What is the easiest way to be underwhelmed by a $200k Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600? Drive a $260k Mercedes-Maybach S680 first!
Sadly, that is what I’m doing today. I’ve just completed test drives of the Mercedes-Maybach S680, Lucid Air, and Lucid Gravity, and now I’m getting behind the wheel of the 2025 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600. It’s not that the GLS 600 SUV is anything but excellent, but the S680 sedan pushed the bar a little higher!
Because I have my priorities straight and this is a Maybach—a car that is for the driven as much as it is for the drivers—I start my exploration of the GLS 600 in the rear seats.
My test car is fitted with the optional executive seats, whose backs recline and foot rests extend into a business class position. When I relax into the rear right seat, I almost have enough space to stretch out my long legs. (I should have had the forethought to push the front seat forward first!) My La-Z-Boy throne is upholstered in fine white leather and topped with some of the plushest toss pillows I’ve ever snuggled. The headrest has a supplemental pillow, too, into which I sink my noggin.
Yes, the Maybach GLS 600’s rear compartment is as nice as they come—or at least as nice as I’ve seen. Like the S680, the GLS 600 has infotainment screens for both rear passengers and a shared tablet that pops out from the center console. But where my sample S680 had a flume of wood inlay and metal pinstriping spilling from the parcel shelf to the center console, this GLS 600 has gloss black plastic with metal stripes. For me, piano black plastic is a no-no due to its propensity for scratches and fingerprints, so personally, I would pick one of the GLS 600’s many wood trim options.
When I clamber into the driver’s seat, I find the same gloss black plastic with metal stripes spread across the dash. This generation of GLS debuted before the current generation S-Class, and so the GLS 600 uses an older MBUX system than the S680. The telltale is the trackpad controller at my thigh; it can drive the infotainment screen, though the screen is touch-activated, too.
One benefit, in my mind, of the older interior design is that the GLS 600 has a nice row of metal switches for its HVAC functions. The S680 has neither the track pad nor the metal controls, but its updated MBUX screen is twice as tall and easier to reach.
At the prompting of my test drive chaperone, I fire up the GLS 600 and slowly drive out of the lot.
It’s clear within a few hundred feet that the GLS 600 has the same exemplary ride quality as the S680 sedan. Both Maybachs are equipped with air suspensions that have them floating down the road.
The bumps that I encounter in the GLS 600 are transformed into gentle rises and slowly released sighs. The hardware behind this sublime ride quality is impressive. The GLS 600 uses cameras to read the road and individually adapt each shock in anticipation of what is to come. It is as close to a magic carpet ride as it comes!
The Maybach sisters are the only cars I’ve sampled with drive modes dedicated to the rear passenger’s comfort. In Maybach mode, the drivetrain and suspension calibration prioritize the smoothest ride for the backseat VIPs. Maybech mode even goes so far as to minimize gear changes…not that they are in the least bit harsh in the GLS 600!
As I cruise around Pebble Beach, the cabin of the GLS 600 is incredibly hushed, with just the mellow burble of the V8 engine and the rustle of the hard-working air conditioning filling my ears. The GLS 600’s bi-turbo 4.0L V8 is shared with Mercedes’s fastest AMG models; in the GLS 600, it makes 550 hp. As compared to the S680’s 6.0L bi-turbo V12, the V8 sounds sportier, but it also lets more vibrations into the cabin.
(The V8’s vibrations are only noticeable because I spent 10 minutes slobbering over the V12’s smoothness!)
The V8’s jive encourages my delinquent side. I put the GLS 600 into Sport mode and floor the throttle. The big SUV moves with authority, stampeding through two of the gearbox’s nine gears. When sprinting, the GLS 600 feels roughly as fast as the S680, but much slower than the outrageously powerful Lucids I drove today. Mercedes quotes 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds for the GLS 600 and the same deed in 4.6 seconds for the S680. The Lucid Gravity smashes the acceleration benchmark in 3.4 seconds.
Regardless, the GLS 600 has more than enough power to whisk backseat plutocrats away from sticky human rights protests and oil pipeline demonstrations.
I noticed that the GLS 600 has an off-road mode. It seems strange to me that such a precious SUV would ever put its toes in the dirt, but if your vacation home is a forest dacha or a desert-oasis palace, then an off-road mode could come in handy!
Riding high in the GLS 600, I feel like the king of the road. I can see over most traffic, I have more luxuries than the other drivers, and I’ve got a muscular V8 at my beck and call. But my king of the road delusions are smashed when a Mercedes AMG G63 6×6 with six wheels passes me in the opposite direction. Why is there always a richer schmuck to put you in your place?!!
The GLS 600 is a light and easy steer, with buttery steering that is largely texture-free. Only the coarsest roads in my route cause vibrations in the steering or floor.
The final drive mode I try is the Curve mode. This sets up the GLS 600 for improved body control on twisting roads. As I slalom the GLS 600 down the road, the adaptive suspension does a commendable job of resisting side-to-side head toss. Mission accomplished, Curve mode!
The minor knits I have with the $178k Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 ($200k as tested) are only because of the blinding spotlight the Mercedes-Maybach S680 puts on its sister. And even then, the things I didn’t love—like the black plastic trim and the older MBUX system—are easily fixed with different option choices or simply irrelevant if you choose to ride in the backseat.
But at its core mission—delivering VIPs to their destinations in sublimely smooth luxury—the GLS 600 is 99% as good as the S680. If you can bear not being in the 1%, then I wholeheartedly recommend the princely GLS 600. (Just know that the S680 is still the king!)
Mike's Steering Column 