It seems that pickup tug of war battles are all the rage these days, and while it's hardly official, the guys over at Carwow have decided to do a little run of their own. So step aside Tesla and Ford, Mercedes-Benz wants a go at taking pickup truck supremacy with its X-Class from two established Japanese competitors: the Isuzu D-Max and the Toyota Hilux. The premise is pretty simple; see who can pull the other vehicle over their side of the cone. Of course, we won't spoil anything, but be prepared for a lot of tyre spinning. 

Gallery: Mercedes X-Class battles Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max in tug of war

First off, we have a battle between the Mercedes-Benz X-Class and the Isuzu D-Max. Right away, we can see that the German car has the numbers advantage. With a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 diesel mill under the bonnet, the X-Class makes 258 bhp and 406 pound-feet of torque. It was originally supposed to be a four-cylinder shootout, but Mercedes-Benz sent the six-cylinder their way, either by mistake or out of wanting to show complete and utter dominance. The Isuzu D-Max, on the other hand, is equipped with a turbocharged 1.9-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that's good for 164 bhp and 265 pound-feet of torque; quite a disadvantage in this tug of war, right? Without spoiling too much, and because this isn't the main event, let's just say that things didn't go according to expectations; it was pretty much a stalemate. What about the Toyota Hilux?

The Toyota Hilux makes its appearance in the later part of the video, and was unfortunately not equipped with a tow hitch to mount the rope. Naturally, they had to find a way for the Toyota to participate, so the towing eye in front was used instead. Yes, that meant that one of the trucks had to face another pickup. Not exactly the safest setup. Anyway, under the bonnet of the Hilux is a potent turbocharged 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that makes 150 bhp and 295 pound-feet of torque. Because of the difference in power between the three pickups, it was decided that the X-Class would take on the combined might of the Japanese pickups. Watch the video to find out the winner.