Mercedes GLS 2021 In-Depth Review - The Ultimate Luxury Family SUV?
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 Published On Feb 20, 2021

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Some Mercedes models are the epitome of on-road luxury. Others are almost unrivalled for off-road prowess. And then there's one which claims to offer the best of both: the GLS. This is the very few super-luxury SUVs that can seat seven fully-sized adults. And it claims to be able to do so while offering a properly dynamic drive on road as well as extreme capability off it. This second generation version is smarter, plusher, more refined and even more appealing. Got a family? You'd like one.

Background

This Mercedes GLS, if you haven't yet come across it, is a vehicle billed as 'the S-Class of SUVs', a luxury conveyance for those whose real - or more likely imagined - commute to the real world is from a craggy mountaintop. We first saw it (badged then as the 'GL-Class') in 2007, built in America for Americans and since then, it's been occupying super-sized shopping mall spaces from New York to New Orleans in ever-increasing numbers. Over there, it was a necessary addition to the brand's luxury SUV line-up, given that for Yanks, the brand's usual large luxury SUV, the five-metre-long GLE, is seen as being pretty compact and the exorbitantly-priced G-Class is too crude for most. So this GLS is the model primarily tasted with taking on the all-conquering Range Rover - and, more specifically, BMW's entrant in this segment, the X7.

This Mercedes model line has always featured a third seating row, something that's always set this SUV apart in a luxury 4x4 market that rarely offers this option - or if it does, often restricts practical use of the extra seats to children. Not so here, especially in this MK2 model GLS guise that features a useful wheelbase increase. Plus the sleeker shape clothes a car that's cleverer, more comfortable, quieter and more efficient. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

Not everyone is going to feel comfortable piloting something of this size but provided you do, then GLS motoring is a pretty fabulous way to view your everyday world. AIRMATIC air suspension with the brand's 'ADS Adaptive Damping System Plus' package smoothes your way over poor surfaces and power is transmitted by 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission. The key engine option for our market is the six cylinder diesel fitted to the main GLS 400d variant, a unit from the brand's latest 'OM 656' powerplant family and the same one as used by the S-Class saloon. It offers 330hp and a massive 700NM of torque. For those who can never have too many Tiger tokens, there's also a wild turbo 4.0-litre petrol V8 in the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 variant.

4MATIC 4WD is standard of course, which works using a transfer case with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch. This allows a variable transfer of drive torque from 0-100 percent between the axles. As an option, buyers can now specify a transfer case specially configured for better off-road driving characteristics which features a reduction gear for off-road driving. Also, when driving on the road, and particularly when cornering, the two fully networked transfer cases improve handling agility by specifically influencing the degree of yaw to induce oversteer or understeer.

Design and Build

So, it's big - of course it is, even more so than the car it replaces, which already was large enough to make your neighbours question their right-to-light restrictions. This MK2 model is over 5.2m long and nearly 2m wide with a wheelbase that's 60mm longer than the previous model. Full-LED Multibeam headlights are now fitted as standard and the drag factor is now sleeker (0.32Cd).

Inside the leather-lined cabin, as you would expect, the latest Mercedes infotainment technology has been installed, with two large 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment monitor and the instrument cluster. It's significantly more spacious than before, especially in the second row, where the bench can slide back and forth and where legroom has increased by 87mm with the seat in its rearmost position. .

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