Maybach may well be a part of Mercedes, but for many of us, Maybach stands apart; the ultimate in chintz, of excess, of ‘the S-Class is just too unrefined’.
Maybach stands alone, for better or worse, and represents Mercedes’ determination to create the most luxurious cars in the world. The S-Class based Maybach has been knocking around for ages, but in recent years, Mercedes have created the first super-luxurious SUV: the Mercedes Maybach GLS.
The Maybach GLS is one of those cars that is so excessive that it has no shame. Instead of sharing the road with other cars, the drivers of which scorn the GLS’ generous dimensions (over five metres long, over two metres wide, and nearly two metres tall), the Maybach GLS simply exists in its own little kingdom, where nothing else really matters. The occupants may as well be in a simulation of the real world, how detached they are from reality.
Spend a decent amount of time in a Maybach GLS and you might actually start to feel some sort of cognitive dissonance.
But, what is the Maybach GLS? It’s a very similar recipe to that of the S-Class-derived Maybach. You take the biggest car Mercedes makes in a sector – the GLS-Class SUV, and you strip out the crapness and replace it with opulence.
With previous entries in this series, I’ve listed the technological breakthroughs each large German executive car has brought to the table. I’ve lionised their groundbreaking achievement in such a way that paints an image of the respective car as some sort of mechanical silverback, beating its chest with pride, and as a warning, to any potential rivals.
What’s so striking about the Maybach GLS is how the engineering, in many aspects, is realms beyond that of previous entries in this series, but the real clincher is how little the Maybach GLS wants its occupants to notice its engineering. Personally, I think it’s an absolute crying shame. The technological prowess here and the genuine thoughtfulness of some of the design and tech features of this car are unbelievable. Unfortunately, due to the cost and image of the Maybach, many of these features are wasted on people that may not even appreciate them.
The kind of stuff the Maybach GLS boasts is the absolute diamond cutting-edge. The kind of stuff that is dreamed up by a crack team of Mercedes engineers that do not sleep, do not eat and do not need the bathroom. This kind of engineering is so far divorced from the cut and thrust of a modern car maker, where environmental concerns and the accountant department rule the roost.
The Maybach GLS was probably conceived in some secret laboratory that is not on any schematics. The kind of place dressed up to look like a cleaner’s closet, but requires retinal, voice and DNA checks to enter. Within this room is the beating heart of Mercedes – where engineering trumps all else. These are the engineers who engineer for engineering’s sake. This is where the spirit of that development team that splurged 1 billion euros in the 1990s when designing the new S-Class, only to have very little to show for it.
Okay, let’s get into it then. The Mercedes Maybach GLS is a five or four seat ultra-luxurious SUV. One of the first features that stands out are the two metre long running boards that enable easy ingress and alighting from the car. Upon opening a door, the running board deploys silently, enabling passengers to exit more easy. The air suspension also lowers by 25mm depending on which door is being exited. Naturally for a chauffeur-bound vehicle like the Maybach GLS, the rear running boards are wider at the rear doors.
The design of the Maybach GLS is geared around isolating the occupants from the rest of the world and indulging them in the best possible experience. Ambience is key, and the Maybach GLS does not hold back.
The car features a full length panoramic sunroof with a roller blind and the rear windows have electrically adjustable blinds. This stuff isn’t particularly spectacular, but you’ve got to start somewhere right?
When spec’d with two rear seats (lord knows why you wouldn’t) there is a champagne fridge, in case you fancy a little tipple on the way to/from work/airport/casino/whatever other places really, really rich people go.
If the outside world is a little too stinky for your liking, the Maybach GLS has you covered. The car features a range of fragrances that have been specially designed for the this application, with the standard fragrance being described as: “the white osmanthus blossom, floral and light, is rounded off by a gentle leather note and spicy tea. That’s so fancy I am unable to even put together a composite smell in my mind/nose. If you fancy a switch up, this fragrance can be swapped for others by Mercedes.
As the rear passenger is so frequently king in a car like this, there are a lot of neat features for the rear passenger compartment. One of the key features is comprehensive air control system called the Executive Climate System. The ECS system means the rear compartment has its own separate air conditioner and the A/C fans rest on rubber bearings so as to prevent any vibrations when they are on. Even the air ducts are coated to dampen the noise of the airflow. The rear air vents are all independent of one another, and are designed so that the ventilation is never direct for any rear passengers. This system is given the environmental down-low by a whole host of sensors which measures things from the exterior and interior conditions, to the angle of the sun and humidity level. The system is even able to detect when it is in a tunnel and air is automatically recirculated. What’s even more impressive is that this system works actively yet can remember the preferences for up to seven different users. Even the cup holders are temperature controlled.
The Maybach GLS is designed to go seamlessly from office zone to a place of relaxation, with rear passengers able to control features such as the 64 different ambient lighting colours and 27 Burmester speakers with their own control tablets. Man, wouldn’t all those speakers make it difficult to make your chauffeur step on it? Nope, the Maybach GLS features a two-way intercom system, despite not featuring a partition between driver and passenger.
Heck, the Maybach GLS can even change your moods through its Energising Comfort Programs. By using lighting, musical moods and massages, the Maybach GLS can employ a variety of ‘feel-good programs’ to boost the mood of its occupants. This system even features an “Energising Coach” which recommends programs based on situations, with programs such as “freshness”, “vitality”, “comfort”, “warmth” and “joy”. So if your chauffeur runs over a cyclist, don’t fret, the Maybach GLS will remove that modicum of remorse in a jiffy.
The Maybach GLS even has shades of SkyNet in it, as it is able to sync to a passenger’s smartwatch and then recommends what programs you might need. Just don’t ever write your Maybach GLS into your will, no matter how nicely it treats you, or you might find it selects the ‘untraceable “accidental” death’ program, in an attempt to seize your fortune.
Now, a luxury car is only as good as its seats, and luckily the Maybach GLS plays a blinder. Those two rear seats can be fully reclined and feature heating, ventilation and massaging, of course. The design of the seats is innovate with two sewn halves of leather that are designed to adapt to the contours of the back, giving flexibility when needed and tightness in other places. Both rear seats also feature multiple cushions to further increase comfort. Even the front seats are clever; the seat cushions move slightly constantly to promote active sitting for the front occupants. This is much the same as those sort of springy foot mats that your very bottom-rung stand upon during their 8 hour days behind the tills.
Being a modern car, the Maybach GLS features a variety of drive modes, with some pinched from lesser Mercedes, but the Maybach GLS also features a Maybach-specific drive mode for ultimate plutocratic comfort and discretion. To ensure minimum vibration and maximum isolation, even the materials of the suspension components have been scrutinised in order to work out which designs and materials vibrate least. Couple this hardware with Maybach’s E-Active Body Control, and the you get a ride comfort that is world-beating. The Maybach is capable of scanning the road ahead and preparing the suspension in advance for any tricky surface, and the E-Active system controls individual spring and damper forces in order supress roll, pitch and lift. This ensures the body remains level during acceleration and braking, and over bumps, too. Powered by the car’s 48V mild hybrid system, E-Active is so clever that bumpy roads enable the system to recuperate hybrid charge.
To top this all off, the Maybach GLS’ suspension even has a special mode for dislodging the car should you get stuck in a sand dune on the way back from one of those strange gourmet dinners hosted in the middle of bare desert, that somehow also features an entire staff of waiters and servers, despite no obvious method of getting their easily (how do they keep the sand off the food?). What does the Maybach GLS do in this jam? It rocks up and down to dislodge itself.
That about tells you all you need to know.
I bet the chauffeur is pleased with that feature too.
Kerbside 