MASTERS MAGAZINE: Gulfstream on wheels

donderdag 14 oktober 2021
14:07
By: Mical Joseph

Do you have a fear of flying? Or do you just love all the luxury and comfort and also want to have pleasant meetings while being transported along the highway? Mercedes-Benz has developed an SUV with the Maybach GLS that you can easily spend a night in. Or two nights. Or... Well, off you go...Text: Erik Kouwenhoven
Online Editor: Mical Joseph

The Maybach and Mercedes-Benz brands have been intertwined in a complicated love-hate relationship for over a century. Carl Benz and Wilhelm Maybach were once at the forefront of the automobile industry, and both brands grew to become the largest in the automotive field at the beginning of the twentieth century. Maybach was always synonymous with luxury and lavish comfort, but it was the slightly less exuberant Mercedes-Benz that grew into the world brand. Maybach went bankrupt after World War II, but was revived as a luxury brand by Daimler-Benz in 1960. Things remained quiet for a long time, but in 2005 the types 57 and 62 were introduced under its own Maybach name. Once again, however, no blessing rested on the name. In 2012, Mercedes-Benz said goodbye to Maybach, only to add it again as a sub-brand in 2015. Since then, the Mercedes-Maybach S500 and S600 have been Mercedes-Benz's most luxurious models.

Champagne

That luxury did not go unnoticed for long, as the Daimler group sells six hundred units of the Maybach version of the Mercedes S-Class every month in China and concluded that there might also be a market for a Maybach SUV. Moreover, in recent years Mercedes-Benz had been watching with sorrow as brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce ran off with their very affluent clientele in luxury SUVs like the Bentayga and Cullinan. And so along came the GLS Maybach: big, gaudy, with a monumental grille, wheels like grinding stones and an interior that rivals the most expensive First Class departments of the airline industry in terms of luxury and comfort. Its price is still relatively not too bad when you compare it to a "standard" GLS 600, but of course, as a self-confident businessman, you do tick off some extra luxurious dings. In the case of our test car, the base price of 227,893 euros thus rises to a much less standard 308,105. The most expensive option is the two-tone paint, or two-tone painted exterior. Half champagne color, half dark blue. That costs 21,175 euros. But of course, you also want the Leather Package, which lards the car heavily with cowhide - a 15,125 euro option. And then, of course, you need the individual "captain seats," to have you dragged around Europe like royalty. Although, Europe: given its somewhat gaudy appearance, this is more of a car for an American industrialist, a Middle Eastern oil sheik or a Chinese casino boss.

Newborn chicks

For the Netherlands, this model may be a bit too much. This is largely due to the two-tone paint, but also because of the high bling of the many chrome elements. In a nice dark blue color, the car already looks a lot better. You'll be a businessman with a fear of flying. In that case, there is little that will get you from A to B better and more comfortably. Slide the driver's seat forward and you have plenty of legroom. That extra space was created here by sacrificing the third row of seats on the standard GLS. Sitting like a prince also includes being welcomed like royalty, so the GLS 600 sinks a few inches through its hooves for easier entry. Passengers are spoiled with an extra-high seat and power sunshades for the rear side windows: ideal for VIPs who need privacy. They also have access (by default) to a tablet that comes with the car's infotainment. Not to mention the Nappa leather, cushions that appear to be filled with newborn chicks and a panoramic roof that can be opened with blinds. From the fridge in the center console you grab a bottle of bubbles, when it runs out you put the seat in the reclining position for a nap, and before you know it you're past Frankfurt. That refrigerator, by the way, is the most nonsensical option of the entire car. You notice this especially when the tailgate opens: the refrigerator sticks out so far to the back that half your luggage space is sacrificed for it. But the two individual comfort seats are great. They should be for nearly five grand apiece. But money is just a number in a bank account, and a pulsating backrest that pampers you with a Thai massage is a reality that offers endless pleasure. When it's too hot, you let the chair blow cold air. And when it's cold, you let the car pre-heat via the parking heater.

No V12

Contrary to what the number '600' suggests, there is no longer a V12 engine in this Maybach version, but 'just' the well-known 4.0-liter eight-cylinder, which in this case is 558 horsepower strong and offers a tractive force of 730 Newton meters. If you want more power but less comfort, you're better off opting for the GLS AMG. That also features a 4.0-liter V8 engine, but then you will have 612 horsepower at your disposal. This AMG variant is only 8,500 euros less expensive, but it does look just a little less striking. Competitors for the GLS Maybach are the Bentley Bentayga V8 and the Range Rover LWB P525 Autobiography, which also cost around 230,000 euros. If you have even more to spend, you can also opt for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. In conclusion, we fear for Mercedes-Benz that it will remain at one or two sold here in the Netherlands. If anything extreme is sold here in Mercedes, it is often AMG variants. With a Maybach, in the eyes of the Calvinist Dutchman, you show just a little too much that you have made it. In many other countries they are a lot less fussy about this, but there the grass is a lot higher. At Mercedes-Benz they don't mind if the Netherlands remains a sales vacuum for this SUV. Even the base model was initially developed for the US. This mastodon is just a size too big for the Netherlands. The base version literally and this Maybach version literally and figuratively.