- Delivered across Sydney
- Bond and fees shown before you pay
- Never swapped to a lesser car
Most seven-seat prestige SUVs have a third row built for children and a boot that disappears the moment you raise it. The GLS is one of the few where adults can sit in the back row on a real journey and there is still somewhere to put their bags. That is the whole case for it.
Check GLS availability
Tell us how many people and how much luggage. Those two numbers decide the car.
Specifications
| Model | Mercedes-Benz GLS |
|---|---|
| Year | 2019 |
| Power | 243kW |
| 0-100km/h | 6.3 seconds |
| Drivetrain | All-wheel drive |
| Seats | 7 |
| Tier | Luxury |
Seven seats and 6.3 seconds is a combination worth noticing. This is a very large vehicle that
is not slow, which is not true of most things this size.
The Third Row Is the Whole Point
Seven-seat SUVs are sold on a number that quietly conceals two compromises. The first is that
the back row usually suits children and makes adults miserable over any real distance. The second
is that raising it consumes essentially all the luggage space.
The GLS is one of the few in this tier where neither compromise really bites. It is large enough
that the third row works for adults on a genuine journey, and large enough again that there is
still useful space behind it. If you have ever put two adults in the back of a seven-seater and
watched them get out at the other end, you will understand why that matters more than any other
specification on the page.
It is not infinite. Seven adults with full-size suitcases for a week remains a conversation
rather than an assumption, and if that is your situation the eight-seat Kia Carnival solves it more
completely. But for seven people and sensible luggage, this works where most of the tier does not.
What It Is Actually Like in Sydney
It is quicker than something this size has any right to be
243kW and 6.3 seconds in a vehicle of this footprint means it never feels strained. Merging onto
a motorway fully loaded with seven people and their luggage is completely undramatic, which is the
practical form that number takes. Nobody books this for pace, but the absence of struggle is worth
something on a long trip.
It is quiet, and that changes long journeys
The thing that makes a three-hour drive with a full car tolerable is not power, it is noise. This
is well insulated enough that conversation across three rows is possible without raised voices, and
that single quality does more for a family trip than any feature on a spec sheet.
All-wheel drive, but not an off-roader
It is road-biased, and the all-wheel drive is there for wet tarmac and the occasional gravel
driveway rather than for terrain. Permitted use is sealed roads and formed dirt roads - no genuine
off-roading, beach driving, water crossings or rock work. If the trip needs real capability, the
Defender is the correct choice.
Things You Should Know
The size is real and you will feel it in the city
This is a big car by any measure. Suburban streets are fine, multi-storey car parks are where you
will notice, and the height limit rather than the width is usually what catches people out. Check
the posted clearance anywhere you plan to leave it overnight.
If the car is going to spend most of the hire parked in a dense area rather than carrying seven
people, something smaller in the tier is genuinely more pleasant to live with.
Tell us the luggage as well as the people
The most common planning error on any seven-seater, and the easiest to avoid. Seven people and
seven small bags is comfortable here. Seven people relocating is not, and the answer is usually a
roof box arranged in advance or the Carnival instead. Give us both numbers at booking and we will
tell you honestly which way it falls.
Fuel over distance
A large petrol SUV consumes accordingly, and on a long regional trip it is worth budgeting for
rather than being surprised by. Around Sydney for a few days it is unremarkable.
Who Books It
Extended families going away. Groups where the third row will genuinely be occupied by adults for
hours rather than by children for twenty minutes. Corporate bookings moving a visiting team from
the airport with luggage. Wedding parties who need seven people moved in something that still looks
right in photographs.
The pattern is that people arrive at the GLS after discovering that a smaller seven-seater does
not actually do what its brochure implies. It is the one in the tier that delivers on the number.
Loading It Properly
Worth going into detail on, because this is the car people choose specifically to solve a loading
problem and there is a right way to approach it.
Decide first whether the third row is occupied for the whole trip or only part of it. A common
and genuinely useful arrangement is seven people out and five back, or the reverse - with the row
folded for the leg that does not need it, the boot becomes large rather than merely adequate.
Second, count the bags honestly rather than optimistically. Soft luggage is worth considerably
more than hard cases here, because it takes the shape of the space available. Four soft bags fit
where three suitcases will not, and on a full seven-seat trip that difference decides whether
everything comes.
Third, if the answer is still tight, say so at booking. A roof box arranged in advance is
straightforward and cannot be fitted on the day, and it is the difference between one car and two.
Long Trips and Multiple Drivers
This car ends up on longer journeys more than most, because the reason to book it - seven people
who need to be somewhere - usually involves distance.
The kilometre allowance sits on the booking before you pay, and for a long trip it is worth
telling us the itinerary so we size it to match rather than leaving an overage to be discovered at
the end. Interstate travel needs prior written approval noted on the booking so the allowance and
roadside cover are correct.
And name every driver. On a seven-hour family drive, somebody offering to take over is the most
natural thing in the world, and an unnamed driver is not covered even for that stretch. Each named
driver has to meet the age and licence requirement independently, so it is worth confirming within
the group before the day rather than on it.
Child Seats and Family Logistics
This is a family car more often than anything else in the tier, so the practical detail is worth
covering.
Child seats fit and the anchor points are straightforward, but the arrangement matters when you
are also trying to use all seven seats - a seat in the wrong row can make the third row awkward to
reach. Tell us how many seats, what type, and which rows you intend to use, and we will confirm the
layout works before the day rather than leaving it to be solved in a driveway with everyone
waiting.
The same applies to a pram. It fits comfortably behind five seats and becomes a real
consideration behind seven, which is exactly the sort of thing better established at booking than
discovered at the kerb.
Booking It
Tell us how many people, how much luggage and where you are going. The bond, kilometre allowance
and any delivery cost are shown with the hire price before you pay. Every driver who will take a
turn needs naming on the booking, and the youngest named driver determines whether Young Driver
Cover applies.
If the dates fall in school holidays or a long weekend, treat that as a booking to make
immediately rather than to confirm later - seven-seat demand peaks in exactly those windows and
this is one of the first cars to go.
If the Mercedes-Benz GLS is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the luxury cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
Range Rover Sport
- Up to 294kW
- AWD
- 5 or 7 seats
- Air suspension
Three of them in the fleet, which means it is the prestige car most likely to actually be free on your dates.
Kia Carnival GT-Line
- 8 seats
- Hybrid
- Sliding doors
- Huge boot
The only honest answer when there are more than seven of you. Nobody books it for glamour and everybody books it again.
More than seven of you?
The Kia Carnival seats eight with a bigger boot again. Less glamorous, and the right answer more often than people expect.
Guide rates, weekday winter pricing. Longer hires taper; the exact total for your dates is shown before you pay.
The bond held on your card equals the excess of the cover you choose. It is a pre-authorisation, released after return.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do adults actually fit in the third row?
Yes, which is unusual in this class. Most seven-seat SUVs have a back row that suits children and teenagers and punishes adults on a long trip. The GLS is large enough that the third row is genuinely usable, which is the main reason to choose it over a smaller seven-seater.
Is there boot space with all seven seats up?
Yes, and that is the rarer half of the trick. It is not limitless - seven adults with full-size suitcases for a week is still a conversation - but unlike most seven-seaters there is a genuinely useful space rather than a token one.
How does it compare to the Range Rover Sport?
The GLS is bigger inside and better for seven; the Sport is quicker, more engaging to drive and easier to place in traffic. If the booking is about carrying people, take this. If it is about the drive or the look, take the Sport.
Is it hard to park?
It is a large vehicle and you will notice, though the cameras and sensors do most of the work and visibility is good. Height limits in older car parks are the constraint worth checking before you leave it somewhere overnight.
Where do I collect it?
Mascot or Parramatta, or we deliver anywhere across the Sydney metro. Because this car is usually booked for a group with luggage, delivery the evening before is a common arrangement.
What licence and age do I need?
A full unrestricted licence, checked in person at handover. Minimum age on the Luxury tier is 20, and Young Driver Cover (+25% of the daily hire) applies to any named driver under 25.
Can more than one person drive it?
Yes, provided everyone who will drive is named on the booking and meets the requirements independently. On a long family trip that matters, because sharing the driving is exactly when an unnamed driver ends up behind the wheel. Naming an extra person at booking costs nothing and takes a minute; sorting it out afterwards is not possible.
Is there a security bond?
Yes, stated before you pay, held as a pre-authorisation against the named driver's card rather than charged, and released once the car comes back in the condition it left in.
Can I fit child seats?
Yes. Mention how many and what type at booking so we can confirm the anchor points work with your seating plan, particularly if you are trying to use all seven seats at once. Getting the layout confirmed in advance saves solving it in a driveway with a full car waiting, which is how it usually goes otherwise.