2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 - Big Luxury SUV!

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2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 First Test: Big Luxury SUV Bliss

Even the starter GLS can spoil its passengers with comfortable luxury.

Pros

   Cushy, refined ride
   Excellent standard content and options
   Good cargo space

Cons

   Not as athletic as some rivals
   High price
   Other SUVs are more practical

Every model in the present-generation Mercedes-Benz GLS range was touched for the company's 2024 refresh, from the loftiest Maybach and AMG models to the entry-level GLS450. The latter version of the big luxury full-size three-row also scores a more powerful engine in addition to updated looks and new feature content.

The segment is rife with distinguished heavy hitters, including those made by BMW and Lincoln. With its updates, is the 2024 GLS450 4Matic base model a better foil for them?

How Quick is the Six-Cylinder Version?

Not unexpectedly, the least powerful GLS takes the longest in the lineup to reach 60 mph, even with 13 horsepower more for 2024. We were able to shave 0.1 second off the automaker's 5.6-second estimate, but the turbo straight-six mild hybrid is still markedly slower than the more powerful (and pre-refresh) V-8 GLS580's 4.7 seconds and AMG GLS63's blistering 3.7 seconds. The recently updated inline-six BMW X7 is also in that ballpark, sprinting to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

A better straight-line rival might be the more powerful but heavier Lincoln Navigator, which is a couple tenths slower to 60 mph. Really, though, any of these big premium luxury SUVs move with enough urgency that you won't have to worry much about planning overtakes or matching freeway flows. We were even able to get the tires to chirp in Sport mode on some launches. The 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS450's engine and nine-speed automatic transmission were almost always ready and responded with decisiveness and poise.

We say "almost always ready" because the gearbox did have a mind of its own during our at-limit handling tests, sometimes doing as urged in manual mode, sometimes not. The only place we encountered the behavior was at the track, though. Most of the time the transmission performed without drama.
Juking GLS

The combination of standard 4Matic all-wheel drive, air suspension—which comes with updated tuning this year—and optional summer tires make the GLS450 a curious test subject. As a tall, heavy SUV, its body motions were noticeable but occurred in a rather composed way. The SUV delivered excellent grip, though it's empirically not as good as the 2023 X7 base model. The BMW holds on for an 0.88 g average in our lateral acceleration skidpad assessment, 0.03 g more than our test Mercedes, and is a full second quicker through our racetrack-in-a-bottle figure-eight test.

It's OK, however, because the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 babies its occupants. That said, our test vehicle didn't like every type of road surface, as stretches of fatigued pavement made the cabin drone with tire noise. In all other cases, the SUV rode like a big softie. And with the $1,100 Acoustic Comfort package, which adds more insulation to the interior and includes side windows with an acoustic finish, it was usually library quiet inside.
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