The first test of Mercedes-Benz GLS 450: Suitable for watching from a distance, not playing.

"No one who buys this car will come for a test drive", which is what I heard from the salesman when I borrowed the car from Mercedes-Benz 4S shop. It's really at this level. Test drive is actually not very important, because if you want to buy a luxury large SUV, there are not many domestic models to choose from.

Of course, there are still some competitors to find out, such as BMW X7 next door, Lincoln Navigator of second-tier luxury brands, Cadillac Escalade and even Land Rover Range Rover. But if we want to meet the requirements of first-line luxury brands and big names at the same time, there is only one answer to this multiple-choice question, and that is GLS. Because even the X7 next door is smaller than it. Is GLS's performance really perfect? Not exactly.

The exterior interior is really good, but the seat is really uncomfortable.

Different from the self-owned car products of the same level, Mercedes-Benz obviously pursues one word when designing GLS: big. This word runs through the design of the whole exterior interior, such as the front air intake grille, and an oversized logo "If it is hollow, it can really be used as a lunch box" embedded between two thick horizontal decorative strips; Another example is the two thick "exhaust pipes" decoration at the lower part of the rear of the car, and the Mercedes-Benz iconic cambered surface enlarged on the side of the car body. Although a single project will be exaggerated, when you walk a few steps away, you will find that these elements coexist harmoniously in the huge body of GLS.

Of course, in order to distinguish it from its younger brother GLE, GLS also has straighter roof lines, more square windows and more prominent wheel eyebrows. Overall, this GLS looks like the most powerful and domineering Mercedes-Benz SUV. Even if you see this car at the intersection, you can know that it is a big Ben. At the same time, I think this is what consumers want to achieve at this level. After all, it cost 1 tens of thousands, and it seems that there can be hundreds of thousands of GLE.

At the same time, once again, at this level, the materials used are no longer something to worry about. More importantly, the influence of different materials on the indoor atmosphere. The customer base of GLS is naturally not young people in their twenties and thirties, but consumers with successful careers. They are certainly not young, so interior design is also maturing. Therefore, the interior of GLS has nothing to do with young technology. The large area of solid wood materials on the steering wheel, central control panel and door panel, as well as the large area of leather around it, all indicate that this is an interior that needs certain social experience to fully appreciate its flavor.

But don't you need the blessing of modern equipment? Obviously not. GLS has applied many configurations above S-class, not to mention 12.3-inch dashboard and central control panel, which have been decentralized to lower-level models. The steering wheel of the same model as the S-class naturally has a "touch sliding direction key". You can realize the function of ordinary cross direction keys by sliding left and right on the square keys in the middle of the keypad on both sides. Of course, the biggest advantage of this small configuration is not to make the steering wheel less buttons. In my opinion, its greatest advantage is that it can be operated without making annoying noise. After all, the touch of the keys and the sound of the small keys are almost impossible to balance. Some people always don't like the "tick" sound when adjusting, which will be further amplified in the quiet carriage of GLS.

It can be said that GLS is a veritable flagship SUV of Mercedes-Benz. From the pure static experience, GLS is superior to other lower-level SUVs in creating the most important atmosphere, whether it is the visual effect in the distance or the touch in the vicinity. It's hard to find out the bad places. However, is this GLS really perfect?

To answer this question, the answer is: no, maybe I don't appreciate it. Maybe my figure is not as big as that of westerners, but this chair of GLS is really not my cup of tea. I can't feel the so-called sense of dignity sitting in this chair. The skin on the seat surface is several degrees harder than that of the S-class. When I sat on it, I felt my whole body was pushed out. My body doesn't fit me well, and it's made of litchi skin, and it feels rough. There is no sense of exquisiteness above s level at all.

If this is because GLS also has off-road requirements at the beginning of design, then it is reasonable to choose more durable materials for the seat surface. However, the setting of the second row seats is a bit confusing. Sitting behind the main driver, you will find that the center line of this seat is several centimeters away from the center line of the front seat (the yellow line in the above picture is almost the center line of the back seat), which leads to the body being closer to the door panel when riding normally in the back, and even brings me some crowded feeling. Do you know that this is 2030mm wide? I think the performance of large SUV is unqualified.

Fortunately, in addition to the wonderful setting in the second row, the longitudinal space of the seven seats in the whole car is still quite sufficient. On the premise of keeping good legroom in the second row, the legroom in the third row can still make a normal adult male sit in a more comfortable sitting position, which is quite good.

The book data is excellent, but it is not easy to open.

Let's look at the power of GLS first. This GLS? 450 with 3.0T? The straight-six turbocharged engine can produce 367 horsepower and the maximum torque is 500n·m in generate, which matches the 9-speed automatic manual transmission. In addition, this power system also has a 48V light mixing system. Seeing these parameters, you know that it is quite easy to pull a 2.5-ton SUV.

But what about the subjective feeling of driving? It is not light to drive, but it has a very strong sense of big car. Although it has a maximum of 367 horsepower to squander, it really doesn't want you to use it up in training. In daily driving, the gearbox upshifts earlier, and the engine speed will be kept in a relatively low speed range. When accelerating, the stroke of the accelerator pedal is inconsistent with the expected acceleration force, and the engine output always feels half a beat slow. What if I find a word? Use it to describe, that is: lazy.

In addition, because the body is too big, the hood shape also affects some of the line of sight, so the vision of this GLS is not as good as that of the X7 next door. Coupled with the steering wheel with a large steering ratio, it feels a bit slow when turning. Even though I drive a lot, I still have to wake up 12 minutes when I drive GLS for the first time.

So GLS's "big car feeling" is so strong that I am in a relatively nervous state when driving this car, but is this the problem of GLS itself? Not exactly. This is a question of what angle to look at the car. On the Mercedes-Benz GLS official website, the word "off-road" appeared three times, and there were also advertisements such as "Let's go to heaven and earth together" and "Cross the mountains and seas, and you will know the greatness of Gan Kun". Therefore, the official positioning of GLS is a large-size luxury SUV with strong off-road genes, not purely for highways.

From this point of view, the laziness of throttle adjustment and the steering wheel with large steering ratio mentioned above are also logical. After all, it should consider the tolerance of unpaved roads, and it must allow drivers to operate cars more relaxed on off-road sections instead of being as nervous as a rope. Moreover, this kind of off-road vehicle training has another advantage, that is, the comfort of suspension will absorb most of the road vibration, and it will only "bang" twice in the face of the speed bump, no matter how the driver drives. As a passenger, I am very satisfied with this pause.

Imperfection stems from different market demands.

"Suitable for far view, not fun" is the title of this article, and it is also my impression of this car. Perhaps you can really see the situation on the Mercedes-Benz official website abroad: driving GLS to the wild, having a bonfire party with a bunch of people in the jungle and enjoying the wonders of nature; Returning to the city can help you succeed in your career and make you a "conqueror", killing two birds with one stone.

But the ideal is full and the reality is skinny. When you really choose to buy a 1 10,000 SUV in China, it is not so suitable for off-road adjustment. The rough seat skin that ensures durability, the powertrain that ensures leisurely off-road adjustment and the steering wheel with large steering ratio, coupled with the huge body size that can be shared by many people, make drivers feel that this car is not easy to drive, or it is not suitable for driving on crowded urban roads, and this car is the most important in China. But then again, people who buy this car in China may not care about this. 1 10,000, Mercedes-Benz, large SUV, these words are enough.

Impression of Mercedes-Benz GLS's first test drive

Outstanding advantages: large enough space, excellent design and large size to meet the needs of some consumers.

Main disadvantages: general vision, hard and uncomfortable seat skin, and inflexible driving.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.