Mercedes GLS 350d review, test drive

Mercedes-Benz’s largest SUV gets a new name, mildly revised styling, more features and a new nine-speed gearbox. But how different is it?

Published on May 11, 2016 11:35:00 AM

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What’s it like on the inside?

In a word, huge. The GLS’ large exterior translates into a massive cabin with genuine space for seven occupants. You can’t move the middle-row seats fore and aft as you can on other full size SUVs but even then, there’s lots of space to stretch out. The middle seats are also well bolstered and offer manual adjust for the backrest angle as well. There’s also plenty of head, shoulder and knee room in the rear-most row – the reasonably comfy seating position makes this section of the cabin perfectly habitable for two medium-sized adults for short stints. However, access to this area isn’t the most convenient and actually speaking, even those sitting in the first two rows will have to make full use of the footboard in the trek up to the high-set cabin. The front seats are comfy as before and the view out remains commanding as ever.

Mercedes has also tried to bring the GLS’ cabin up to speed, though it must be said, you don’t get the same sense of modernity as you would inside the latest Q7 or Volvo XC90. Quality levels are good as before, but again the newer crop of SUVs have taken things to the next level.

There’s a sportier three-spoke steering, the instruments get a more detailed digital info display and the top portion of the centre console has also been revised. An 8-inch screen takes pride of place on the dash now but like the other new Mercs, the display seems tacked on to the fascia rather than being an integral part of it. Still, the display does show everything in high-res clarity and what the GLS also gets is Merc’s latest COMAND Online infotainment system. The system lets you browse websites, tune into internet radio and use preset apps by connecting via a synced phone’s 3G/4G network. And there’s Apple CarPlay too. The infotainment system’s interface is slick and you can even enter inputs via a touchpad. A few more shortcuts would have helped ease of use though.

The centre screen is also the display for the GLS’ immensely useful 360-degree camera. Mercedes has also added three-colour and five-stage adjustable ambient lighting to the package. A panoramic sunroof, electric fold for the third row seats and cooled/heated cupholders are some of the other features onboard. Oh, and the GLS also gets a dial for Dynamic Select that lets you choose between five driving modes – Comfort, Sport, Slippery, Off-Road and Individual – each with its own powertrain, steering and suspension setup.