Been a fan of the Benz brand for many years and I have finally joined the fam w a ‘21 GLS450. This is by far the nicest vehicle I’ve ever owned, with my last car being an ‘08 Escalade that I enjoyed until I finally bit the bullet, when I first heard about a potential used car shortage. I’ve literally been surveying “the next one” for the past 6 years, since mentions of the final model release of the LR4 (2016). As w most high mileage v8’s, the car was starting to have issues monthly…. and w a baby on the way, the wife was pushing me to finally get a new car. Shopped the ‘lade around to just two dealers and couldn’t believe the amount they were willing to pay for such a high mileage vehicle! Sold the car to the highest bidder and the countdown to finding the proper GLS began. I happened to have some fam overseas, so I was fortunate to drive their car while i searched for a new car.

Ended up taking a few months to find, and after having two deals falling through the cracks, I found the one on Autotrader. Right when the second negotiated deal got pulled from by a local buyer (right before I could get my deposit in), I happened to find this GLS about 5 hours North of LA. She only had a few thousand miles on her and when asked, found that it was used as a personal vehicle for the GM at the dealership. Made an offer a few thousand below their asking price, and a week later they accepted.

She is humbly, the most bare bones GLS450 there is, and I absolutely LOVE her. The infotainment system, backup camera setup, captain seats, folding everything and the interior is probably best in class and one of the most comfortable rides (I can only imagine what the premium models ride like). I have no idea why the GLS falls under the radar when comparing full size SUV’s. If I went by the car reviews alone, I would have gone w the x7, but after test driving, the gls was hands down my favorite and by far nicer and more comfortable inside. Did I mention the gas savings over the Escalade??!?!

With all of the cars in todays market being beasts compared to what I just got out of, I wasn’t concerned about performance but more on comfort for my everyday commute (about 2.5 hrs each day). Bee were also blessed w a baby boy this past year and so comfort of the back seat was priority number 1. We also have a lot of family nearby, so the easy access to the third row is also a major plus.

Aside from a car seat and the center compartment tray I purchased off eBay, I had the car first tinted/PPF’d and had all the chrome and silver trim blacked out, added a set of 20” HRE model 305 three piece wheels, wrapped in 275/55/20 Nitto Ridgegrappler tires. I have always been a fan of the smaller wheel and beefier tire setup and continued the tradition with the GLS. It happened to be raining today and was surprised with the grip the tires had. Such a great setup for any of the other GLS owners out there, though I am not sure of the caliper clearance needed for the GLS63 models.

In the future I hope to add some cross bars and have a roof box handy for road trips. And who knows, maybe when it’s camping season, I’ll experiment and get a roof tent setup.

I hope to driv

wheels: HRE Classic line 305 3-piece
size: 20x9.5
et: +32

tires: Nitto Ridgegrappler
size: 275/55/20 (same size as the optional off-road wheel tire option on the new g-wagons)

 

Congrats ! Really Sharp.

 

those HREs with the rugged tires setup is FIRE! i could use a set to drive up to tahoe when the snow comes down hard, like this week! are you running a staggered setup? if not, are the offsets different on the fronts and rears?

i know LA streets can get rough, but are you planning on offroading the GLS? if so, let us know how it goes!

 

The HRE’s are not a staggered setup. I never understood the need for the staggered setup on our SUV’s and decided to go with an all square setup for ease of rotation. Offsets are +32 all around and have just the right amount of wheel/tire poking out from the fenders. Could have gone w a higher offset to flush it in, but I tend to like this look.

I work in an industrial area, so the roads are pretty jacked here. These types of tires have saved on so many occasions. I think at one time I found 7 nails imbedded into my tire and it was still good to go 🙌, highly recommend them chunky tires, they last forever and are worth every penny.

I went on an easy trail while up in Big Bear, handled pretty well, but that was during high summer in perfect conditions. We’ll see how she handles the snow this Season. We haven’t had much snow in the mountains yet, but hoping to hit the slopes before the end of the year. So far, I’m really impressed with the grip and ride of these Nittos.

Wife is super picky and loved the setup so much, that she wants to do something similar for her GLE43 coupe. Her rear tires are something crazy like a 305/35/22’s or something close to that…. I remember a time when anything that size was only found on Ferraris/lambos. Mbz going all crazy w these grocery getters.

 

i asked about staggered b/c the gls450 with the 21" wheel option came with a staggered setup. the rear wheel fender (black plastic trim part) actually juts out like a 1/2" or so farther. looking at your rear wheel fenders again, it doesn't appear that you opted for the 21s. so now the question is, how would a non-staggered setup look on the cars with the 21" option? is there a middle ground offset that could make it work (so that the wheels could be rotated front to rear)?
either way, love that look!

 

Totally get it, that was just my initial reaction when i saw the specs of the upgradable options from factory. From a marketing perspective it makes sense to tout the sports car-like wheel/tire setups.

I forgot which magazine it was, but there was an on-track test between various wheel and tire fitments for the “at the time” hot/new-new car of the moment, the 350z. For the rear wheel drive Z, it was surprisingly the all-square 18x9.5 fitment that proved to pull over 1.0 lateral g on the test, which at the time was quite the accomplishment. The square setup data always stayed in my head and quite simply crushed my beliefs that a staggered setup would always equate to better performance. There are high performance cars that would definitely benefit in these types of setups, but for a 4 wheel drive vehicle, especially our SUV’s, it seemed like the most sensible thing would be to opt for the all-square setup. What do you all think? Has anyone else wondered why the staggered setup for a 4 wheel drive vehicle?

 

i think it's all aesthetics. i admittedly upgraded to the 21" wheels to get that extra flare in the rear. if i had to do it all over again, i would certainly consider sticking to the stock wheels and go the aftermarket like you did. if nothing else, it gives me the ability to rotate wheels. then again, for the price of those HREs you put on yours, i'd be half way to upgrading to a 580!