What is a Mercedes GLS? Simply, it is Mercedes’ largest and most luxurious SUV. And, it might also be the most family-friendly vehicle that Mercedes makes.
I’m a family man, so let’s dig into the 2025 Mercedes GLS 450 4MATIC and see if it is the premium alternative to minivans like the Toyota Sienna.
This 2025 GLS 450 4MATIC is mine for two weeks. The SUV is configured close to base spec, with a modest (for Mercedes) $7k in options added on top of the $89k starting MSRP. That’s a light build when there are tens of thousands in options available, but the GLS 450 comes well-equipped as standard, with lots of luxuries baked in.
All GLS 450 4MATICs are powerful and surefooted: the “450” refers to the 375 hp mild-hybrid I6 engine that powers the SUV. 4MATIC is Mercedes-speak for AWD, which helps the truck go in slippery conditions. Ride comfort is also standard, as height-adjustable air suspensions are fit to every GLS.
So how were the $7k spent? The cash went mostly to cosmetic goodies like an AMG lower fascia, 22” wheels, and wood trim for the dash and doors.
I have to admit the big wheels and AMG bumper give the black GLS 450 a baller vibe as I approach it from the sidewalk. The truck still shouts “Show me the money!” as I grab the door handle, pull open the door and climb into the driver’s seat.
The doors make a big contribution to the big-bucks impression. They have the 500-pound heft I expect from premium Mercedes products, and they softly cinch shut. (Soft close is a $550 option.) With the cabin opening sealed, the noise from the adjacent 10-lane freeway is put on mute.
The front seats, which are upholstered in brown MBTex vinyl, are plush and supportive. I use the controls on the door to adjust the seat’s position, thigh support, backrest rake, and headrest height. The door also sports buttons to turn on the seat heating and cooling. Ahead of me, the broad dashboard is elegantly trimmed in unvarnished walnut wood and stitched black MBTex. Metal vents and switches glint brightly against the cabin’s earthy palette. There is a cigar-lounge ambiance to this GLS 450.
This 2025 GLS 450 uses Mercedes’ X167 platform. Now six years old, the X169 platform is near the end of its life cycle and uses a dated second-generation MBUX infotainment system. While the current third-generation MBUX system benefits from a larger portrait-orientation navigation screen that lets you see further down the virtual road, I actually prefer the second-gen’s hard buttons over the third-gen’s touch panels. The GLS 450’s metal HVAC switches are easy to find and click so cleanly when I adjust the fan speed and temperature!
Around the MBUX trackpad (another bygone feature in the third-generation MBUX) are handy buttons for the volume, drive modes and infotainment screens. I’m less excited about the capacitive buttons on the steering wheel’s spokes, but (as I know from my CLA 180d rental) they respond well and rarely activate by accident.
Directly behind me is the most consequential option on my loaner’s build sheet, its middle-row seating configuration. Mercedes offers the GLS with a pair of captain’s chairs or a middle-row bench for three passengers? My GLS 450 has the exceedingly comfortable captain’s seats, giving it a total carrying capacity of six people.
Once I’m done gawking at the GLS 450’s interior, I put the SUV in gear and hit the road. It takes just 500 feet of driving to appreciate the air suspension. The SUV steps gently over pavement transitions and flows softly over road undulations. The little bumps that busy the ride in other vehicles melt away in the GLS 450.
The default drive mode is Comfort, which perfectly matches the GLS 450’s size and pace. In Comfort, the steering and throttle inputs are slow and gentle, helping the SUV feel relaxing on the road.
I’m not used to driving pickup-truck-length vehicles, so I find it curious how I distinctly feel each pothole strike twice due to the GLS 450’s long wheelbase. The GLS 450’s heavy nose and light tail have different ways of dispatching the same bump, so what might feel like a hop up front may—a split-second later—register as a wiggle in the back.
A highway onramp is my first chance to test the GLS 450’s guts. I dip into the throttle, and the engine revs quickly and smoothly as the GLS 450 sprints onto the expressway. Hidden under the bonnet is a 3.0L turbocharged I6 that produces 375 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. It is mated to a 48V mild-hybrid system for smooth restarts and a dollop of torque on demand. Thanks to the electric muscle, there is no turbo lag at all in the SUV; the GLS 450 is ready to trot from all rpm.
Mercedes says the GLS 450 dashes from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8s, and, considering the swift thrust I just felt, that’s quick enough for me! The pricier GLS 580 and GLS 63 models offer V8s and run to 60 mph in 4.7s and 4.1s, respectively, but in a ~5500 lb. luxury SUV, I don’t feel the need for speed. No, the 375 hp GLS 450 is already appropriately motivated for its out-of-my-way face!
As highway drives often are, my trip home is uneventful.
At 75 mph, the GLS 450 cruises with a mild nautical bob. The air suspension has a knack for taking the kick out of sharp rises and dips, like those at freeway overpasses.
Though the cabin volume is well controlled on the trot, it is not whisper-silent. Instead, I hear a constant, soft din of the tires treading pavement. The modest NVH levels are impressive, but the GLS is an S Class, I’d love complete quiet! Perhaps the GLS 450’s optional acoustic package, which isn’t fitted to my loaner, gets closer to golden silence?
The GLS 450 comes standard with traffic-aware cruise control that paces traffic and follows the highway’s curves. The radar speed control works so well that I rest my feet and let the SUV handle the acceleration and braking. Conversely, the lane-following keeps my hands disconcertingly busy! The GLS 450 wanders around in its lane and even crosses the dashed white line when the highway sweeps to the right. Either the active lane-following is unreliable, usable only on straight highways, or I’m misusing it. Since the GLS 450 was smart enough to change lanes on its own when I turn on my blinkers, I’m thinking it’s just underbaked and not competitive with Tesla’s Autopilot.
Soon, I’m back in Berkeley, climbing the hill to my home. While the GLS’s width and length are assets in sprawling cities like Dallas or Detroit, they are liabilities on Berkeley’s 100-year-old hillside lanes. I spend more time than usual unnecessarily sucking in my belly as I pilot the GLS 450 past street-parked cars and around oncoming traffic.
I want to parallel park in front of the neighborhood coffee shop, but the available spot is too short for the GLS 450. (The standard 360-degree cameras help me avoid paint swaps and curb rash on my aborted attempt.)
There are pros and cons to the GLS 450’s high ride height on home turf.
Pro: The GLS 450’s large-and-in-charge stature lets me see over parked cars at crowded road junctions. My trickiest local intersection—a T-junction with 35 mph cross-traffic—becomes anxiety-free thanks to the excellent views to the left and right from the high-riding GLS 450.
Con: My local roads are lumpy, and the simple geometry of sitting higher off the ground means the GLS 450’s body motions are exaggerated as compared to the squat sedans I’m most familiar with. The air suspension does an excellent job of compensating, but there is still more sloshing side-to-side and bouncing up-and-down more than I’d get in a wagon or sedan.
When gliding around town, I occasionally step on the accelerator and find that the GLS 450 just won’t go. A little sleuthing discovers that I’m stumbling over the engine’s start-stop feature. The GLS 450 has the smoothest start-stop I’ve used—it is absolutely silent and vibration-free—and I have to watch the tachometer to know the engine is extinguished. Because the clever GLS 450 will kill the engine at up to 5 mph if I’m slowing to a stop, I can get the SUV flatfooted if I get back on the gas at 4 mph. (The start-stop system seems to use the GLS 450’s cameras. If I’m slowing for a stop sign, it leaves the engine running in case I’ll California roll!)
The 48V mild-hybrid may also be the secret ingredient that provides seamless torque across the nine-speed automatic transmission’s shifts. When I’m driving with a light right foot, I often look down at 20 mph and find that the GLS 450 has made it into fourth gear without me feeling a single shift. Heavy throttle upshifts are nearly as smooth, though the aural clue of the engine revs dropping makes the gear changes easier to find.
During the school week, I use the GLC 450 to shuttle my kids to class. My girls love the Mercedes interior lighting and ask me to change the color scheme at least five times per trip. We ooh and aah over the different glowing colors in the foot wells and door handle cups, and watch, star-struck, as the ambient lighting strips bleed from pink to orange to red. (The same lighting flashes red and beeps if I open the door when traffic is approaching from behind.)
I’m told to turn up the radio’s volume for every Taylor Swift song. The standard 13-speaker Burmester stereo has a pleasant sound quality, and Taylor’s voice is nicely separated from the instrumental track. There is a $4550 upgraded Burmester 3D Sound System that may be the pick for audiophiles.
By and large, the smooth and calm GLS 450 is an excellent family school bus, though there are a few wrinkles.
My tall and usually self-sufficient five-year-old struggles to climb into the high GLS 450 on her own. Preschoolers and kindergarteners may find ingress and egress difficult. (Parking the GLS in Sport mode helps, as it lowers the air springs.)
The GLS 450’s heavy doors make the SUV feel safe and premium, but they cause a moment of panic for my 10-year-old and me. When she is exiting the GLS 450 on a severely crowned street, gravity rips the door out of her grasp, swinging it at the curb and clobbering an extended sprinkler. Thankfully, the door is unharmed.
The GLS 450’s extended wheelbase complicates my afternoon driving route. The quickest way home after school pick-up starts with a U-turn—or it would in any other vehicle! The long GLS 450 forces a traffic-blocking three-point turn. I’d suggest rear-wheel steering for your GLS 450, but it’s not an available option.
Three rows of seats make it easy to bring friends to the park, but the third row is best reserved for elementary-age kids. This is because the rearmost seats have too little knee room for tall adults, though the head and shoulder room is okay.
As a parent, I decided against installing my youngest’s child seat in the third row to avoid the back-killing twist and reach to tighten her belts from the rear door. Minivans do this better.
Back-of-the-bus passengers miss out on power-adjustable seats and ambient lighting, but they do get a pair of USB-C ports each.
While my GLS 450 has a six-person capacity, its tight trunk only fits two large 26-inch luggage or four 22-inch roll-aboards. As such, there’s not enough cargo capacity to bring one suitcase per person! If you have five or fewer in your crew, it is an easy flick of a switch to drop a rear seat (or two) for extra hauling capacity. (My girls and I flattened the left-side rear seats and brought home an eight-foot Christmas tree!)
Considering the limited stowage, I’d advise families of six or seven to shop for minivans after all!
The most expensive options on my loaner’s Monroney are the $3250 AMG Line Package and $1350 22” AMG wheels. The AMG Line Package fits a more aggressive front bumper, a sports steering wheel, metal pedals, dimpled brake rotors and painted brake calipers. The package would also include 21” five-spoke AMG wheels, but the 22” AMG wheel upgrade supplants those. The massive rims add to the GLS 450’s imposing image and are wrapped in girthy Continental EcoContact 6Q summer tires (285/45R22 front and 325/40R22 rear).
During the school week, I haven’t felt the slightest sporting inclination from the GLS 450, but considering its steamroller tires, I must try it on a mountain road! So on Saturday afternoon, I take the GLS 450 to Grizzly Peak Blvd and start slinging the SUV.
The GLS 450 has a slow steering ratio that feels appropriate for the large SUV. I don’t love the steering tuning, which is light when the wheel is within ~10 degrees of center, but it firms up considerably as I add more angle. The GLS 450’s initial response to steering inputs is more of a front-axle lean than a change in direction—the SUV’s nose gently tips sideways as the soft suspension and fat tires absorb the turning forces.
My Grizzly Peak romping starts Comfort mode, which sets the suspension to its softest setting and the air shocks to their middle height. (Off Road mode lifts and Sport mode lowers.) The GLS 450 lists when I commit it to the corners, but even though the SUV turns tilted, it quickly finds a stable pose and takes the twists with confidence. The moving mass is well controlled, and I can sweep through the corners with a head of steam.
When I try Sport mode, I find that the lowered suspension halves the GLS 450’s body roll. The ride is still comfortable, and the engine runs at higher rpm for quicker power delivery.
No matter the mode, the steering has muted tire feedback and heavy recentering pull. Only the coarsest surfaces percolate up through the steering column to my fingertips. I do get a hint of wheel impacts in the helm, and some additional steering weight when turning, but I think the weight is a trick of EPAS programming rather than tire load adding resistance to the system. As is common these days, the road textures are communicated more clearly through the GLS 450’s seats and the floor than through its steering wheel.
The brakes are so perfect that I never even think about them. They have a mild bite when I initially step on the wide pedal, and the deeper I push, the harder they grip. It’s nice to have worry-free binders when I’m dancing the GLS 450 down the mountainside!
While the GLS 450 is doing a commendable job at hounding traffic on Grizzly Peak Blvd, it’s not a sports SUV. The steering lacks reward, and the engine isn’t pulse-raising, so the GLS 450 dances without passion. Which isn’t a surprise, as the GLS 450 is built for silent hauling, not squiggly slaying.
At the end of my extended GLS 450 loan, I’m sad to see it go. I found the GLS 450 to be exceptionally well refined and comfortable, with excellent engineering and helpful tech. It made my school runs and in-town errands more pleasant, and I longed to take it on a cross-state road trip.
And is it the most family-friendly vehicle Mercedes makes? With caveats, yes, it is. If I had a fat wallet and a family headcount that let me enlarge the trunk by folding a rear seat, the GLS 450 would be my family truckster. Because while $96k is a lot to spend, the GLS 450 is a lot of SUV!
Mike's Steering Column 