Copyright SlashGear
Mercedes asks a lot of the GLS. The German automaker's largest SUV does super-luxury duty, as the Maybach GLS 600, but also sates outlandish desires for a three-row sports car in the shape of the AMG GLS 63. It's easy to forget that those with neither the taste nor budget for such excesses also have this, the "regular" GLS 450 among their options. Admittedly, with a $91,400 (including $1,150 destination) starting price, the 2026 GLS 450 4MATIC SUV could hardly be considered cheap by normal metrics. It's the only configuration of the GLS line-up with an MSRP that dips below six-figures, and — frankly unusual for a review car — it's moderately configured here, too. Chris Davies/SlashGear The $5,000 Manufaktur Edition package, new for the 2026 model year, helps. Along with two exclusive finishes — Silicon Grey or Moonlight White Magno — it adds the AMG Line exterior styling package including 21-inch AMG wheels and upgraded brakes; leather seats, with front massage and rapid heating, plus heated rear seats; and the style-minded Night Package. You'd pay more than $13k to add piecemeal what the Manufaktur Edition includes, Mercedes claims. This may not be the GLS in its most lavish form, but Mercedes still offers plenty of cabin options. Oddly, for a near-six-figure SUV, real leather is a paid extra: if you don't go the Manufaktur Edition route, it's $1,620 for black, white, brown, or beige, to replace the standard MB-Tex faux-hide. There are nicer leathers to choose from (for more money), too, along with brighter blue and red finishes among the Manufaktur options. Brushed aluminum or brown wood trim are standard; various other wood finishes are available. Chris Davies/SlashGear The resulting cabin could be very dark, then, or very light. It can also come with seating for seven or six: the latter, a no-cost option, swaps the second row bench for a pair of folding captain's chairs. Chris Davies/SlashGear Either way, the second and third rows are power operated, and the GLS is spacious both for adults in all three rows or — with the 17.4 cu-ft of all-seats-up trunk space expanding to 84.7 cu-ft behind the first row — cargo. At 5 foot 8, I had headroom and legroom to spare in the very back seats. Chris Davies/SlashGear Heated and ventilated front seats are standard, as is a panoramic glass roof, power liftgate, and quad-zone climate control. Loosen your wallet, and you can add massage to the first and second rows; heating and ventilation to the second row seats; a fifth climate control zone along with purification and integrated perfume system; soft-close doors; and even heated door armrests and heated/cooled front cupholders. Perhaps I'm just easily pleased, but the cloud-like pillows on the front row headrests felt particularly decadent. Compared to the vast dashboard displays of other recent Mercedes models, the GLS' digital setup feels positively restrained. Twin 12.3-inch screens — one for the driver's gauges, the other a central touchscreen for the MBUX infotainment — can be navigated by touch, surprisingly capable voice control (trigged by "Hey, Mercedes"), or a touchpad controller in the grab-handle-flanked center console. All three work fine, though I still find the little touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel to be finicky: slow to first respond, then too rapid to precisely adjust. Chris Davies/SlashGear Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is a Burmester Surround Sound audio system with Dolby Atmos, wireless phone charging (with an option for a second row charging pad), and navigation with augmented reality directions overlaid on the center touchscreen. A head-up display is available, along with a rear seat entertainment package with screens and wireless headphones. Chris Davies/SlashGear Mercedes outfits the GLS with ample physical controls, despite its touchscreen. There's a separate drive mode switch — to toggle between Individual, Sport, Eco, Comfort, and Off-Road modes — and air suspension height rocker, along with a dedicated button for the standard 360-degree camera and parking assistance. Mercedes' adaptive cruise control is standard, with steering assistance, though it's a hands-on system not hands-off like, say, GM's Super Cruise. On the one hand, there's a 3.0-liter inline-six turbocharged mild-hybrid gas engine under the GLS' not-inconsiderable hood, delivering 375 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via a 9-speed automatic transmission and standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive. Those are not small power numbers, but then again, the GLS is no small SUV. Its curb weight — more than 5,500 pounds — makes the 5.8 second 0-60 mph time faintly surprising. Chris Davies/SlashGear It's still markedly slower than the 4.1 seconds of the AMG-blessed GLS 63, with its 603 horsepower V8 biturbo, and the GLS 450 inspires a much more relaxed driving style than its burly sibling (which starts, it's worth noting, at $151,050 before destination and options). Even in Sport mode, the GLS 450 never really feels too inclined toward eagerness. There's a solid build of pace, like a traction engine gaining steam, but at its firmest the suspension is still dialed in for placid cornering, and the inline-six doesn't sound especially pleased to be pushed higher into the rev range. Far better, then, to waft like a good Mercedes-Benz should. PHEV tech sadly hasn't reached the GLS yet (the biggest plug-in hybrid SUV currently is the GLE 450e) but its 48V mild hybrid system does a capable job of adding extra pep getting the big SUV moving at low speeds, and then smoothing out the already-syrupy shifts of the transmission. The combination of self-leveling air suspension and adaptive dampers leaves you sailing serenely, a reminder that the excesses of the Maybach and AMG variants are each dependent on the solid underpinnings visible in this more straightforward model. Chris Davies/SlashGear The downside is middling fuel economy, though by the context of a big, three-row SUV, that should come as no surprise. Mercedes and the EPA quote 19 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined. My own, mixed (but erring on city use) driving landed at just shy of 19 mpg. That said, I may not have tapped the GLS 450's 7,700 pound tow rating, but I did drop all the seats to help friends empty their storage unit. Chris Davies/SlashGear The big 'Benz proved capacious and easy to load, with switches in the trunk to not only lower the two rearmost rows, but dip the suspension, too. Truth of the matter is, for all it might be tempting to judge the 2026 GLS 450 against its more expensive siblings, in reality it faces a far more challenging measure than either AMG or Maybach does. Practicality, family resilience, general comfort, and an absence of day-to-day sharp edges are not as sexy as metrics, compared to squeezing out more horsepower or squeezing in more leather and gadgets. Yet doing that all well, at a price not entirely outlandish for the segment, and for an audience with little patience for stumbling or pratfalls, is no small task. Clearly, families with less to spend will be looking elsewhere. If you don't mind sacrificing three-pointed-star prestige, Mazda's CX-90 is a slick and well-performing 6+ seat alternative (and comes in a PHEV flavor). It's down four inches on third row legroom, mind, while the rearmost seats of the Lexus TX are only an inch or so less spacious for your legs than in the GLS. Lexus' option comes in a more potent plug-in hybrid form, too. Chris Davies/SlashGear I couldn't blame you for shopping around, but I also couldn't fault you for skipping that headache and heading straight to your nearest Mercedes dealer. Without glitter and gimmicks to count upon, the 2026 GLS focuses instead on space, comfort, usable tech, and refinement. It's not a budget pick, but you're getting a lot of SUV for your money.
