2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS Reviews, Pricing & Specs

There is a soft sensuality about modern Mercedes design that borders on boring, but it ages well, especially if you upgrade the wheels. Our GLS 450 test vehicle had gorgeous, bright-finish 22-inch AMG rims perfectly paired with the SUV’s new silver four-louver grille design, polished metal exterior accents, and lustrous paint. Yeah, we know. Blacked-out is the trend. Call us counter-culturists.

Inside, our GLS 450 showcased the new Bahia Brown over Black interior colour scheme, with a natural-grain Grey Oak that carried over from last year. Add contrast stitching, polished aluminum accents, and the rich detailing for which Mercedes interiors are known, and the GLS is a place you’ll enjoy spending your time.

The GLS 450 is the most affordable version of this SUV, featuring a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid (MHEV) technology. From there, you can upgrade to the GLS 580, AMG GLS 63, and Maybach GLS 600. Those versions have a twin-turbo V8 with MHEV, and power ratings vary depending on the model.

Our GLS 450 had the AMG Line and Exclusive Trim Packages, plus an Acoustic Comfort Package, 22-inch wheels, leather upholstery, wood trim, and artificial leather covering the dashboard and door panels. The second-row captain’s chairs are a no-charge option in place of the standard bench seat. In Canada, the GLS 450 starts at $116,100. Note that Mercedes-Benz Canada dealers set their own destination charges and fees.

While a twin-turbo V8 sounds compelling in a vehicle like a Mercedes GLS, our experience with the straight six in the GLS 450 suggests you don’t need the extra power, the added cost of ownership, or the more frequent fuel stops.

With 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, the GLS 450 provides plenty of smooth, silky motive force and swift, seamless acceleration. Mercedes says this model accelerates to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, and that’s all you really need. In addition, the mild-hybrid system employs an integrated starter-generator, which delivers an instant 148 lb-ft of torque when you step on the accelerator, making the GLS 450 feel lively from a stop.

A nine-speed automatic transmission feeds the power to all four wheels through a variable 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. You can select from Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Individual driving modes to tailor vehicle dynamics to specific preferences. Maximum towing capacity measures 3,500 kilograms (7,700 pounds), and the official fuel economy rating is 11.3 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. Using a mix of Comfort and Sport modes, we consumed 11.8 L/100 km on our evaluation loop.

Driving the GLS 450 is a sublime experience. Quiet, quick, and perfectly calibrated, it provides few causes for complaint. In Sport mode, the powertrain can feel too responsive to your right foot, and the steering can feel too heavy. However, Sport mode also firms up the suspension to eliminate the lateral body rocking that causes head toss.

What to do? Use Individual mode, which lets you run everything in the Comfort settings while enjoying improved body motion control via the Sport setting. By the way, our GLS 450’s adaptive air suspension allowed this tall, 2,490-kilogram (5,489-pound) SUV to defy the laws of physics on a twisty mountain road, though a couple of dips in the blacktop caused some unusual oscillations.

Cartoonishly massive Continental Premium Contact tires undoubtedly contributed to the GLS 450’s demonstrated athleticism. Sized 285/45 in front and 325/40 in back, they provide excellent grip but pick up quite a bit of grit from the road surface, resulting in rustling within the wheel wells.

As for the brakes, they performed admirably under duress yet allow you to bring the GLS to smooth, clean stops in the city. It’s a neat trick that other European automakers should attempt to emulate.

Lastly, if you’re planning to go off-roading in a GLS, you’ll appreciate the Off-Road menu within MBUX, which provides a transparent view through the hood showing the terrain under the SUV and the position of the front wheels. In addition, the GLS 580 model is exclusively available with an Off-Road Package. It includes underbody protection and supplies up to 3 centimetres of added ground clearance and improved water fording capability.

When you get the optional AMG Line package, it installs sportier styling including side sill trim that gets in the way each time you enter or exit the SUV. If you’re wearing something you’d rather not get dirty with road grime, good luck.

Thanks to supple leather surfaces, heating and ventilation, massage programs, and a wide range of adjustments, the test vehicle’s front seats were perfectly comfortable. In addition, you can sit high with a commanding view over the GLS’s hood, enjoying excellent outward visibility. The new-for-2024 steering wheel is a delight to grip, though its touch-sensing controls cause unwanted irritation.

The standard heated rear seats and four-zone automatic climate control system ensure everyone is happy with the temperature in their respective zone. The no-charge optional captain’s chairs feel a little low but offer excellent thigh support. The GLS also features expansive second-row legroom and a standard panoramic sunroof.

Accessing the third-row seat is a hassle. You can wriggle between the captain’s chairs or wait much too long for the right-side chair to power out of the way so you can squeeze through to the rearmost seat. If it’s raining outside, you’ll be unhappy about that.

Third-row space is snug for adults, and using it for grown-ups erases the generous legroom in the second row. However, though the third-row seat cushion is short, it sits high enough off the floor to provide decent leg support. Unsurprisingly, kids will be happier with this seat assignment.

Interior storage space is decent in all three rows, but the bin located under the front centre armrest is small. Cargo space is practical, with 355 litres behind the third-row seat, 1,209 litres behind the second row, and a maximum of 2,400 litres behind the front seats.

Mercedes equips the 2024 GLS with its latest MBUX infotainment system. In this application of the technology, a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel and a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen live side-by-side on a horizontal plane. The arrangement looks better integrated and more high-tech than what you’ll see in more recent Mercedes models, which separate the displays and orient the infotainment system portrait-style and on a slight angle, making it look like someone left an iPad crookedly propped against the dashboard.

This year, the GLS’s MBUX benefits from improved graphics, including Classic, Sporty, and Discreet instrumentation themes and Navigation, Assistance, and Service modes. Otherwise, it remains fast, easy, and simple to use with one exception. During a week of driving the GLS, we kept brushing two touch-sensitive areas that would alter the displays, causing confusion, frustration, and distraction when we looked at either MBUX screen to reference data.

Offender one is the upper left touch sensor on the steering wheel. It controls the information in the centre panel of the digital gauges, and it’s easy to unknowingly alter that information while you’re driving. Then, when you look down to reference a data point, you see something other than what you expected. After the initial confusion subsides, you’ll need to find the panel that provides the information you seek, which is distracting. No, thank you.

Offender two is the touchpad on the centre console, positioned at the edge of the cupholders. First, does anyone actually use these touchpads? Second, when you reach for your vanilla latte, if you so much as graze that touchpad, something changes on the MBUX infotainment display. In our case, it was whatever we were listening to through the impressive standard Burmester surround-sound system with Dolby Atmos technology.

With that said, MBUX is otherwise a sensational technology that should serve as a model for the automotive industry. From its intuitive touchscreen operation and outstanding natural voice recognition technology to its impressive and genuinely helpful augmented reality for the navigation system, MBUX represents technology done right. Well, this version, anyway. The new crooked iPad-looking screens in other Mercedes models are a different story.

Safety comes standard on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS. In fact, we could write an entire article naming and explaining each of its 20+ significant safety features. Instead, we’ll share our experience using the technology.

First, it’s important to know that you can adjust many of the advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) through MBUX. You can decide to turn them on or off, to alter their sensitivity, and how you wish to receive alerts. Spend some time going through each setting, and you’ll likely find the ADAS less irritating.

We did that, and at the end of our evaluation drive, had nothing but praise for the GLS’s ADAS. The forward-collision warning system gets your attention without grabbing it, the lane-departure warning system issues a distinctive haptic thudding through the steering wheel, and the lane-keeping assist system steps in with sharp corrective action only when absolutely necessary.

While using the adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist systems, the GLS handled bends, curves, and exit and entrance ramps without any trouble. You can sense the steering inputs and speed adjustments, but they’re subtle and smooth, operating transparently without causing driver aggravation. It is outstanding technology.

There was a single instance when the lane-centring assist momentarily turned off. It happened on a two-lane road running across farm fields at a T-intersection with a kink in the middle of it. Otherwise, nothing on the evaluation route posed a challenge for the GLS’s ADAS.

With the 2024 GLS, Mercedes goes head-to-head with the BMW X7, Infiniti QX80, Lexus LX, and Range Rover. You might also cross-shop the big Benz with traditional full-size, truck-based SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and Lincoln Navigator.

In this company, the GLS 450 shines as brightly as the emblem nestled into its grille. Likable looks, superb comfort, class-leading technology, rewarding driving dynamics, and impressive efficiency combine to give luxury SUV buyers an uncompromising choice in the segment.

Yes, you can choose a rival that is less expensive, more commodious of people and cargo, or more capable of off-roading or towing. Where the GLS excels is at doing everything well, instead of just a handful of tasks.

A 2024 Mercedes GLS might not be cheap, but it won’t fail to meet your expectations.

Note: Images show a US model.