Mercedes-Benz ute design "all finished"

Anticipation for the new Mercedes-Benz ute is escalating rapidly Down Under and the latest news is that the design has been signed off and locked in – three years before it hits the streets later in 2018.

motoring.com.au's 'com-gen' hints at what the Benz LCV could look like using clues from our Mercedes sources. In reality, Mercedes-Benz is unlikely to reveal the official look of vehicle for many moons, but Gorden Wagener, Mercedes-Benz head of design has reiterated the Nissan Navara-based vehicle will be a proper Benz.

"The pick-up truck will be within our design philosophy," he said, adding that the design is "all finished" and locked in.

He hinted "you might see a concept" in the next couple of years, previewing the design as the engineers continue working on the mechanical elements, and that the vehicle would borrow some design cues from Stuttgart's SUVs.

"Yeah definitely, [the design is] more in the groove of the SUVs," said Wagener.

Just don't accuse the Benz ute of being ugly.

"We will never do an ugly solution, we will only do beautiful cars," he told journalists at the Geneva motor show.

He said the light-commercial vehicle, which will be powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines, "will be more on the clean side, which makes it more natural, more smooth."

Wagener argues that the F150 is the "nicest" looking pick-up thus far but that the Merc ute will be something else entirely.

"I'm a big fan of pick-up trucks personally. It will be a really cool truck."

Customers can also expect to pay a significant premium over current utes sold in Australia, which max out at around $60,000 (although Volkswagen has a special edition Amarok ute that retails for about $64,000) before on-road costs are added.

But the extra outlay will bring about more creature comforts says Mercedes-Benz head of global design, who confirmed there will be both entry-level and high-end luxury variants.

"It will be upscale. It will not get an S-class interior but if you see it, what we do with the vans, the Vito and V-Class, we have the workhorse and luxury van. You will see both with the pick-up too.

"It will be completely at our standards for materials, shut lines, gaps," he said of fit and finish.

"There will be a workhorse, but also a nice one."

Initially there will only be a dual-cab body style available says Wagener, but motoring.com.au understands that single-cab models will follow.

What do you think, will Mercedes-Benz nail the design or are we likely to see an ugly-duckling that stands out for the wrong reasons? Have your say in the comments below.