- Ultraluxe SUV updated with a more powerful V8 and more ride comfort.
- Subtle but significant exterior changes uphold the Maybach luxury details.
- Mercedes-Maybach GLS 680 rivals other luxurious SUVs such as the Bentley Bentayga and BMW Alpina XB7.
The 2027 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 680 rolls into the new model year in rarefied air, with a more refined interior and a more potent V8 engine, Mercedes announced tonight. The ultraluxury flagship SUV follows mechanical updates to the 2027 AMG GLS 63 announced last month, but it comes with unique styling and comfort features.
The revised Maybach GLS shares a new twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 used in the 2026 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (S 63 E Performance) model, as well as the 2027 AMG GLE 63 and AMG GLS 63. The flat-plane crank design promises to be more responsive and steadier than the outgoing cross-plane design. It’s rated at 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, significant improvements over the outgoing V8’s 550 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. A new mild-hybrid start generator provides more boost off the line, and new balance shafts promise more refinement. Sound insulation throughout the engine bay and the cabin isolates occupants from road and wind noise, while a revised steering system offers more responsiveness and precision.
The changes to the sheet metal surrounding that engine might be more noticeable. A broader, more vertical front face houses an illuminated Maybach grille, with the name lightly etched and illuminated up top. The new star hood ornament above it also illuminates, if you choose it on the options package. New star headlights with “Rose Gold” accent lighting sit above Maybach-stamped air intake covers. Chrome garnishes the grille surround and the lower grille.
The Maybach specializations continue with unique two-tone paint schemes, including an exclusive Dark Petrol/Verde Silver Metallic combo that, to plainer folk, looks like a black roof on a silver body. Available 23-inch forged alloy wheels have a Mercedes star center cap that stays upright at all times, similar to many Rolls-Royce models. Standard 22-inch wheels with a 20-hole design also flex the Maybach pedigree.
All the welcome lighting greets occupants, and the power running boards extend and retract in less than one second because ultraluxury waits for no mechanical process. Black-out accent packages are available with the Maybach Night Series Design Package, which offers exterior colors such as Obsidian Black Metallic to make the SUV blacker than black.
Inside the Opulent Maybach GLS 680
A look inside the Maybach GLS 680 reveals the brand’s Superscreen of three 12.3-inch screens under one pane of glass stretching across the dashboard. It’s bookended by the brand’s signature turbine-style vents, illuminated. Rose Gold dials appear here as well, along with all the Maybach badging.
Massaging seats can be equipped for both front and rear passengers, who also get extendable leg rests for the first time. All the better to sip from Champagne chilled by the optional refrigerator between the two rear seats. A 15-speaker Burmester 3D Surround Sound System comes standard, and rear passengers can be treated to an available rear entertainment system with two 11.6-inch screens — with remotes — and integrated cameras so as to never miss a Zoom on the go.
Under and around such opulence is mechanical wizardry intended to make passengers feel as if they’re floating and not riding on the road. A standard air suspension has new predictive dampers using real-time cloud data from other Mercedes vehicles that have traveled the same path, so the Maybach knows of rough railroad crossings or potholes, presumably. It is designed to “enhance comfort, especially for rear passengers,” Mercedes says.
An optional E-Active Body Control system uses more than 20 sensors to adjust the suspension proactively for even more isolation, and in certain curving instances, the GLS itself leans into corners by up to three degrees to offset any lean from inertia.
Made in Alabama, with hand-finished features, the Mercedes-Maybach GLS goes on sale later this year.
It is more refined, more opulent, and with features such as reclining and massaging rear seats, it caters as much to owners who expect to be driven as much as do the driving.
Good question. We won’t know until pricing is announced late this year, before it goes on sale. Expect it to be more than the $181,350 price of the 2026 model.
The BMW Alpina XB7, Bentley Bentayga, and even the Rolls-Royce Cullinan could be competitors to the Maybach GLS.
