2024 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 Review: Brash Fun You Can't Help But Love

A century since its foundation and a quarter since its reboot, Maybach remains an afterthought among super-luxury cars. While its owner Mercedes may be a byword for luxury, its marquee brand is more of a bystander. Between that and the fact that Maybachs are based on cheaper Benzes, the 2024 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 seems on paper like a middle manager invited to a board meeting. He wears the slacks, but he’s still an impostor.

But being an outsider doesn’t always make you the underdog, and the Maybach GLS is no pretender among Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. It’s a sumptuous, swaggering SUV whose posturing is backed by a passenger experience that’s hard to call second-rate. All this at a lower price than some of its competitors, too. It’s as big an upgrade over a Benz as you would hope—almost.

Because Maybachs are still Mercedes, what’s wrong with the Merc will also be wrong with the Maybach. The infotainment is annoying to use, and some of its chassis calibration isn’t 100%. Also, if it matters to you, some people don’t know what a Maybach is, never mind how to pronounce it.

Still, the Maybach GLS has the same self-assuredness its rivals do, and at a lower price. It may not top the red carpet guestlist, but it’s still on the list, and it deserves to strut like it does. This Maybach can peacock and should set the template for all Maybachs going forward.

Maybach to the Beginning

Maybach, pronounced my-ba’h, is a brand that may need introducing. Dating back to 1909, this German make was a spinoff of the original Zeppelin company, making luxury cars before switching to wartime and industrial production for World War II and beyond. Daimler bought it in 1960 and rebooted it in the late 1990s as Mercedes’ super-luxury brand.

But Maybach has struggled to capture market share, as it isn’t well-known outside Germany—or, at least, not as well known as its two British (but mechanically German) rivals. It’s hard to be prestigious if nobody has heard of you. Or can pronounce your name. There’s also the fact that Maybachs today are just fancier Mercedes—esteemed though it may be, you’ll see more fast food franchise owners driving Mercs than Bentleys; these strata of wealth almost don’t overlap.

That could be a problem for Mercedes if it doesn’t distinguish Maybachs enough from Benzes. Or, for that matter, if the Benz itself isn’t worthy of becoming a Maybach in the first place. So let’s start there.

The Basics

The Mercedes GLS is a full-size, three-row crossover SUV. The current generation launched in 2019, but has been refreshed for 2024, with new MBUX infotainment and updated steering wheel controls. There’s a new grille, taillights, and paint options for both the Benz and Maybach, the latter of which also gets new upholstery and Maybach puddle lights.

Unlike the Benz, the Maybach is a two-row with seating for four or five. It also uses the Benz’s top engine, the brilliant 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8, with an added 48-volt mild-hybrid boost. Together, they generate 550 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque, sent through a nine-speed automatic transmission and split between all four wheels. It has predictive air suspension that scans the road ahead, pre-adjusting for bumps, and tilting inward in turns. It also dips down when the doors open to make getting in and out easier—but we’ll talk about its best party trick later.

It may have the GLS’s silhouette, but even a glance is enough to tell Maybach from Benz. The restyled, more opulent grille and Maybach monogram-patterned fender vents (like a designer bag) are so nouveau riche that I’m surprised they don’t dribble Louis XIII. The monolithic 23-inch monoblock, extra chrome, and Maybach script toe the line of gaudy—I love it. If anything, Maybach should turn the knob up further. It is the roaring ‘20s again, after all.

Everyone else loves it too. The public received this Maybach like a Bentley or Rolls, and wouldn’t bat an eye to see it parked alongside them outside Casino de Monte Carlo. If I have one complaint, it’s that it should be more flashy. Burgundy and black are too subtle a color combo for the two-tone paint, and the Maybach logo’s art nouveau roots aren’t explored enough. Subtlety is not the appeal here, no matter what some stodgy suits may think. If it were, Maybach’s monogram pattern wouldn’t also appear in the puddle lights as you open the doors.

The interior is expansive, with enormous head- and legroom, and a panoramic sunroof. It and the rear privacy windows set the cabin’s mood along with multicolor interior lighting. The effect is “pimpmobile” according to my 66-year-old mother. The macchiato leather and walnut wood are an exquisite color combo, and while there’s some accursed piano black, it purposefully denotes touch control surfaces here. I’ll let it slide.

Those diamond-quilted leather seats are tremendously comfortable: supportive, with the perfect amount of bolstering. Their massage settings were pleasant, though I would’ve liked to adjust the driver’s seat lower to get a better view of the head-up display. It’s aimed too low, and the crucial speed limit and navigation weren’t visible to me.

The onboard fragrance could be turned up high enough to mask the smell of anything, and the heated and cooled cupholders made the difference between cold coffee and flat seltzer. The champagne cooler also doubled to keep deli sandwiches cold while we hunted for a picnic spot.

Taking things to tech, the Burmester High-End 3D sound system is by far its high point, with flawless clarity and strong but not obnoxious bass. Unfortunately, the rest is standard Mercedes, which is to say subpar. The infotainment’s MBUX software just MSUX, with poorly organized menus that make accessing functions tricky, especially on the go.  Also, the wheel’s touch controls are numerous, indistinct, and overly sensitive.

The rear infotainment tablet meanwhile was troublesome and at one point needed minutes to reboot. Because it’s wireless, it can run out of battery if a tech-unsavvy passenger doesn’t dock it correctly—that dock is also loose, the only build quality issue I observed in the entire vehicle. Its wireless rear charger was also too small to fit my aunt’s Android phone.

For all my sometimes crabby extended family had to say about the tech though, their opinion of the Maybach was still glowing. Even though they referred to it as "such a nice Mercedes-Benz." I can hear Stuttgart grinding its teeth from here.

Driving the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600

Despite a high driving position, the GLS provides an unexceptional view of the road around you. While its rear window is large enough, the sloping hoodline makes gauging where the corners are tricky. I leaned on the surround-view cameras and blind-spot monitors a lot, because mother of god does it have blind spots.

Outside city confines though, the Maybach gracefully stretches its turbo V8 legs. This impeccable motor makes tons of low-end torque and emits no more than a faint whirr most of the time. It’s only there if you look for it in the tranquilly quiet cabin. Throttle response returned the occasional hiccup, but it was mostly well-calibrated and responsive, with smooth acceleration and imperceptible shifting. It pleases the inner chauffeur.