2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS photos out ahead of official NY Auto Show debut

KUALA LUMPUR: Spy shots of the all-new 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS have been plastered all over the interweb for a while now. The most recent developments come in the form of a few full-fledged photos of what could very likely be the real deal. These photos not only give us a fair look at the exterior, but also the interior of the Stuttgart-based carmaker’s largest SUV. This comes just ahead of the 2020 GLS’s official world debut at the upcoming New York International Auto Show. It’s no secret that Mercedes has been working on gaining the upper hand in the full-size, seven-seat luxury SUV market - one that’s currently the BMW X7’s forte. With the new 2020 GLS, Mercedes-Benz is aiming to take back its perch at the top once again.

Mercedes-Benz has made some design and styling upgrades to make the new GLS look the part. And in effect, this new GLS looks largely like an enlarged GLE. But that’s no bad thing as the 2020 GLS incorporates the brand’s latest design language, thus gifting the GLS with a contemporary and sophisticated stance. Its front fascia wears a massive twin-slatted grille with an equally large MB logo in the middle, just as before. However, the changes here come in the form of sleek-looking matrix LED headlights and a more posh bumper and muscular bonnet design. Then there are the newer alloy wheel design, more streamlined wing mirrors, beefier fender flares, and a smoother beltline. At the rear, the blandness of the outgoing model has been replaced with glamour. So now you get artsy, wraparound LED taillights and amongst other details, a sportier bumper with twin exhausts and a chrome-plastered air diffuser.

The interior of the 2020 GLS is leaps and bounds ahead of the outgoing model – in terms of design, visual appeal and technology. It’s now brimming with Merc’s latest and greatest in terms of technology, plus the styling is way, way more upscale than its predecessor. The biggest highlights include the dual 12.3-inch displays, gorgeous dashboard, and console design, and even better quality materials than before.

Built around the Modular High Architecture (MHA) platform, the new GLS boasts of a longer wheelbase than its upcoming X7 rival. On launch, expect the 2020 GLS to be offered with petrol and diesel-fuelled V6 and V8 engines.