Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 4Matic First Drive

How do you announce to the world that you have arrived? You simply buy the Mercedes-Benz GLS and they’ll know. It’s the most prominent full-size luxury SUV which has now received an update for 2024. Apart from the cosmetic changes, additional features and equipment, the GLS also gets a new six-cylinder petrol engine which we have also sampled in the recently updated GLE-Class.

Update brings in the new grille design – where earlier there were two prominent slats – with four silver-finished louvres and an even larger Three-Pointed insignia. The front bumpers are heavily reworked with many faux air vents. Of things that matter with this update is the new lighting signature for ‘multibeam’ LED headlamps, which works brilliantly at night as we tested out ourselves. Even the LED signature of the tail lamps has been reworked; however, the overall shape and design remain unchanged. There are five colour options this time around with 21-inch five-triple spoke alloy wheels coming as standard.

With a broader grille in this update, the GLS remains a proper brute. It looks stately and properly royal while commanding respect on the streets even from its direct rivals - the BMW X7 and Range Rover.

As Mercedes-Benz’s tradition goes, any new element, design, or aesthetic is first introduced in the flagship and then trickled down to other models. However, this GLS is yet to undergo a generation change which will endow it with the newer touchscreen panel seen in the current-gen S-Class. What you see here is the older cabin layout which was first introduced X167-gen back in 2019. However, part of the update is the gorgeous-looking steering wheel, a 100Watt charger, Maybach-inspired centre air vents and the latest iteration of the MBUX interface including the fingerprint telematics sensor. Oh, and you have three choices for the interior theme - black, brown and beige.

That said, the strong trait of the GLS remains – its cavernous cabin. It might not have a passenger-side screen like in the EQ models, there’s a lavish combination of materials used all around including leather, glossy plastic, and brushed aluminium, but surprisingly no wooden inserts (which I like as it makes the cabin less traditional and more modern). Now with sunroof as standard, the GLS’ cabin is sort of a suite on wheels.

Since it will be chauffeured around, the GLS owner will be pampered in the backseat with the utmost opulence. The large and comfortable seats at the back are complemented by electric adjustment, powered window blinds, and dedicated screens mounted on the back of the front seats. These screens have the same MBUX interface and can control almost all things including seat comfort, multimedia, navigation, and other vehicle functions. Secondly, the middle seat doubles up as an armrest with an integrated yet removable tablet serving the same control functions.

Getting to the third row requires holding the button and the electric seats take its sweet time to move forward to allow passage. Moreover, getting in isn’t very gracious either and once at the back, the space isn’t exactly tight but far from generous as in the middle. With a separate air-con zone, scooped-out roof, theatre-type seating, USB ports, and large (might be the largest ever) rear-quarter windows, the third-row passengers feel much more comfortable than any other three-row SUV could offer. All five seats can be folded down via a single button in the boot, which can convert the GLS from a luxury people-mover to a pragmatic van.

Apart from the usual 3.0-litre diesel which makes around 362bhp and an earth-moving 750Nm, the new GLS is also available with a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine which we have sampled here in the 450 guise. With mild-hybrid coming in as standard fitment in all powertrain options, the power is rated at 375bhp and 500Nm, good enough for the behemoth to sprint from a standstill to 100kmph in just 6.1 seconds (claims Mercedes).

And that’s the fantastic thing about this engine. Despite weighing almost equal to a small planet, the GLS can pull up its skirt and run which would put runaway brides to shame. Mercedes says that the M256M engine has a twin-scroll turbocharger with two flow exhaust routing through three separate ducts, and all the ducts come together just before the turbine. This on paper should result in a reduced lag before the large turbocharger goes into action. However, when you do put your foot down, the muscular bonnet does take a noticeable delay to point towards the sky and dart away as a freight train on the loose. On the other hand, when it does pick up its skirt and run, the GLS floats and glides like a massive glacier racing across the ocean - not expected, but it is an inexorable phenomenon nonetheless.

We had experienced this in the GLE as well - the glorious (and sonorous) straight-six engine never feels underpowered despite the GLS weighing considerably more (almost 170kgs heavier). And the engine is complimented by the mild-hybrid which makes it even more seamless to a point where the engine start-stop function works so brilliantly there’s no way of knowing when the engine has cranked up. It only proves how refined the engine is, and how well the cabin is insulated - or maybe it accentuates both.

Nowadays, Mercedes has probably decided to reserve the Sport mode only for the AMG-spec cars. But you do get a dedicated Off-Road driving mode here. It is further aided by air suspension, which increases the ride height and off-road geometry, along with additional underbody protection and the fancy-looking ‘transparent bonnet’. So although an average GLS owner will never venture beyond a paved thoroughfare, the GLS is practically prepared to drive through post-apocalyptic lands when it arrives at one.

Speaking of which, there’s air suspension as standard now. It still doesn’t have the fancy gimmick of ‘bounce mode’ or the very intelligent and practical active body control (where the radar monitors the road and adjusts the suspension accordingly, but the ride of the GLS is nothing less than pampering. Even the steering response is quick and precise for a car this size. It never feels cumbersome behind the wheel and wraps its dimension pretty well - so when you do give your chauffeur a day off, spending a day behind the wheel won’t be such a bad idea. Especially now that there are advanced driver aids (ADAS) added as part of the update.

At the end of the day, the Mercedes-Benz GLS takes opulence and mixes it with versatility into the most well-rounded package money could buy. It is a full-size luxury SUV that carries a repute that not many cars on the road could ever manage. While it is good to drive, the GLS is even better to be driven in. With the update, the feature list ticks all the boxes and some more. My only nit-pick would be the cabin layout is yet to adopt the modern design seen on the new-gen S-Class, or the even modern EQ models.

As I mentioned before, it is way of announcing that you have made it in life. On the other hand, for the affluent, the GLS is just another large mover which offers lavish aesthetics, comfortable space and practicality for their active lifestyle. It's a decadent set of wheels for the discerning elite, no less.

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi