There is something faintly absurd about a luxury SUV this large trying to present itself as discreet. The Mercedes-Benz GLS is not so much a car as a well-appointed private club on stilts. A declaration that the school run, the airport transfer and the drive to the desert should all feel as if they have been arranged by concierge.
And yet, it does manage a kind of discretion. Something in the model’s proportions has always disguised its sheer bulk. That remains true here with this facelifted version, presumably the final makeover ahead of an all-new generation in a couple of years.
At the international media preview in Malaga, where we had been flown out to experience the new model against a stunning natural backdrop, the weather seemed determined to demonstrate the full range of atmospheric possibilities. It was by turns gusty, grey, rainy and suddenly bright and suitably Mediterranean. The GLS, even when standing still, looked as though it could have taken all those conditions in its stride.
Mercedes has long called the GLS the S-Class of SUVs, which is a useful shorthand. With this update, the company is doubling down on the idea. It's worth remembering that the model began life as the GL-Class in 2006 and was renamed GLS a decade later as an explicit nod to its connection with the marque’s flagship saloon.
So, 20 years on, this is still not being pitched as an off-roader with delusions of grandeur or a family hauler in expensive shoes. It is being sold as a proper flagship – a seven-seat luxury car for people who prefer their refinement with a commanding view.
The style changes on the new model are designed to make sure that commanding position is clear to everyone. Up front sits a larger grille, ringed in chrome and contour lighting.
New star-signature headlamps and tail-lights ensure you know you are looking at a Mercedes even in the dead of night, while a redesigned front bumper and fresh wheel and paint options, including the rather handsome Dark Petrol finish in these photos, push the GLS a little further away from rugged utility and closer to rolling penthouse.
Inside, the emphasis is on atmosphere and in keeping with the rest of the marques upmarket model range. Mercedes talks about a “welcome home” feeling, which sounds like the sort of thing a creative agency would write on a whiteboard, but there is substance behind it.
The cabin has been reworked around the standard MBUX Superscreen, a broad glass panel housing three 12.3-inch displays that stretch across the dashboard like an expensive piece of delicate architecture.
I have said this before and will keep saying it: we have reached peak screen, and it is time for car interiors to quiet down. But even I have to admit this is all very polished and determined to make analogue life feel like a thing of the past.
New trim materials and colours, including a warm beech brown interior, make the GLS feel less corporate and more cosseting. The vents are now round, the ambient graphics more elaborate, and the steering wheel has been revised with Mercedes’s physical clickable controls, which restore at least some tactile soul to modern in-car tech.
And there is a lot of tech. The GLS now runs on MB.OS, Mercedes-Benz’s in-house operating system, which controls everything from infotainment to driver assistance and features over-the-air updates. Navigation blends Google Maps with Mercedes’s own interface, while the latest MBUX assistant uses AI to handle more natural, multi-part conversations. Increasingly, this is what luxury looks like: not just stitched leather and polished wood, but software that feels like a bit of a co-pilot.
Still, nobody buys a GLS because they want to admire the menu layout. The real question is whether it can move with enough grace to justify all the S-Class comparisons. Mercedes has revised the engine range across the line-up, with more responsiveness and improved refinement the stated aim.
The top-end GLS 580 4Matic’s V8 now generates 537bhp and 750 Nm of torque, while the six-cylinder petrol model has been updated for smoother delivery, stronger low-end pull and better efficiency.
All engines are paired with a 48-volt system and integrated starter generator, allowing for coasting, boost and energy recuperation. More importantly, Mercedes has put considerable effort into reducing noise, vibration and harshness.
There is additional insulation, more acoustic treatment and a general sense that the engineers have spent a great deal of time worrying about sounds most people will never consciously notice. Which is exactly as it should be.
The chassis, meanwhile, is where the GLS earns its keep. Mercedes’s E-Active Body Control remains one of the cleverest suspension systems in the segment, analysing the road and adjusting each wheel individually to keep the car level and composed. It can make a vehicle this large feel almost improbably calm.
The Airmatic air suspension has also been enhanced with cloud-based damper control, allowing the GLS to prepare itself for speed bumps before it reaches them.
Either way, the result is clear: comfort is key here, especially for those not doing the driving. The GLS remains a seven-seater as standard, with fully electrically adjustable rows and enough room even in the back for adults rather than apologetic children. The optional Rear Comfort Package Plus adds massage seats, wireless charging, entertainment screens and enough legroom management to make the second row feel like a business-class cabin.
And that, really, is the point of the new GLS. It is not trying to be sporty in the way some luxury SUVs insist on being sporty, nor is it pretending mud and mountains are its natural habitat. What Mercedes has built is a form of insulation – from noise, from inconvenience, from the mild daily abrasions of modern life.
Which may not be romantic, exactly. But then true luxury rarely is. More often, it is simply the art of removing irritations before you notice they are there. On that front, the new GLS understands the brief perfectly.
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