Merida Silex 400- A Hybrid Re-imagined?

Hybrids have long been the utility bike of the world. Easy to ride, tons of utility, stable, wide tire clearance, and mounts for everything. Faster than a full MTB and more useful than a road bike. Well suited on the MUP, commuting in town, and on the beginner trails of the local MTB park. They suffer 2 glaring weaknesses- lack of an aerodynamic & ergonomic riding position choice and being eternally uncool. Modern hybrids are leaning more into MTB design language with wider bars, slacker angles, shorter stems, and longer top tubes expanding the problem of ergonomics and aerodynamics in order to chase coolness and off-road capability.
The rise of gravel bikes has seen the gap between road and MTB filled again. Gravel race bikes like the 3T Exploro share a category name with the the long and slack Chamois Hagar ensuring the gap is fully packed. Mainstream manufacturers have taken the middle ground.
Today we look at the Merida Silex 400, a bike marketed for mixed terrain riding and mild bikepacking. Quite mild: one of the Merida press videos has the riders pushing the bike for a large part of the journey. While a bad look for an off-road machine, that bodes well from the perspective of a performance oriented endurance road rider who wants to explore gravel sometimes (grenduro?).
Let's assess if this bike is just a hybrid made palatable for modern buyers, or if it really is a jack of all trades for the prospective endurance rider who dabbles in gravel.

Видео Merida Silex 400- A Hybrid Re-imagined? канала Overbiked Randonneuring