Spotted by our spy photographers is the full-size Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class. Essentially a facelifted and rebadged GL, this skimpily-camouflaged leviathan SUV makes these pages mere days after its smaller GLC sibling was also sighted almost undisguised.
Ditching the outgoing car’s angular styling, the GLS appears to adopt a rounder front grille with different slats, a revised headlight design and a redesigned front bumper with vertical side air intakes (does anyone see hints of Mazda CX-5 there?).
Another new bumper with integrated exhaust exits adorns the rear, which could also receive new tail light graphics, given that they’re still camouflaged. The AMG bodykit also seems to have been been remodelled to match the rest of the new Mercedes lineup.
As the current GL shares much of the interior with the old ML, expect the new model’s cabin to feature the same changes as featured on the new GLE, including a new steering wheel, revised switchgear and a tablet-like COMAND display atop the centre console.
Engines carried over from the GL should also receive the tweaks first seen on the GLE, including increased fuel efficiency on the 258 PS/620 Nm 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 diesel (GLS 350 d) and 333 PS/480 Nm 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 petrol (GLS 400) engines, as well as more power from the 4.7 litre twin-turbo petrol V8 in the GLS 500, bumping it up to 435 PS and 700 Nm.
The current GL’s seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic transmission should also be superseded by Mercedes’ new 9G-Tronic nine-speeder on the GLS. Also expected for an upgrade are the AMG GLS 63 models, which should see output swell to 557 PS/700 Nm (585 PS/760 Nm on S models).
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