Given the choice, during this precipitous pre-election period, between hearing about two charming but ordinary cars I drove this week (the 2025 Mazda3 and Nissan Altima), I think we’d all rather take a fantastic diversion. So here it is: The magnificent, ridiculous and otherworldly Maybach GLS 600, back again for another, marginally updated visit. You may remember my first brush with the absolute top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz SUV exactly three years back, an ultra-luxe VIP machine that boasts insane rear seating, a built-in champagne cooler and a custom paint job that alone cost more than all of my first cars combined.
Earlier this fall, a new 2024 Maybach reappeared – in my suburban parking lot, to the bewilderment of my neighbors, I am sure. This year’s rendering of the Mercedes GLS SUV was priced at an astronomical $203,200, its $174,350 base priced nudged gently skyward with the inclusion of a Rolls-inspired, $18,500 gold-flake paint job, $5,500 worth of outlandish 23-inch wheels (and super-wide 325/35 Pirelli P-Zero tires) and nearly $3,000 for the refrigerator and aircraft-styled folding rear tables. Its most obvious updates are new Maybach-embossed logos just below the front grille.
I actually left town early to escape the monstrous, 6,100-pound machine attracting the wrong kind of attention to my hard-working community. But while I had it, I opted this time to see exactly how pliant and still-maybe-useful the Maybach might be, with driving that was the polar opp.