2016 Mercedes GLS driven
2016 Mercedes GLS driven
The Mercedes GLS starts at £69,100 for a 3.0-litre diesel version
The GLS is Mercedes' biggest SUV, but is this luxurious, seven-seat Leviathan a better choice than a Range Rover?
Thirty seven. That's how many
separate SUVs are on the Mercedes-Benz
price list. So should we celebrate the arrival of this new GLS for
providing us with yet more choice, or slam it for being an even bigger
version of a vehicle type that Mercedes already offers in abundance?
Well, the raw data is pretty formidable. This 2.5-tonne, five-metre long Leviathan rides on air suspension and is capable of carrying seven adults and their luggage. It has a choice of 3.0-litre V6 diesel and 5.5-litre V8 petrol petrol engines, and comes with four-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic gearbox.
The interior of the car isn't the last word in Mercedes technik, featuring an entertainment system that feels rather first generation. However, there’s pretty much all you'd want in terms of luxury, the middle three seats have acres of space around them, and the GLS is designed to be a proper seven-seater.
"We're all used to seven-seat cars where the final row is as popular as the sin bin in ice hockey," says Andreas Zygan, director of SUV development at Mercedes. But while he’s right, and the GLS's rearmost perches are indeed better than most, my knees were still jammed against the back of the seats in front and there's the strangest sensation when travelling there that the car is hinged in the middle as the front moves at least a second and five metres before you do.
Things are much better in the front, where there are loads of storage spaces and the seats are comfortable and supportive. Meanwhile, decor is old-school Mercedes luxury, with separate analogue dials for speed and engine revs and a central digital display of trip information or digital speed.
Well, the raw data is pretty formidable. This 2.5-tonne, five-metre long Leviathan rides on air suspension and is capable of carrying seven adults and their luggage. It has a choice of 3.0-litre V6 diesel and 5.5-litre V8 petrol petrol engines, and comes with four-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic gearbox.
The interior of the car isn't the last word in Mercedes technik, featuring an entertainment system that feels rather first generation. However, there’s pretty much all you'd want in terms of luxury, the middle three seats have acres of space around them, and the GLS is designed to be a proper seven-seater.
"We're all used to seven-seat cars where the final row is as popular as the sin bin in ice hockey," says Andreas Zygan, director of SUV development at Mercedes. But while he’s right, and the GLS's rearmost perches are indeed better than most, my knees were still jammed against the back of the seats in front and there's the strangest sensation when travelling there that the car is hinged in the middle as the front moves at least a second and five metres before you do.
Things are much better in the front, where there are loads of storage spaces and the seats are comfortable and supportive. Meanwhile, decor is old-school Mercedes luxury, with separate analogue dials for speed and engine revs and a central digital display of trip information or digital speed.
That single-turbo V6 diesel is the engine that you want in this car, and it starts with a healthy growl. It isn't as smooth as Audi's brilliant V6 alternative, but it does the numbers and gives the GLS a healthy turn of speed if not making it a hot rod.
The nine-speed gearbox is the making of the Mercedes engine, however, and unlike the ZF nine-speeder that’s fitted to many rivals (including the Audi), the Merc unit is never short of a gear. Even manual changes (via the steering column-mounted paddles) are done with the discreet manners of a well-trained butler.
In addition, refinement is remarkable whatever the road surface. Zygan admits that this is largely the result of packing the car with sound-deadening material, but it works. There's a solidity and presence about the GLS that simply isn't there in its rivals.
A word about specification here. The cheapest GLS – and the one that’s likely to be most popular in the UK – is the £69,100 AMG line diesel. But it’s worth considering the £78,095 Designo line model, which not only adds such essentials as heated-and-cooled cup holders, air ionisation and air-conditioned seats, but also active anti-roll bars that reduce lean in turns by jacking up the outside of the body, and slacken off on straight roads to improve the ride quality.
Driving the GLS is an exercise in managing its weight, but those active anti-roll bars really help. Plus, the ride is uncannily good, with great body control and a distinct feeling of wheel articulation as each of the enormous 21-inch diameter alloys traverses a bump.
Pop the car into its Sport setting
and the turn-in to corners has more alacrity, but as the cornering
loads build up there's the impression that the whole car is about to
trip up over its outside front wheel. Better to leave it in Comfort,
put up with a bit more body roll and enjoy responses that are more
faithful and progressive.
The brakes are up to the job, but the pedal needs a firm push and the pedal isn't a particularly intuitive device, so you often have to squeeze harder to stop it at low speeds, meaning your passengers' heads nod to and fro.
The test car coped easily with snowy roads that had no need of the low-ratio transfer box (a £1,985 option), and the adjustable ride height settings were useful, even if the snow tyres were the main traction aid. Towing weight, incidentally, is 3.5 tonnes for all except the V8 petrol.
No, this car isn't going to have the go anywhere ability (or the looks) of a Range Rover, but it rides and handles as well, carries more people and stuff, is marginally cheaper and, dare we say it, will probably be more reliable.
It's also all the better for not copying so many German SUVs in trying to be schportii. I asked Zygan if the GLS would be the relaxed car that it is if it weren't for Mercedes already having the GLE and GLE Coupé in its range. "No," he said. "The choice has allowed us to concentrate on what's important.
And what is important for the GLS? "Comfort and off-road ability," he replied. They’ve certainly nailed the first one, and in the end, that's probably enough in this market. This new Mercedes is very much SUV job well done.
The brakes are up to the job, but the pedal needs a firm push and the pedal isn't a particularly intuitive device, so you often have to squeeze harder to stop it at low speeds, meaning your passengers' heads nod to and fro.
The test car coped easily with snowy roads that had no need of the low-ratio transfer box (a £1,985 option), and the adjustable ride height settings were useful, even if the snow tyres were the main traction aid. Towing weight, incidentally, is 3.5 tonnes for all except the V8 petrol.
No, this car isn't going to have the go anywhere ability (or the looks) of a Range Rover, but it rides and handles as well, carries more people and stuff, is marginally cheaper and, dare we say it, will probably be more reliable.
It's also all the better for not copying so many German SUVs in trying to be schportii. I asked Zygan if the GLS would be the relaxed car that it is if it weren't for Mercedes already having the GLE and GLE Coupé in its range. "No," he said. "The choice has allowed us to concentrate on what's important.
And what is important for the GLS? "Comfort and off-road ability," he replied. They’ve certainly nailed the first one, and in the end, that's probably enough in this market. This new Mercedes is very much SUV job well done.
THE FACTS
Mercedes GLS 350d 4Matic AMG line
Tested: 2,987cc V6 diesel engine, nine-speed automaticgearbox (£1,985) driving all four wheels.
Price/on sale: From £69,100/March 2016
Power/torque: 254bhp @ 3,400rpm/457lb ft @ 1,600rpm
Top speed: 138mph
Acceleration: 0-62mph 7.8sec
Fuel economy: 34.5mpg/37.2mpg (EU Urban/Combined); on test 21mpg
CO2 emissions: 199g/km
VED band: J (£490 for first year, £265 thereafter)
Verdict: Combines sublime ride quality and body control with brutish looks and an interior that's filled with old-school luxury. This might not be the most wieldy car off the road, but it does more than it needs to for most owners
Telegraph rating: Four out of five stars
Mercedes GLS 350d 4Matic AMG line
Tested: 2,987cc V6 diesel engine, nine-speed automaticgearbox (£1,985) driving all four wheels.
Price/on sale: From £69,100/March 2016
Power/torque: 254bhp @ 3,400rpm/457lb ft @ 1,600rpm
Top speed: 138mph
Acceleration: 0-62mph 7.8sec
Fuel economy: 34.5mpg/37.2mpg (EU Urban/Combined); on test 21mpg
CO2 emissions: 199g/km
VED band: J (£490 for first year, £265 thereafter)
Verdict: Combines sublime ride quality and body control with brutish looks and an interior that's filled with old-school luxury. This might not be the most wieldy car off the road, but it does more than it needs to for most owners
Telegraph rating: Four out of five stars
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