Image: Mercedes-Benz press kit
A genuinely accomplished three-row luxury SUV that excels as a chauffeur-driven highway cruiser, though city manners and pricing demand consideration.
The 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLS facelift arrives with mild styling tweaks, an AMG Line Night Package, and the same proven inline-six petrol and diesel mild-hybrid powertrains. It remains the S-Class of SUVs in spirit: massive road presence, top-tier cabin, and effortless highway gait. Sharper-driving rivals exist, but few feel this special.
The facelift is evolutionary: a larger grille with radar hidden behind the three-pointed star, revised LED headlamps with 84 elements, a new front bumper, and tweaked tail-lamp graphics. At 5.2 metres long with a 3.1-metre wheelbase, the GLS is longer than the BMW X7 and dominates any road it is on. The AMG Line Night Package, as MotorBeam highlights, transforms the stance with blacked-out grille slats, dark 21-inch alloys, and body-coloured cladding, giving it a genuine 'maafia-style' menace the standard car lacks. The illuminated running boards, soft-close doors, and Mercedes-star puddle lamps add theatre. The one gripe across reviews: the alloy-wheel design itself has not been updated, and some fake exhaust trim sits below real twin tailpipes.
The cabin is where the GLS justifies its price. Twin 12.3-inch screens, Burmester 13-speaker 590W Dolby Atmos audio, five-zone climate, 64-colour ambient lighting, and a panoramic sunroof set the tone. Materials, switch damping, and stitching are top-drawer. Second-row passengers get dual 11.6-inch HDMI screens, a detachable Samsung tablet for cabin control, wireless charging, six USB-C ports, powered sunblinds, and seats that recline 30 degrees. The third row is electrically operated and best reserved for children, with tight headroom and minimal under-thigh support for adults. Notable omissions sting at this price: no head-up display, no in-car perfume (despite the smaller GLE having it), no heating or ventilation for the centre second-row passenger, and the touch-sensitive steering controls remain fiddly.
Both engines are 3.0-litre inline-sixes with a 48V mild-hybrid ISG adding 20 hp and 200 Nm on demand. The GLS 450 petrol makes 381 hp and 500 Nm; the new GLS 450d diesel produces 367 hp and 750 Nm, replacing the older 400d with 36 hp and 50 Nm more. Both claim 0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, capped at 250 km/h, paired with a 9-speed torque converter. The diesel is the connoisseur's pick: a genuine workhorse with effortless torque, exceptional refinement, and the ability to disguise the 2,500 kg kerb weight entirely. As Faisal Khan notes, the absence of a Sport mode (only Comfort, Eco, Off-road) is genuinely surprising. The 9-speed shifts smoothly rather than quickly.
Air suspension with adaptive damping is the GLS's signature party trick. At highway speeds the ride is sublime: speed-breakers disappear, expansion joints vanish, and the car glides with S-Class composure. Insulation from laminated glass and the acoustic comfort package keeps the cabin remarkably silent. The problem, as MotorOctane and others flag, surfaces at low speeds in the city: the 275/45 R21 front and 315/40 R21 rear tyres are too large and too low-profile, so the car crashes through sharp bumps. The 12.5-metre turning radius is obnoxious in tight Indian streets, and the absence of rear-wheel steering is felt every U-turn. Body roll is present but well controlled. Steering is light, accurate, and tuned for comfort over engagement.
Fit, finish, and feature count are class-leading. Nine airbags, 360-degree camera with transparent bonnet view, blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, attention assist, and Mercedes' connected-car suite are standard. The newly added hands-free entry (just place your hand on the door handle) addresses a pre-facelift gap. Off-road mode, 500 mm water-wading capability, and 100% slope-climbing ability give it genuine capability. Ground clearance is adjustable via a dedicated console switch. Faisal Khan flags that the active brake assist is over-sensitive and triggers nuisance warnings, while the touch-capacitive steering buttons are a step backwards from the older physical ones. Three-year warranty extendable to six, and Mercedes' 24x7 mobile support, round out a comprehensive ownership package.
Priced from ₹1.37 crore to ₹1.43 crore ex-showroom, with on-road Mumbai figures touching ₹1.73 crore for the GLS 450d AMG Line Night Package, the GLS now sits noticeably above the BMW X7. The X7 drives sharper, handles better, and offers similar feature content for less money, making it the value-led choice. The GLS counters with greater rear-seat luxury, a more polished cabin, and the Mercedes badge, justifying it primarily for chauffeur-driven buyers. The Audi Q8 sits ₹80-90 lakh below but lacks a third row and feels a generation behind. The Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne play in similar territory with stronger driver appeal. Buy this for prestige and rear-seat comfort, not value.
"Delivers undeniable luxury but the Maybach above and Rolls-Royce comparisons expose where it stops short on outright opulence."
"Same engine, no sport mode, no HUD, and dearer than the X7; lovely car, but BMW makes more sense."
"Engineered for comfort and practicality with maafia-style presence; ride is brilliant on highways, slightly busy in the city."
"Feature-list walkthrough confirms this is genuinely the S-Class of SUVs in fittings, lighting, and cabin theatre."
"The AMG Line Night Package finally gives the GLS the sinister, sexy presence it always lacked."
"Inline-six diesel masks the 2.5-tonne weight beautifully and the air suspension is the real hero on broken roads."