Words by: Adam Allen
So you’ve got money and hate minivans but the Porsche 911 in the driveway isn’t exactly an accomplished family hauler. What do you do if you find yourself in a similar predicament? You buy a full-size luxury SUV. 20 years ago, your choices would have been limited mostly to American iron in the Lincoln Navigator and the Cadillac Escalade, but the auto industry en masse began to notice the tidal wave of profitable dollars these rigs generated and wanted in on the action. Now you’ve got options from Lexus to Buick and everything in between, and you can count the Mercedes Benz GLS model range amongst the plethora of choices. What started out as the GL-Class morphed into the GLS range back in 2016, but the premise has always remained constant: basically, give buyers an S-Class with more ground clearance and a third row of seating. On that mandate, M-B has never failed to deliver. Like we said, there are a number of decadent options in an ever expanding segment of the market, but not all of them can deliver on the mix of palatial accommodations with top tier luxury. Below, we’ll delve into the observations we complied after a week spent behind the wheel doing the exact stuff the GLS was built for- running errands, taking the kids to hockey practice, stocking up at Costco- you know, the kind of domestic bliss we all enjoy, just with a very luxurious SUV to do it all in.
The Highs
Those of you who frequently visit the Carpages Garage to satiate your need for in-depth automotive coverage and insights (and thank you for that, by the way) know that we are unabashed gearheads who place driving enjoyment far above any other metric. And so it was with great delight each morning when we’d fire up the turbocharged 4.0 V8. Yes, there’s a six-cylinder model that will likely be more fuel efficient, but it’s the V8 you want. It speaks in a polished baritone while wafting along through town whose soundtrack morphs into a heady snarl when you mat the throttle. Its 510 horsepower and mild hybrid drivetrain componentry means that this beast can get up and go smartly. The brakes are a well-tuned foil to all the kinetic energy the V8 can summon, and aside from steering feel that can best be described as aloof, you can hustle this baby along a twisty two lane much better than you might expect. The GLS rides in massive 23” wheels and yet they do their best to hang on with surprising levels of grip while not compromising the ambrosial ride quality. When they’re not being subjected to lateral accelerative forces, passengers will notice the comfort afforded by any seat in the house- even the third row of seats offer reasonable accommodations for adults. They’ll also be enamored by the swath of digital screens that’s de rigueur for topflight Benz models these days, to say nothing of the breathtaking 26-speaker (!) Burmester sound system. We drove the Maybach version of this rig a few years back and while our tester lacked the fridge, silver champagne flutes and leather lined airline trays that one packed, it’s still a very, very nice place to spend while on trips long and short. You’ll get nearly the uber-luxury experience for many thousands of dollars less.
The Lows
The GLS 580 has a 90-litre fuel tank which is great for putting in as many kilometers as possible when your destination is of the far-flung variety. That commodious well is pricey to fill with fuel prices being what they currently are, but all that creamy V8 torque means that the tank gets sucked dry at a rate that might leave you with a bout of sticker shock when you review your monthly fuel bills. Our tester came equipped with running boards that look good but are useless as actual running boards. The only other complaint we have is squared at Mercedes’ MBUX voice activated assistant. Meant to help occupants perform tasks simply by speaking, it’s flummoxed by even simple commands- so much so that we ultimately stopped using it and just performed whatever task manually on our own. Everything else works so seamlessly and is kind of marred by the inability to ask the system to say, make a phone call, when it’s so easy to do on your smartphone.
The Verdict
Someone referred to our GLS 580 as ‘the S-Class of Three Row SUVs’ which is accurate since the S is right there in its name. It drives much like its sedan counterpart, only you can take more people and there stuff along for the experience. Thanks to its air suspension, it can hike up its body for added ground clearance if a spot of light off roading is in the cards, something the S-Class can most certainly not do. Another party trick not in the S-Class toolbox is cosplaying as a minivan, something our GLS tester did with aplomb. If your needs dictate a vehicle that can accommodate your entire brood in decadent comfort- that is NOT an uncool minivan- then yes, you should be taking a close look at this Big Benz. You do have other choices- the athletic BMW X7, the blingy Cadillac Escalade/Lincoln Navigator to name but a few- none of them quite offer the same presence and serenity of the top dog in the Mercedes lineup.
2024 Mercedes Benz GLS 580 4MATIC – Specifications
- Price as tested: $160,635
- Body Type: 5-door, 7 passenger SUV
- Powertrain Layout: Front engine/all-wheel drive
- Engine: 4.0-litre twin turbo V8, DOHC, 32 valves
- Horsepower: 510 @ 5,500 rpm
- Torque (lb-ft.): 538 @ 2,000 rpm
- Transmission: 9-speed automatic
- Curb weight: 2,610 kg (5,754 lbs)
- Observed Fuel Economy: 14.7/100km (16 mpg)