Detroit 2018: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLS Becomes A Bit More 'Grand': Comments

[William Maley]

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Mercedes-Benz has decided their largest SUV, the GLS-Class isn't fancy enough. That's why at the Detroit Auto Show next week, the German automaker will introduce the 2018 GLS Grand Edition.

Most of the changes for the Grand Edition are inside with Porcelain and Espresso Brown Nappa leather on the seats and dash, open-pore wood trim, velour floor mats, and ambient lighting. Outside, the GLS Grand Edition comes with LED headlights, 'Grand Edition' badging and different wheels - 20-inches for the GLS 450 and 21-inches for the GLS 550.

Mercedes is keeping mum on the pricing for the Grand Edition models, but said it will arrive at dealers towards the middle of this year.

Source: Mercedes-Benz
Press Release is on Page 2

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The Mercedes-Benz GLS Grand Edition

Jan 9, 2018 – Detroit: The Mercedes-Benz GLS combines luxury with impressive levels of comfort, agile dynamics and extensive safety systems. New for 2018, the Grand Edition, featuring luxurious interiors and edition-exclusive components will be available for both the GLS450 4MATIC and GLS550 4MATIC SUVs. The GLS Grand Edition will make its premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2018, and will be available in U.S. dealers by mid-2018.

The Grand Edition features exclusive interior and exterior elements. A highly luxurious interior features Porcelain / Espresso Brown and designo Nappa leather seats with exclusive diamond quilting and special Budapest-design piping. The interior is finished with an open pore brown ash trim with light stripes and a Nappa leather dashboard. The special edition is also standard equipped with ambient lighting and Espresso Brown velour floor mats.

The elegant exterior of the Grand Edition on the GLS450 4MATIC features 20-inch 10-spoke two-tone wheels and an advanced LED Intelligent Light System. The GLS550 4MATIC is standard equipped with 21-inch wheels and Active LED headlamps. Both models are finished with the special "Grand Edition" badging.

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[balthazar]

Hopefully the piano black is a delete option, but at least it isn't festooned with those balloon knot air vents!

[Robert Hall]

Maybe it's the color, but that striped (grooved?) 'wood' trim is really, really boring.  Needs grain, color and pattern--otherwise it looks like a sheet of striped gray plastic...

Edited January 9, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[David]

Interior I am up in the air on and am thinking it could be the pictures, but have to wait to see it in person as to weather or not it is really as Grand as they claim.

Exterior, this is one of the nicer CUVs they have built. I like the Brick traditional SUV shape.

[Robert Hall]

I like the GL/GLS and the ML/GLE... 

I like this wood trim better...

 

After sitting in a few of these at car shows I can tell some of the shared hard points with the WK2 GC and Durango.. 

Edited January 9, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[smk4565]

This is a nice, but it feels like a Denali trim where they tack on some upgraded materials in areas, but at the end of the day it is still the base car.  

The exterior of the GLE and especially the GLS have aged well, this GLS in it's 7th model year and it still looks good.  What this car needs (and the GLE) is the updated Mercedes dash and center stack and the new chassis to get the weight reduction.  I look forward to the new one.