much at the rear as the X-Class did - though it did still drop a not-unsubstantial 7.0 per cent compared to how it sat when unladen. 

The Mercedes split the difference in terms of how much lift it exhibited at the front end (0.8 per cent - it looked worse than that in the video!), but at the rear it drooped the most, 7.7 per cent. And it looked a bit ungainly as a result, too.

They’re all proper four-wheel-drives with low range, and bragging rights were at stake, so we mapped out an off-road loop in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney which we reckoned would give us a perfect indication of just how these utes fare in the rough stuff.

Our off-road course consisted of a mix of different terrain and included deep ruts, mud holes with rocky bases, patches of bush sand, tight gravel tracks and more. Leading into that we did a loop of fast, winding gravel tracks with some undulations.

On paper you’d expect these three to perform pretty close to one another in a hardcore off-road challenge. 

But that wasn’t the case. Those specs (above) are quite telling because, while the Merc's wide track – the widest of this trio, front and back, by far – and its softer suspension yielded a nice even ride when driving at speed on lightly corrugated gravel tracks, it was sorely let down by other measurements that can be directly related to off-road ability in slow-going, technical scenarios.

The Merc felt least at home, but this can be blamed on factors like dimensions and dynamics.

Of this trio, the Merc felt least at home in the bush, whereas the other two did – and that could be blamed on some factors as simple as dimensions and dynamics. Sure, it’s four-wheel drive system and its suite of off-road tech works fine, but the fact it has the lowest ground clearance of the three (222mm), the lowest wading depth (600mm), the largest turning circle (13.4m) and the lowest departure angle (15.8deg) consistently work against it. Even without knowing those figures, after driving it and the others in this comparison, you almost instinctively know that the X-Class isn’t as well-suited to off-roading as the Rugged X or Wildtrak. It just doesn’t ‘feel' like it is.

Case in point (1): When Crafty was faced with a short section of mud-filled wheel ruts carved into a hard-packed dirt base studded with sharp rocks and curving away along the track to our right, he initially baulked at the idea of driving the X-Class through. He had just watched the Rugged X and Wildtrak do it - no worries - but it still looked like a bouncy, jerky and unpredictable ride. It didn't help that the centre section of the ruts was high and topped with jagged rocks; Crafty was concerned the Merc would belly out on that high section and might cop a severe touch-up from a few pointy stones. Of course he did it for the sake of comparison and, sure, it got through without any damage, but only just.

Case in point (2): Later, on a very tricky deeply rutted section – a 4WD-tipping thrill ride – we drove all three utes through the deepest ruts of the set-piece going downhill, but we took only the Rugged X and Wildtrak through the wrong line of that same section going uphill because the X-Class simply didn’t feel like it would cope with tackling those deep lopsided ruts on the way up without sustaining damage. It was an executive decision not to tackle this section in the Mercedes, but was a choice we were all more than comfortable with.

As it turned out, the X-Class was the only vehicle of the three to sustain any damage during off-road testing: a plastic underbody protection plate broke free from its mounting. 

Safe, sensible and fun four-wheel-driving is all about taking your time, choosing your wheel placement carefully, getting your tyre pressures right, going slowly – and a large part of the enjoyment of off-roading hinges on confidence in your vehicle's capabilities; the Merc never quite gave us the same level of confidence as its competitors.

The Ranger, on the other hand, did feel right at home in the bush. Despite its larger overall size it’s an all-round package of tech, drivetrain and dynamics that make it a super comfortable off-road tourer, and super capable in the roughest terrain we threw it at. 

Despite its dimensions, the Ranger felt super comfortable and capable in the roughest terrain we threw at it.

Like the other utes here, the Wildtrak has a part-time four-wheel drive system with low-range gearing. Modes are switchable between 2H (two-wheel drive high range), 4H (four-wheel drive high range) and 4L (four-wheel drive low range) via a small dial to the right of the shifter.

The Ranger has an e-locking rear diff and tyre-pressure monitoring system – great on-board additions for those interested in off-road touring. 

Bonus: it has decent underbody protection aimed at keeping off-road bumps and bruises away from the mechanicals. Our Wildtrak was on 18-inch alloy wheels shod with Bridgestone Dueler H/Ts, and that road-biased rubber was one of the few flaws in the Wildtrak's touring package.

But, when it all comes down to it, you simply can't beat good ol’ fashioned toughness and reputed reliability in the form of an “Unbreakable HiLux”, albeit a HiLux with a fair few trimmings, most practical, some for the sake of appearance.

It’s no surprise that the Rugged X did really well in this trio. It has that undeniable history of Toyota toughness and HiLux go-anywhere durability. What is a surprise is that it pipped the Ranger off-road, largely because the Rugged X always felt more connected or dialled into the terrain, and we unanimously judged it the best of the three. Especially noteworthy is the fact the steering felt tighter and more direct at low speeds and that super low-down torque kept the HiLux ticking up, over and through any and all terrain with complete control and no fuss.

The Rugged X was unanimously the best of the three off-road.

Yep, its ride and handling over fast corrugated gravel tracks remains on the wrong side of firm – let's call it harsh – and it's not the most refined ute here, but it is the most bush-ready and bush-capable of this test group, straight out of the showroom.

The Rugged X is supremely well-built and engineered, feels as tough as teak and, with its stack of bush-cool add-ons, this HiLux easily looks tougher than anything else in this field. It was hands-down winner of the off-road component of this comparison.

Each of these three utes rocks the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating - the HiLux and Ranger were tested in 2015, the X-Class in 2017 under stricter criteria.

There are differences in what you get for your dollar in terms of safety equipment and features in all three of these utes, but standard across the trio is a reversing camera - in fact, the X-Class Power comes standard with a surround-view 360 degree camera system (and so does its sibling flagship Nissan Navara ST-X). As for parking sensors, the Rugged X doesn’t have any, where the Wildtrak and Power X250d both have front and rear sensors.

As for further safety technology, the HiLux Rugged X is limited in its offer. Sure, it has LED headlights, equalling the Benz and bettering the Ranger’s dull yellow halogens. But the Ranger Wildtrak adds lane keeping assistance and lane departure warning, driver fatigue monitoring, and forward collision warning. 

The Benz goes even further, introducing auto emergency braking (AEB) to the ute segment. Indeed, it’s the first ute in Australia to get that tech, despite the fact you can get it in the HiLux in Europe. 

Mercedes is the first in Australia to offer AEB on a ute.

None have blind-spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert available.

The Ford is the only one with adaptive cruise control. That’s right - a luxury inclusion the ute with the three-pointed star misses out on. And the Ford is the only one with auto high-beams, too. 

How about airbags? The Ford has six - dual front, front side, full-length curtain - while the Toyota and Mercedes both have seven (adding driver’s knee protection). All three utes have ISOFIX child seat anchor points and top tether baby seat / child restraints, too. 

After a few days of rigorous testing, we came away with a clear pecking order for these three utes, even though each offers a different way of approaching the dual cab segment.

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class Power X250d came in third place. It fell short of expectations during our towing test, and its interior wasn’t up to the standard we would have expected for a ute of this price.

The X-Class Power X250d came in third place overall.

But we have to applaud Benz for making AEB a reality in the ute segment… and we think the V6 version will be an even more likeable vehicle.

In second spot was the Toyota HiLux Rugged X, which offered up an ‘I’ll do anything you want me to’ attitude off-road, and that’s absolutely where it excelled. It was fine in loaded driving, surprised a little in our towing test, great off-road, but the least enjoyable in regular commuting. 

The HiLux Rugged X was second overall.

Despite being a recent design the engine is noisy and feels underdone though, and we could understand why you might feel short changed at this end of the price scale.

That leaves us with our winner, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak. It was a convincing victor, nailing almost everything we threw at it - and one of the biggest things we took away from our testing was that it felt the most liveable and likeable, with its special interior treatment, terrific steering and strong drivetrain combining to push it to top spot in this test.

The Ranger Wildtrak was our convincing victor.

*Thanks to the team at Lower Mountains Landscape Supplies for allowing us to conduct our load testing onsite.

*And thanks to Billy and the crew at Avida Motorhomes and Caravans for supplying our test caravan.

Did we get it right? is the Ford Ranger Wildtrak the best ute you can buy? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.