Mercedes-Benz GLS review: the S-Class case made for a seven-seat SUV
4.2/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the GLS if the family genuinely needs three usable rows on a regular basis and the budget stretches past a GLE without hesitation — this is the size and configuration Mercedes intends for full-time seven-seat duty, not the occasional-use third row bolted onto the smaller SUVs. Skip the largest wheel options; the standard setup rides noticeably better over Bahrain's speed bumps.
Pros
- Third row is genuinely usable by adults, not an occasional-use afterthought
- 3.0-litre inline-six mild-hybrid never feels strained by the car's size
- E-Active Body Control suspension option transforms comfort on rough roads
- Combines full-size American-style SUV space with German cabin refinement
Cons
- Over 5.2 metres long, a genuine challenge in older Manama parking
- Highest running costs in the Mercedes SUV range
- Larger wheel options ride noticeably worse over speed bumps
- Resale value trails a Land Cruiser or Patrol despite the higher purchase price
Where the GLE's third row is a usable option for short trips, the GLS's is the point of the car: genuinely comfortable for adults, with its own climate zone and enough legroom that a family of seven can do the causeway run to Saudi Arabia without anyone drawing the short straw. This is Mercedes building a full-size American-style SUV on German engineering terms.
Size with substance
At over 5.2 metres long, the GLS demands a genuine parking plan in older parts of Manama, but the interior space it buys is real rather than styling exercise — second-row captain's chairs, a proper cargo hold behind the third row, and a driving position that makes the size disappear once you are moving. The 3.0-litre inline-six mild-hybrid never feels strained by the car's weight.
Comfort as the core mission
The optional E-Active Body Control suspension, which can lean the body into corners and lift itself for rough ground, is the single most transformative option Mercedes sells on this platform, and on Bahrain's inconsistent secondary-road surfaces it earns its price. Without it, the standard air suspension is still composed, just less dramatic.
Running costs are the largest in the Mercedes SUV range — tyres, fuel and parts scale with the size — and this is not a car bought to save money against a Land Cruiser or Patrol. It is bought because nothing else offers this specific combination of three-row space and flagship-level refinement.