What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class? What does it compare to?
The GLS-Class is Mercedes’ biggest SUV, with seats for up to seven and a longer body than the boxy G-Class brute. Opulent in Maybach trim, incredibly swift in AMG spec, it’s a rival for vehicles such as the Cadillac Escalade, BMW X7, even the Bentley Bentayga.
Is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class a good SUV?
A capable and capacious SUV, the 2024 GLS-Class should post a rating close to that of the 2023 version, which scored a 7.5 out of 10 on the TCC scale. We’ll update this preview and score once we’ve had the chance to drive it. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class?
With the return of V-8 engines to last year’s GLS lineup, the 2024 changes come primarily in an updated exterior and interior, meant to tide over the big three-row crossover SUV until it’s effectively replaced by the battery-electric EQS SUV. No firm date for the GLS’ retirement has been announced, though.
Benz has blended in bigger front-end air intakes with a gloss-black frame on the standard versions of the GLS, which receive a fresh four-slat grille. The revamp updates the GLS’ styling neatly, though the rest of its softly contoured two-box body remains largely the same. AMG editions still get monochrome paint schemes and 21-to-23-inch wheels and gain more badging and red brake calipers, while the Mercedes-Maybach GLS flaunts two-tone paint, optional 23-inch wheels, and a welter of logos: the air intakes brandish arrays of mini-Maybach logos, Maybach puddle lamps light the ground at each door, and one does the same at each sideview mirror. If a Maybach logo has somehow gone missing, chances are it’s to be found here.
Inside, the GLS’ central screen now accepts touch inputs, and offers three distinct displays—one with minimal information, one that looks like a conventional set of dials, and one that rings its gauges in red. An Off-Road mode turns the touchscreen into a virtual display of the ground below the GLS’ front end, thanks to the minor miracle of inexpensive HD cameras.
The base GLS 450 sports a 375-hp 3.0-liter inline-6 with 369 lb-ft of torque teamed with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that boosts output by 20 hp and 148 lb-ft as needed, to propel the SUV to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. The GLS 580 swaps in a mild-hybrid, twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 rated at 510 hp, with an additional 21 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque from the mild-hybrid system. It hits 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The Maybach GLS pushes the same engine to 550 hp; 0-60 mph times stay the same.
At the top of the performance range, the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 carries over with its outrageous 603-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, with mild-hybrid add-ons and a 0-60 mph sprint of just 4.1 seconds.
In many test drives of previous years of GLS SUVs, we’ve enjoyed their well-composed ride—though AMG versions are considerably stiffer in the knees—thanks to standard adaptive damping and an air suspension, as well as active roll stabilization that counteracts cornering forces with offsetting suspension stiffness. Though it’s decidedly more firm, the setup in the GLS 63 allows it to corner with eerie flatness.
All-wheel drive comes standard, and an Off-Road Engineering Package for the GLS 580 remaps the standard air suspension for an additional 1.2 inches of ground clearance. The GLS can tow up to 7,716 pounds.
The GLS-Class SUV soars inside, where its S-Class-style interior seats families and totes luggage better than any other Mercedes vehicle sold in the U.S. Synthetic leather comes standard, but leather wraps around seats in other editions. On some models, a six-seat interior swaps the middle-row bench for captain’s chairs.
On the infotainment front, two 12.3-inch displays nestle under one pane of glass, dominating the dash and controlling navigation or ceding control to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Benz upsells a kit of advanced driver-assist technology that adds adaptive cruise control and automatic lane changes to the standard set of features, which includes automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, and a driver-attention monitor.
How much does the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class cost?
It’s likely the price will rise from last year’s base of about $83,000 for the GLS 450. The GLS 580 should check in at under $110,000, while the AMG version should list for above $140,000 with its standard heated and cooled front seats, panoramic sunroof, adaptive headlights, and Burmester surround-sound audio. As for the Maybach GLS, don’t expect much change from a $175,000 bill.
Where is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class made?
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
