2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class Reviews

Those aspiring to be Mercedes-Benz owners may be in for a shock with the prestige brand recently axing its A-Class small sedan, while increasing prices across its entire range by up to $6000. The A-Class sedan made its Australian debut in 2019 and joined the A-Class hatchback to compete with the likes of Audi’s A3 sedan and Sportback. The A-Class is also the most affordable entry point into Mercedes-Benz’s entire Australian line-up.Mercedes-Benz says the discontinuation only affects the A-Class sedan and the hatch will remain on sale.“The A-Class sedan is currently still on sale in Australia, however factory orders have been closed,” a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told CarsGuide. “Customers can order locally available stock. The A-Class hatchback is currently still available for factory and stock order.”  The A-Class sedan and hatch have been a success story for Mercede-Benz with the total sales for 2024 reaching 1997 — about 50 more cars than the year’s sales for the C-Class sedan.The reason for the sedan’s departure Mercedes-Benz says is to make way for electric and hybrid models which will be the new entry points into the brand.“Mercedes-Benz will introduce a new range of entry-level vehicles built on the all-new, electric-first MMA platform. The upcoming CLA will lead this range, which will include a four-door coupé, a shooting brake, and two SUVs.” The A-Class hatch might remain but it’s also now expensive with the price rising by $600 to $57,500. Actually, every model in Mercedes-Benz’s entire line-up (there are 64 of them) has seen a price increase with the most expensive Maybach S 680 vlimbing by $6000.Entry into the C-Class sedan range is now $92,600 (up by $1200), while the E-class starts at $132,000 (up by $1586). Mercedes-Benz’s smallest and most affordable SUV the GLA 200 is now $63,600 (up by $700). Mercedes-Benz told CarsGuide the price increase was caused by several factors but would not go into detail.“As pricing is a dynamic topic that is influenced by a wide range of factors, we can’t provide any further comments,” a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told CarsGuide.  You can see our table below for the full list of price changes. Prices listed are before on-road costs but include LCT and GST

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If you’ve seen a lot of BMWs on the road lately, there is a reason for it.The Bavarian giant is officially Australia’s favourite premium automotive brand.According to 2024 sales figures, BMW capped the year with 26,341 sales. That represents a modest 0.6 per cent bump over its 2023 results, or in actual figures, BMW sold 157 more cars last year than the year before.For years BMW was the number two marque in Australia behind archrival Mercedes-Benz. But that shifted a few years ago and now BMW is the dominant force in the premium segment.Mercedes splits its sales between two business units — Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans. Given none of its premium rivals offer commercial vans or utes, we will focus on cars.BMW was the 14th best-selling brand overall in 2024, wedged between Volkswagen in 13th and Suzuki in 15th.But how did it do so well last year? A couple of factors — SUVs and EVs.Sixty two per cent of BMW sales were for its ‘X’ SUV range. And the leader of that pack was the X1 small SUV with 4536 sales. Despite these solid numbers, it was beaten by the Audi Q3 for sales in the small SUV segment.The X3 was BMW’s next best seller, capturing high sales in runout ahead of the new-gen model arriving, and X5 was third best, while the X7 and 7 Series saloon had their best sales results ever.BMW’s EV sales were also a strong point, with just under 30 per cent of its total sales coming from electric cars. The iX1, i4, iX2 and iX3 made up the bulk of deliveries.Mercedes-Benz recorded 19,989 units in 2024, which was down by 17.8 per cent compared with 2023. Despite having a broader model range, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer saw double-digit sales declines for some of its most popular models including the C-Class (-26%), CLA (-32.7%), A-Class (-16.5%), GLC (-19.3%) and GLE (-41.4%).Benz fared better with some of its EV range, with the EQE medium SUV up by more than 200 per cent to 759 sales and the EQS large SUV also in positive territory (+126.7%). The GLA small SUV was the brand’s best seller, recording 3103 sales, up a healthy 65 per cent year on year.Coming third in the premium car sales race was Audi with 15,333, which represented a 19.5 per cent drop on its 2023 result.The decline can in part be put down to the delayed launch of the Q4 e-tron electric SUV, which now arrives in February, as well as some ageing model lines like the A4 and Q5 mid sizers. Both will be replaced in 2025 with new-gen models.The end of sales for the A1 hatch and TT sports car have also likely had an impact.Like Mercedes, Audi’s sales were a mixed bag. The Q3 was the brand’s star performer, capturing 5497 sales (+23.3%) to top the premium small SUV segment.The only other Audi model in positive sales territory was, interestingly, the A6 (+12%). Large sedans aren’t super popular these days so it’s a great result for a solid offering.On the flipside, the Q7 and A3 went backwards, but the SUV is about to get a big refresh in February, and the A3 has just been updated, too, so they should pick up in 2025.Aside from BMW, Porsche was the only premium brand to achieve sales growth in 2024, with 7029 units up 16.1 per cent. Every model line except the Panamera (-5.7%) and Taycan (-47.3%) saw double or triple-digit growth.Other premium contenders Lexus (13,642, -10.2%), Genesis (1400, -26.9%) and Volvo (8898, -20%) all had sales drops in 2024.

At the beginning of each year we dissect the top-10 best-selling automotive brands of the previous year, digging into what went right for some brands and what went wrong for others.What about the brands that just missed out on the glory of a top-10 placing?Based on full-year 2024 data, we’ve pulled together another list. For all the details of the top 10, read about it here. But now we are detailing the brands that landed in positions 11 to 20 on the best-selling car brands list.There are some big names that were once fixtures in the top 10, but a combination of factors have kept them out of the top rankings this time around.Competition from newer brands has had an impact, as has shifting consumer preference and cost-of-living concerns.Check out our table below for the full figures.Subaru was the unlucky brand to just miss out on a top 10 spot last year, after being shut out by growing Chinese manufacturer GWM by 2178 sales.Subaru had been a mainstay in the top 10 for years, but last year it captured 40,604 sales, which was a near 12 per cent dip compared with 2023. All of Subaru’s models, excluding the newer Crosstrek small SUV, experienced double-digit percentage declines last year.Another more recent top-10 entrant, Tesla, also slipped out of the main list last year. Declining interest in its only two models — the related Tesla Model 3 and Model Y — ensured a 17 per cent drop. This was part of a wider trend of stagnating EV sales in Australia. Battery EVs were only up by 4.7 per cent in 2024, a dramatic change from the 160 per cent increase in 2023 over 2022.Another long-standing brand, and former top-10 player, Volkswagen, saw a further slide in 2024. Its tally of 36,480 was about 17 per cent off the previous year.The Amarok ute was in positive territory, but sales of some other key models dropped as the wait for replacements of some of its biggest models like the Tiguan drag on.Fellow German maker BMW landed in 14th place and remained steady, shifting just 157 more cars in 2024 compared with 2023.The next two brands had a big year. Suzuki clawed back lost ground by increasing its sales by 24.6 per cent to 21,278 units. The Jimny continues to be Suzuki’s best seller, with the tiny off-roader nabbing nearly half its total sales at 9697 units - up a whopping 94 per cent year on year.The other big mover was BYD, with the Chinese giant adding 20,458 sales to its name last year.Challenging Australia’s SUV obsession, BYD’s top seller was the Seal sedan on 6393 sales, but the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid SUV was just behind on 6198. The latter only had six full months on sale, however.Expect this to change in 2025 with the Shark 6 PHEV ute likely to take over of the brand’s most popular offering.Mercedes-Benz Cars took a dive in 2024, dropping by nearly 18 per cent for 19,989 units. If you add Mercedes-Benz Vans to its tally (they are reported separately in VFACTS) it would have recorded 24,831 sales which was enough to beat Suzuki.LDV was one of few Chinese manufacturers to go backwards in 2024 (-24.8%). The commercial vehicle specialist was hampered by ageing models like the D90 SUV and the T60 ute, but both of those are being replaced early this year.In 19th place was Audi which dropped by 19.5 per cent last year, with very few bright spots in its line-up except for the ever-popular Q3 small SUV. That model was ahead by 23.3 per cent last year and led the premium small SUV segment for sales, edging out the BMW X1 and Volvo’s XC40.Rounding out our top 20 is Honda with 14,092 sales. The Japanese brand was another regular visitor to the top 10 in the not-too-distant past, but a drastic change in sales strategy in Australia - including downsizing its model range, dealer network and shifting to an agency dealer model - meant sales dropped, ensuring what the company says is a more sustainable business model.While the excellent CR-V went backwards last year, its two other SUVS, the HR-V and ZR-V, gained ground, increasing by 53.3 and 79.3 per cent respectively.Just missing out on a top-20 placing were Lexus (13,642) and Chery (12,603).

The 2025 Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV is a high-performance fully-electric vehicle (EV) from Affalterbach and that means expectations on speed and power delivery are high. Is this the answer for the AMG lovers who want to go green or something else entirely?

A new year brings a fresh array of vehicles for Australia — but some get us more excited than others.