Online Reporter
THE 2025 Mercedes Maybach GLS600 glitters like a leading lady on a red-carpet première and intimidates like the bouncer at the after-party.
In the Obsidian Black and Mojave Silver paint of our two-tonne Night Series test car, the GLS600 is even more of a standout, with rose-gold details inside the headlamps and smoked chrome reflecting the surroundings like a Victorian gazing ball.
What is Maybach?
Everyone who sees it will know the Maybach is a top-shelf cocktail, although not everyone knows the Maybach name.
Wilhelm Maybach began as a stand-alone engine manufacturer in 1909.
While the bulk of the business was heavy-duty powerplants, Maybach also designed and sold high-end luxury cars.
For obvious reasons, demand in Germany for tank engines and glamorous transport for high-ranking military officers fell off after World War II, and it was not until Daimler-Benz purchased the company in the 1960s that Maybach began making luxury vehicles again, first under the Mercedes name, then briefly as its own brand.
Currently, it is somewhere in the middle.
All modern Maybachs are based on Mercedes models but offer features and options unavailable in a regular Benz.
Mercedes is no slouch on comfort and performance, but the Maybach versions step it up on luxury and customisation.
The Maybach GLS goes loud on the exterior with a polished grille and flashy wheel options such as 23-inch five-hole monoblocks or the lacy Maybach-logo-patterned seven-spokes. Inside, Maybach ditches the third-row seat and transforms the GLS from a very nice family sport utility vehicle (SUV) into a mobile executive lounge, complete with massaging recliners and thematic scent therapy.
Maybach on the move
While the back seats are glorious, the GLS600 is not just for those driven by a chauffeur.
The front seats are also heated, ventilated and massaging, making the cockpit just as comfortable as the back row.
The driver may not be able to partake in back-seat beverages, but they do get the pleasure of 550 smooth-gaited horses that propel the Maybach to 96,5km per hour in 3,9 seconds and across a quarter-mile in 12,5 seconds at 175km per hour, all while cushioning the interior from every crack and bump in the road. That big power comes from a 4-litre twin-turbo V-8 with a 48-volt hybrid-assist system backed by nine-speed automatic transmission.
The V-8’s output is increased from the regular Mercedes GLS580’s 510 horsepower but not quite to the sports-car levels of the 603-hp GLS63.
We found the 550 horsepower and 538 pound-feet to be more than enough to push the GLS600 through traffic, and if you have a Gullwing or a racing sailboat in need of relocation, the GLS600 is rated to tow up to about 3 500kg. It is a thirsty powertrain combo, though, with EPA ratings of 15 mpg combined (13 mpg city, 18 mpg highway).
The fuel economy was no surprise, but the quick acceleration was. The V-8 is so zippy that Maybach has a special performance mode that restrains the power.
In Maybach mode, the vehicle starts from a stop in second gear, minimising shifts and smoothing acceleration to keep overexcited chauffeurs from jostling their passengers.
The Maybach also offers a Curve mode, which uses the quick-adjusting air springs to level out the body on winding roads.
None of our passengers seemed to notice when we had it on. Perhaps they lack the finely tuned inner ears of the jet set, or perhaps they were too busy experimenting with the multitude of preprogrammed lighting themes in the back-seat menu.
Several of those also activate the Maybach’s interior scent atomiser, resulting in the GLS briefly smelling like a Yankee Candle store until we aired it out.
While comfort and luxury are ultimately subjective, we would be surprised if anyone found the Maybach driving experience rugged or stressful.
The seats are plush, the screens are crisp and bright, and there are cameras, head-up displays, navigation assists, easy phone connections and cruise-control settings to take the anxiety out of piloting this machine.
Styling: More is more
Visually, the Maybach is baroque, with logos and textures on every surface.
The interior features pattern-stitched leather covering the seats and door panels, with padded headrests in the front, lumbar pillows in the back and a choice of wood trims for the dash and door inlays that would make a termite drool.
Housekeeping aside, the Maybach is much more than a wheeled yacht.
Sure, you can get a massage while covering miles in Comfort mode, but if you do need to pick up the pace, the Maybach handles on par with its competition from Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
On our skidpad, the Maybach held steady at 0,86 g, which puts it just behind the Bentayga’s 0,88 g and ahead of the 0,83 g put down by the Cullinan — which, at US$410 575, costs almost twice the Maybach’s as-tested price of US$243 850.
And considering that the last Bentayga we tested was US$269 865, the Maybach is almost a bargain.
If that notion causes you to slam on the brakes, you will find that the Cullinan and the Maybach will both come to a stop from 112km per hour in 48,5 metres, while Bentley will slide just a little farther to stop in 51,5 metres.
Maybach’s special features
Having established that the GLS600 is a bargain for a fully loaded and stunningly rapid luxomobile, let us rate some of the features and options that make it more than a Mercedes.
Automatically deploying running boards got a nod for ease of entry and egress but were dinged for being a little too slow to drop down and doing so right into the shins of impatient passengers.
Puddle lamps with different designs front and rear and twinkling stars got rave reviews for turning every evening into a nightclub.
The refrigerated rear centre console was a hit with passengers. The console does cut into luggage room, though.
Mercedes understandably does not loan out the GLS600 with the US$2 400 silver-plated champagne flutes, so we had to test the champagne-flute holder (US$800) with regular glasses.
No stemware was harmed.
The folding rear tables (US$1 800) were difficult to unfold but would prove useful for eating the sandwich.
Rear-seat entertainment (US$3 400) could be popular with those on regular Zoom meetings, although it can also be used to change the accent lighting to Miami turquoise and pink.
The Maybach’s biggest crowd-pleaser was the “free driving assist” or, as the kids call it, bounce mode.
Intended as an off-road tool that uses the air springs to mimic the weight transfer of a bunch of off-roaders jumping on a tailgate to help a truck shimmy out of silty or sandy terrain, this mode also works as comic relief at the end of a long photo shoot. — caranddriver.com
