AMGshaks

Hi everyone,

I know this is the GLS Forum and probably most of you guys would go for GLS 580 vs Range Rover. I'm trying to get an SUV for my wife and we are in doubt between these two options. The lease price for both models is almost the same and we don't necessarily need the 7 passenger SUV. I personally like the GLS more than GLE due to luxury and ride quality, however, my wife still thinks about the Range Rover. Anyone with the previous experience dealing with both cars? Appreciate your input.

SndsoftheSbrbs

I've never personally owned a Range Rover, although I have driven them a number of times, and I have to say that I would probably never buy one. JLR products are notoriously unreliable, and it seems that the only people who end up keeping them are people who have a great tolerance for unreliability. Most German car owners would be appalled by the quality control and reliability issues that JLR owners experience.

AMGshaks

Thanks for the respond. I am aware of unreliability of Range Rover. However, my cousin has a 2017 and never had any issues! Must be a miracle

SndsoftheSbrbs

It literally must. I was on a test drive of a brand new Velar in 2019, and everything in the infotainment was glitchy. I'd skip it, as beautiful as they are. I ended up leasing an Audi Q8.

BenjaminKohl

I generally find Range Rover leather to be amazingly soft and nice feeling and love the look of it. However the Mercedes’s Infotainment tech is pretty significantly better in my opinion. I like the look of the screens in the Rover and like the digital climate controls but most people prefer proper switches and the way the system works in the Benz is much better. Also know that a new Range Rover is right around the corner. My best advice is to test drive both (preferably for an extended period like 24 hours) and choose whichever makes you more
excited.

Delta5275

I currently have a gls 63 but I have owned a 2016 RR autobiography. The leather is soft , however the passenger seat was hard. What I liked were the color options and leather everywhere. I have driven ( rented ) several 2018 range rovers. The tech isn’t the same , glitchy and the infotainment system doesn’t come close to Mercedes. I also like the lower seating position better in the gls and the handling is much much better on the Benz.

redcarrera

We have both 2017 GLS 450 & Range Rover HSE.
Other than both are great SUV's, they aren't very similar. Engine character is different.....I prefer the MB & my wife chooses the Rover. Handling is also very different with the MB providing a much smoother, isolated ride. The Rover is a lot more "sporty". Interestingly, the MB shows a lot of chassis flex turning through dips; the Rover shows no flex & a more sophisticated ride on longer travel suspension.
We hated the touch screens in the '18-on Rover & found a new '17 with a partially analogue center stack.
Take an extended test ride in each on the same day. You'll know which you like best.

places

I think for all around luxury and experience the RR is another level. If tech is your thing then go with the GLS, but honestly on looks alone the RR beats the GLS as the GLS is not the best looking SUV out there. Take the tech and the MB badging out and what do you have? The RR has lineage and class, it's iconic and since you're leasing I wouldn't sweat it. There is no guarantee the GLS won't end up in the shop more, overall MB reliably has been suspect the last few years.

Stephen513

Get the Range Rover! The interior quality and materials of the new GLS does not compare to the Range Rovers.

But, then again, I’d drive the two back to back. Keep in mind the RR doesn’t have a 3rd row or captain chairs.

Delta5275

i guess I can’t really comment since I have the 63 for the GLS which killed the handling on the range. Not sure how the non amg models handle. Unfortunately, I’m an amg person and Range Rover doesn’t really have a model in the full size that competes. I know it’s two different cars but it would be nice if they had a 600 plus horsepower engine. The sva comes close, but north of 200k and doesn’t offer much more then the autobiography. Not worth 200k

places

Good for you on the 63 but we're really talking 580 here. Not really relevant.

That being said I would take the RR Sport SVR over the GLS all day if performance is your thing.

Delta5275

i like the svr, but the wife couldn’t stand the seats... also I prefer the full size version. My range was a 16 when I had it so somethings have certainly changed. Was hoping the redesigned range would be out by now. Have a 18 gls and I’m up in the air figuring out what to do

joejones81

It is worth noting that the new generation of the Range Rover is expected to be announced later this year and be available next year as a MY2022. So a year into the lease you would be leasing the prior model generation. The GLS580 is the beginning of the new generation (2020+) and is unlikely to get a full redesign until 2027 (assuming typical 7year re-design lifecycle).

Despite this, I happen to be a huge fan of the Aesthetic appeal of the Range Rover and being that you are leasing I would probably go with the range rover. I purchase my cars and keep them for 7 years so I couldn’t bring myself to take the reliability risk with having one off warranty. I haven’t owned either vehicle but have test driven both and am awaiting delivery of a 2021 GLS 580. I have spent an embarrassingly large amount of time researching both of the cars and came very close to buying a supercharged Range Rover (someone else bought it before I got to dealership). With that being said, there are a lot of problems with the electronics and reliability in general and you can see that first hand with the J.D. Power rankings but also by just going on autotrader or cars.com and looking at the car faxes. The number of vehicles with non-stop dealership visits and recalls and other maintenance is appalling. I live very close to a land rover dealership and if there are warrantee issues they pick up the car from my office and drop off the loaner so I would probably still risk it if I were considering a lease.

places

I can see that, the svr is a brute and can be a bit less luxurious than the full sized. I think the previous generation GLS is better looking than the current model which is lacking in the looks department. Just seems like a bigger GLE, which again is unattractive IMO. Go RR, it's a level up and RR's always look good. As I stated earlier post, no guarantees the MB doesn't have issues, so much tech. Even years later. MB SUV's designs age poorly and after a couple years look dated and seem to get lost in the crowd.

AMGshaks

Thanks for sharing. I am actually going to finance the Range Rover if I want to move on with it since the lease is not attractive at all and is between 300 to 400 dollars more expensive than GLS!
Chase currently offers 0% APR for 72 months which is not bad however, I’m not sure if this SUV will be reliable for the next 6 years! Also I have always leased my cars and not sure if I can stick with one car for 6-7 years!
I was also reading some reviews and noticed some customers complained about the cabin vibration over 60 miles on freeway and that where me and my wife mostly drive!

places

Great choice. Get the warranty and enjoy. As stated, there is no guarantee the GLS wont be in the shop all the time. Not nearly as reliable as they used to be.

joejones81

Ya, when I first looked at the supercharged Range Rovers I noticed how bad the lease rates were but that is obviously because they need to offset their exceptionally high depreciation due to their reputation for poor reliability. After giving up on leasing, I decided to pursue an off-lease vehicle so that the depreciation would play in my favor and that’s when I discovered all the car fax issues as I evaluated 100+ Range Rovers that were 1yr-3yr old.

If you get one definitely get the longest manufacturer warranty and I would highly recommend avoiding any third party warrantees. You really need to look out because it seems that land rover dealerships may actually sell third party warrantees because of the favorable financial kick backs so make sure it’s a legit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) backed warranty.

Also, keep in mind that many of land rover dealerships maintenance departments handle a lot of customers since the cars require more maintenance so their service is unlikely to rival mercedes.

places

Is there a way to verify the service records, just curious? Is carafax the only option?

joejones81

This seems a bit too good to be true, are you sure it is 0% APR over 72 months and not just 0% interest over 72 months. As you may know, there is a big difference since APR takes into account the upfront finance charges and I would expect if it is 0% interest there would be at least some upfront finance charges that would be spread out over the life is the loan and cause the APR to be greater than 0%.

joejones81

I have attempted to verify the service records multiple times in the past when purchasing pre-owned cars and it’s not easy. Keep in mind that the service records are far more detailed and more accurate then what is in the car fax report. If the car is being sold by an individual you probably have to ask them to provide the service records. When I attempted to contact the dealerships they went to for their service they claimed it was a privacy violation for the dealership to provide it (which i question the legitimacy of) and also the dealerships tend to not share it across dealerships so if the individual went to different local dealerships their may be one service record per dealership. I also received similar excuses when the car was being sold by a dealership (mercedes or land rover) but if the salesman is desperate enough or the car is worth enough they will provide the official service record and redact our privacy information. This happened for a couple of CL63’s I was looking at many years ago (before kids, haha).

John Gore

Just take a peek at their depreciation rates....ouch. As long as you lease them they’re great.

nc211

Went through this process ourself before we bought our GLS 450. We have a few Range Rovers in our neighborhood. Wife always said she wanted one. But when the “want” was able to become a reality, she decided she liked the MB better. Said the cabin made her feel more relaxed, more spacious, and said a 5 year old RR looks like a 5 year old RR, whereas a 5 year old MB does not look like a 5 year old MB. She also said the RR that would come closest to the MB would have to be the full size version and not the sport, which was too small for her, the kids and dog and all their stuff. She also liked the way the MB drove, tighter steering ratio for u turns, and overall feel and presence on the road. She didn’t see the reason for the notable cost difference between the GLS 450 and a full size RR (she’s not into the argument between a 6 vs 8 cylinder), and the 450 engine is more than plenty and very refined for our tastes.

We didn’t lease either. We purchased with the mindset for a 10 year car if not more if possible. If this GLS is 70% as reliable And enjoyable to own as our 2014 E350 has been (which also helped to sway her decision), then I’d say we picked wisely. Yes, we totally expect a few repairs that’ll cost, but this GLS is worth it for us, and one we’d rather fix than replace.

hyperion667

This thread needs pictures

nc211

Here is mine, just put a ceramic coating on it earlier this week...

marchgroupinc

My GLS 580 with new Panamericana grille