The Mercedes-Benz GLS is the brand’s largest SUV, charged with the dubious honor of being the S-Class of SUVs, and to keep up with the W223 S-Class’s recent refresh that brought new styling, powertrains and tech, it’s now the GLS’s turn for its second facelift. You’ve been seeing a series of Mercedes SUV reviews hit the site over the past few weeks, starting with the also reworked 2027 Mercedes-Benz GLE, then the 2027 Mercedes-AMG GLE53, and now it’s finally time for the big daddy Mercedes-AMG GLS63.
I didn’t get the chance to drive the non-AMG GLS on this trip, though its updates mirror those given to the smaller GLE. The GLS63 is really the one you want to hear about anyway, though. This, the pinnacle of the GLS lineup, is utterly ridiculous and totally pointless, yet simultaneously awesome.
Full disclosure: Mercedes invited me out to Colorado a few weeks back to drive its refreshed lineup of 2027 GLE and GLS models. It put me up in a lovely cabin in the woods and fed me mountain meats, and I did my darndest to drive all the different flavors of GLE and GLS.
Second facelift’s the charm
This is the second time Mercedes has given its certified Big Boy GLS a facelift, and it brings the truck into line with the rest of the brand’s latest offerings. The most obvious proof of this facelift is in its styling, which goes all starry eyed. The GLS gets slightly more subtle star-shaped DRLs than the rather in-your-face GLE, but each headlight has two stacked three-pointed stars, and there’s a questionable black plastic grille surround like all of Mercedes’ latest designs. Around back, each GLS taillight hides three three-pointed stars, and both taillights are joined by another questionable strip of black plastic. Aesthetics are a matter of taste, so form your own conclusions, but I personally prefer the more understated looks of the outgoing GLS over this facelift.
The rest of the GLS lineup benefits from the same engine upgrades as the GLE. The base GLS450’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six gains a new, more powerful mild-hybrid system with an electric auxiliary compressor. Maximum torque output is bumped up 44 pound-feet to a total of 413 lb-ft, though horsepower remains the same as last year at 375. The 2027 GLS450 starts at $95,500 including destination and is already available at dealerships nationwide.
Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik
The V8-powered GLS580 gets the new M177 Evo twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 with a flat-plane crank, which produces 530 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. That’s good for a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.5 seconds according to Mercedes’ estimate. It starts at $122,500 and should also be available at dealerships already. The GLE580 had my favorite powertrain and driving experience out of the lineup, so that should ring true for the GLS as well.
As for non-powertrain-related stuff, the GLS continues to mimic the GLE, so it now also gets cloud-based air suspension damper controls and the optional E-Active Body Control air suspension, standard micro-LED Digital Light headlights, Mercedes’ next-generation driver assistance equipment that will eventually allow for point-to-point hands-free “Level 2++” autonomy via an OTA update, and, of course, more interior tech.
Would sir like more screen?
The GLS’s updated interior mirrors that of the GLE, which means it has also been saddled with the stopgap Mercedes Superscreen that incorporates three individual 12.3-inch screens behind a single piece of glass that spans the entire width of the dashboard. At least the driver’s display looked fine behind the AMG steering wheel that now features a real volume roller and a real cruise-control toggle, though the rest of the controls frustratingly remain touch-sensitive. The wheel itself felt great in my hands, but those touch controls just suck.
The 12.3-inch infotainment screen suffered from the same issues I found in the GLE, primarily its too-squat shape. Considering how much glass there is in the dashboard, the center screen is simply too small and squat to be easily usable while driving. It’s surrounded by big, ugly, cheap-looking blacked-out bezels that make you question the logic behind plopping such an expansive slab of glass on your dash. The size of the screen wasn’t helped by the fact that the new MB.OS operating system takes some getting used to.
Mercedes-Benz
The third display is a dedicated passenger touchscreen that in AMG models lets the passenger see some active powertrain telematics like how much horsepower is being used at a given moment, which is the coolest thing to have on that screen. Everything else it does would be done better on a personal device, whether that’s a phone or tablet, and I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until Mercedes fixes it — the passenger screen infuriatingly does not have the functionality to let the passenger access their seat massage settings or expanded seat adjustments. The passenger has to reach across the interior and disrupt whatever’s on the center screen in order to make these adjustments, which is a massive functionality blunder.
On the plus side, since this platform dates back to 2020 it retains a row of fabulously functional physical climate controls and a console-mounted touchpad that makes navigating the seemingly endless array of infotainment menus nominally easier than trying to use the too-small touchscreen. This strange amalgamation of Mercedes eras shows the SUV’s age, as does the fact that, like the smaller GLE, there are no convenient storage spots in the front seats aside from the center-split armrest, despite the gargantuan GLS being the largest and arguably most family-oriented vehicle Mercedes makes. (At least, until the VLE comes out.)
It features the same huge 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque as before
Pity me, dear reader, as I only got a brief chance to pilot the pinnacle of the GLS lineup, the AMG GLS63 with its handbuilt twin-turbocharged V8 that produces the same 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque as last year, though Mercedes insists the engine has been revised. Naturally this powertrain was utterly sensational, from its snarl at startup to its deep bellow at wide-open throttle, and it now features launch control for the first time, which is frankly nonsensical on a three-row family SUV but also supremely fun and ego-inflating.
Though Mercedes-AMG didn’t say it, I think the Cadillac Escalade-V sent some shockwaves through the meeting rooms in Affalterbach, with its supercharged 6.4-liter LT4 V8 that equips the American luxury truck with an even more ludicrous 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. It debuted in 2023 (four years after the current-gen GLS63 first came out), complete with a launch control function that catapults the big truck forward with one of the most aggressive soundtracks to ever come out of an SUV, though it’s not as quick as the AMG.
Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik
The GLS63’s launch control worked like all Mercedes-AMG systems: flick the drive mode into Sport+, floor both the brake and gas pedals, feel the seatbelts yank tight, then release the brake and get pinned to your seat. Mercedes reckons this 6,118-pound three-row luxury SUV is good for a 0-to-60 time of 3.9 seconds, and in practice it felt about that quick. Especially in a straight line, the GLS63 was an absolute rocket sled.
It still wasn’t perfect
My test car was finished in a lovely if subtle color combination of Manufaktur Mystic Blue Metallic over Truffle Brown Nappa leather, and it came fitted with the optional 23-inch AMG forged multi-spoke wheels that wrapped around the also-optional 15.8-inch front and 14.2-inch rear carbon-ceramic brakes. During my exceedingly short stint behind the wheel I failed to master the aggressively grabby demeanor of the upgraded brakes. Minute brake pedal inputs consistently returned seatbelt-locking deceleration, so I’d skip this box on the order sheet, though their stopping power was admittedly prodigious.
The GLS63 is big and tall, and it felt like it during my drive. It took some light flogging around the weaving, occasionally wet mountain roads of autumnal Colorado just fine, but it never felt especially good doing it. Body roll was a non-issue thanks to the standard AMG Ride Control+ air suspension with active roll stabilization, but even with the wide Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (285/40 front and 325/35 rear), the GLS63 doesn’t change the laws of physics. Especially on wet surfaces, the SUV felt its 6,100-pound weight, pushing through tight corners and skittering around under braking, which kept me from feeling comfortable pushing it too hard.
Mercedes-Benz
I can’t offer insight on the dynamic differences between the GLS450 or GLS580 and the AMG GLS63, but the folks at AMG don’t slap their name on any old thing, so it’s likely a significant improvement. I’d bet the GLS63 offers a more positive experience on totally dry roads, but I was not blown away by its handling or agility on the greasy, sporadically leaf-covered wet asphalt I drove it on. Still, it was more capable at sporty driving than anyone expects a big three-row SUV to be.
The GLS63 is excessive, ridiculous, silly, and cool because of it
As is the case with many high-performance vehicles, and particularly high-performance SUVs, the GLS63 is entirely excessive. Nobody needs a 603-horsepower three-row SUV that can hit 60 in under four seconds and costs $156,800 before any options, but it’s these superlative figures that make it even cooler. The type of person who looks at the swaths of SUVs on sale at the moment and decides to go with a GLS63 may not be the best person in the world, but I have to appreciate them using their excessive means to give one of these pricey beasts a home.
Buying a GLS63 is not a decision that’s made with the head, it’s a decision that’s made with a bank account that’s busting at its custom-hemmed seams. If you have the money to buy and fuel a GLS63, your privileged kids will have bragging rights at the private-school drop-off lot, and to those who are concerned about making a proper entrance, that could be priceless. The flashy updates inside and out take the 2027 Mercedes-AMG GLS63’s street cred to new heights, and that’s all that really matters, right?
