2022 Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS600 launch review

• What we love
• What we don’t
• Style and design
• Infotainment and Connectivity
• Safety & Technology
• Value for Money

The brand which started out building engines for airships now has an equally bulky, but far lower-altitude, mode of transport: the Mercedes-Maybach GLS600. James becomes a captain of industry to see how it flies.

What we love

Brawn with brains – the re-worked 63 engine better suited to this application

Full-tilt technology platform that seems to be there just to make things as comfortable as possible

Ridiculous sound system

What we don’t

The grille works. The lower valance? No thanks.

Look out for your shins!

The majority of ‘good bits’ are from the regular GLS. How is this $200k more?

Introduction

The concept of ‘more’ is an intriguing one.

Like a mathematical explanation of infinity, the idea that there is something measurably better than the best ensures there is always a higher run to reach, strive for, or just flex about on Instagram.

To add some context, in the world of luxury SUVs the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class is right up there with the best, so where do you go when you want more?

To the 2022 Mercedes-Maybach GLS600, that’s where.

A vehicle so extravagant, that if it were on the menu of a fast-food restaurant chain, would simply be called the ‘Morecedes’, and probably come with a health warning.

The Maybach GLS offers more power, more comfort, more luxury, more tech, and not surprisingly, it costs more money… but even with all of that, is it more enough?

Style and design

The GLS600 is a big canvas, and from some angles (not the front), our deep Emerald Green paint glitters in the sun and helps present what is a magnificent machine.

There’s just the right balance of body-to-chrome highlight, and the subtle Maybach badging on the rear pillar suits the grander package.

Head to the nose though, and while the three-pointed star bonnet ornament and toothy chrome grille (29 slats) work in this ‘more is more’ universe, its the full-width chrome sub-grille that pushes the moreness a little too far for mine.

Perhaps it looks like an anthropomorphic cross between a bow tie and a moustache, or perhaps I subconsciously worry about cleaning the bugs from within its chrome maw, or more likely, this is a step too ‘more’ for my sensitivity and that I’m just not meant to get it.

It’s worth noting that all but two of the nine standard colour choices are non-cost options, with Diamond White Bright and Hyacinth Red attracting a ‘Manufaktur’ premium of $1200 and $1100 respectively. Given the size of the car, that seems reasonable.

If you prefer less reasonable, tick one of six ‘two-tone’ colour options (blue/silver, black/red, black/gold, green/silver, silver/white and silver/grey) to not only personalise your Maybach to the point where you’re unlikely to park on the same continent as an identical one, but to nudge your invoice an additional $34,800 closer to that half-a-brick milestone.

They do look good though, in a ‘more’ kind of way.

It’s a bit special too, open the door and a huge motorised step extends from the bottom of the car to ensure your entry aboard is as easy as can be.

Although, despite the fact that I’m sure this was designed with a specific market intention, the steps appear quite briskly and so standing close to a door can see them take out your shins. More a problem for the ‘help’ than the passenger, I suspect, but my other concern would be parking too close to high bluestone curbs.

Again, less of a worry for the rider than the driver, that is until they get the repair invoice…

The 24-spoke, 23-inch wheels, with their high-gloss ceramic finish are ornate and impressive to look at, and when you factor in the sizable 11.5-inch width at the back (285/40 R23 front, 325/35 R23 rear), and note they look proportionate to everything else, you truly understand the enormous scale of this thing.

But, if you park your Emerald Green GLS600 next to my Emerald Green GLS450, other than the boot full of $50 notes (4,000 of them for a near-$200k gap) that I would have in change, how many people could actually tell the difference?

The question then begs, is the Morecedes more enough?

Inside

We’ll cover the front seats quickly, as the cockpit is largely the same as every other GLS. This isn’t a bad thing, as there is plenty of storage, lots of space, and some really impressive technology on offer.

As there are no equipment options to tick here, heated and ventilated massage seats are standard, as is leather to cover everything, very stylish pin-stripe wood inlays, and both heated and cooled cup holders. Nice.

It’s a very comfortable car in any environment, with perhaps long-distance mile-chewing its optimum skill.

Stepping briefly to the boot, the Maybach assumes you have a second set of everything, or perhaps an entourage of V-Class vans following you around, as there isn’t a huge amount of room. At 520-litres, it isn’t small, but it is smaller than a GLE-Class (630-litres), and you can’t fold anything down to create any more space.

This is due of course, to the business class compartment in the back seats.

Three rows? How common.

The GLS600 eschews its family-friendly roots for a pair of all-powered, all-feature, all-massage lounge chairs, with our car’s extended luxury option adding the fold-out tables for endless games of high-stakes Uno while on the hop.

It is of course, wonderfully comfortable. The goose-down head pillows and separate back-pillow allow you to adjust your support and comfort to the nth degree. Recline, extend, massage, heat or cool to your heart’s content.

This is what the GLS600 is all about. It’s a car chosen, not for the grille or the engine, but the opulence and comfort presented. This is the ‘more’ in Morecedes.

Less sensible and less practical, undoubtedly, but why be sensible when you have the option of a fridge and champagne flute holders to pair with your heated and cooled cup holders.

Infotainment and Connectivity

More in more in terms of entertainment too.

The twin 12.3-inch screens up front are the same as in ‘lesser’ GLS models, and still offer a complete and personalisable experience for both driver and front-row passenger.

You still get a near-infinite amount of configuration options, and you still have the ability to connect the car to the Mercedes Me telemetry service for remote communication and monitoring.

But like the rear seats, things go up a notch when you step through the back doors.

There are a pair of 11.6-inch touch screens that control the MBUX infotainment systems, as well as an additional 7-inch tablet docked between the seats. This is literally a one per cent answer to the question of ‘what if my rear touch screen is too far away when I am reclining for a massage in the back of my Maybach, how do I change DAB radio stations or Bluetooth audio tracks?”

I like it. Why make passengers get up to touch a screen when you can make a screen pop out and come to them.

We’ve covered MBUX extensively and the system remains one of the best, and arguably one of the most modern, on the market. The implementation isn’t as modern as in the new S-Class, or even the forthcoming C-Class, but it’s slick enough to suit the moreness of the Maybach.

What needs special notation though, is the sound system.

With 26-speakers and output of 1610-watts, the Burmester High-End 3D Surround Sound System is simply amazing.

You can set the surround effect to make it seem like James, Lars, Kirk and the crew are there just for you, and that as a captain of industry, you are the Master of Puppets. An electronic orchestral piece by the likes of Daft Punk simply transports you to another place.

I’m not sure that many GLS600 owners will explore the volume envelope as much as I did, but it’s an absolute highlight of the car.

Safety & Technology

The GLS has not been tested by ANCAP or the European EuroNCAP equivalent.

It is naturally equipped with the full range of Mercedes-Benz driver assistance and safety hardware, which all work as well as needed when on the road, and it would probably do well in a game of physics, but sadly we cannot offer much more on the safety front.

Value for Money

I’ll make this quick.

The entry-level Mercedes-Benz GLS450 (which is far from a base-model car) costs $164,151 before options and on-road costs. The fire-breathing and utterly ridiculous GLS63 asks an extra $91,549 for a $255,700 list.

Our Maybach GLS600 is $360,800, or $105,100 more than the ’63 and a boggling $196,649 above the GLS450. I could tell you that it costs more than two 450s, or that you could buy a GLA, GLB, GLC and GLE plus have change to take all your friends to dinner to explain why you just bought four cars…

Or I could say that it is more affordable than the Range Rover SV Autobiography LWB and bigger than a Bentley Bentayga V8 which will run you about the same.

The point is, if compared to other Mercedes-Benz products, the GLS600 is not good value. Compared to other premium products, it is.

However, my suggestion is that when you consider how much of the Maybach you get for your GLS450 spend, and the cavernous distance between pricing on the two, the value equation for the ‘600 doesn’t equal anything good.

Driving

Mercedes-Benz has used the same engine (M177) as in the AMG GLS63 but delivered it with a ‘luxury’ rather than ‘sporting’ tune. And it is all the better for it.

The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 was never going to be a subtle unit, but when linked to the 48-volt mild-hybrid system, it offers a level of power that is only equalled by its abundance of smoothness.

Plug around town, and the car whistles along, barely over an idle, with little sound other than the tyres (and the stereo).

Give it a squirt to join traffic on the highway or get around an obstacle, and it responds like a 747, effortlessly gathering pace but without the fuss and bother, and ferocity of the AMG.

In typical Mercedes fashion, you can change and configure your dynamic drive modes, but here, beyond the usual SPORT and ECO is the most delightful MAYBACH mode.

This shuns fuel economy, and instead of looking for performance or efficiency gaps, attempts to provide the smoothest translation of power to movement available.

Here, the 48-volt system is used to supplement the amount of drive lost during a natural gear change, so that instead of a typical surge-and-lull wave of motion as the car changes up ratios, you get a constant sensation of forward momentum without a jolt to threaten the woollen carpets from a splash of the Billecart.

The ultimate CVT if you will.

The system is paired with the E-Active Body Control function which reads the road to adjust suspension damping to ‘erase’ imperfections, and is how the GLS600 is best enjoyed.

This is not a car for tight canyon carving (although with the CURVE mode suspension counter-levelling, it could hold its own), it’s not a traffic-light Grand Prix runner, nor a family hauler or daily commuter.

It’s a big distance airport lounge, lazy in its dynamic ability for the betterment of the passenger. Consumer evolution at a peak.

Conclusion

What a car this is.

Heads did turn. Questions were asked.

But one thing was constant – to everyone who saw, talked or queried, this was a Mercedes-Benz first, and everything else second.

Sure, mention Maybach to the vehicularly educated and ‘ohs’ turned to ‘ahs’, but the big green wagon to most was a very flashy Merc, and not more than that.

Which leads us back to our position of ‘more’.

The 2021 Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS600 is good, no question, but so is a regular GLS450, and as fun as the seats are, and as loud as the stereo is, that $200,000 gap is impossible to ignore.

It isn’t a Bentley. It isn’t even a Range Rover.

Brands that for many, carry a little more credential in the flexing game. That the Maybach is as good as both is not the issue, it’s the statement that is made where the judges look, and while the Morecedes makes a brash, bold and physically impressive statement, the end position isn’t the same.

So let those who know, know. And lets hope that some of the magic that has been engineered into this machine, one day makes its way to the shopping list of mere mortals.

A place where more is quite often, enough.

Keyword: 2022 Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS600 launch review