Mercedes-Benz Confirms It’s Building an Impractical Crossover Like the BMW X6

A rendering of Mercedes’ response to the BMW X6, at one point believed to be called MLC, as featured in our 2012 edition of 25 Cars Worth Waiting For.

Mercedes-Benz will, in fact, be taking aim at the BMW X6 with its own sporty crossover, two high-level executives have told us, confirming longstanding rumors. As BMW did by spinning off the X6 from the X5, the as-yet-unnamed Mercedes will look like a squashed sleeker version of its traditionally proportioned counterpart, the M-class. Running gear should be virtually unchanged from the ML, with the new crossover offering a choice of six- and eight-cylinder gasoline engines in the U.S. and an AMG model at the top of the range. (Totally speculatively, the four-cylinder diesel in the upcoming ML250 BlueTec doesn’t seem like the right candidate for a $60,000 LOOKATME! vehicle.)

Asked why Benz had decided to build this new crossover instead of, well, anything else, one exec laid out the usual—and entirely understandable—business case: There’s ample demand (relatively speaking), the engineering work and costs are low, and the profit margins will be high. Crossovers can appeal to customers in the U.S., Europe, and China; other vehicle types tend to be regionally limited.

As we said, this is all understandable, but it’s also not at all understandable. Benz is chasing BMW into a sub-segment that’s neither big nor glamorous. In the U.S., the X6 is outsold by every other BMW model save the two-seat Z4 roadster, and at best the big crossover will crack 5000 units this year. Is that really territory that Mercedes needs to be fighting for?

• Comparison Test: BMW X5 M vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, Porsche Cayenne Turbo
• Road Test: 2010 BMW X6 M
• Comparison Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel vs.Volkswagen Touareg TDI, Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec , Porsche Cayenne Diesel, BMW X5 xDrive35d

Many armchair CEOs have opined that the new Benz CLA-class, with its advertised $29,900 price tag (without $925 destination, of course) and fully loaded sticker around $45,000, will diminish the prestige of the Mercedes brand. But they’re looking at the wrong car. The CLA will be fine, just as the 190E was in the 1980s. It’s the expensive oddball models that really risk damaging a luxury brand’s image. Consider the Mercedes-Benz R-class, the Acura ZDX, and the BMW 5-series GT. When you have a product that leaves people asking, “Why would I want that? Especially at that price?” you have a problem. For the sake of the cool, enthusiast-oriented models that sales of expensive crossovers help to fund, we hope we won’t need to add the new Benz crossover to that list.

Source: CarAndDriver