2025 Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV Is A Sitting Duck For The Rendering Crowd

Mercedes-Benz GLS will get the 2nd facelift, and that’s how it may look like. Those taillights graphics are real, taken from the prototypes. Is it better than the current one?
 

The rendering world does not seem to have enough of the upcoming Mercedes GLS family. We’ve already seen the regular Benz on different occasions, be it with a CGI whiff or dressed in prototype clothes, and we’ve also encountered the AMG GLS 63 with its sporty nature.
 
However, this story is about another set of digital illustrations that try to imagine what the 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLS is all about from a visual perspective. Kelsonik released these CGIs on social media earlier this week, and they’re not the most exciting due to one missing major design trait.
 
Don’t know what we’re talking about? The star-motif headlights, obviously, will be one of the car’s defining traits. Elsewhere, it’s not far from the real thing, and a side-by-side comparison with its predecessor, aka the outgoing Mercedes-Benz GLS, reveals the novelties even better at the front and rear.
 
The three-pointed star brand went for different headlights with a fresh daytime running light signature. The grille was widened and shortened, and the central intake below it has more generous proportions, just like the side vents flanking it. The hood and front fenders were also tweaked to fit the new styling.
 

It’s a bit more modern-looking at the other end due to the star-infused taillights. These have about the same proportions as the current ones, though they appear to protrude more into the tailgate. No thin light strip links them together, as the chrome trim soldiers on. The rear bumper does not seem to have been modified, but the diffuser and tailpipe trim are new.
 
The quoted pixel manipulator gave it a white paint finish and regular wheels, and we reckon it would’ve been a bit more exciting with a chrome-delete package. However, that doesn’t matter, as you can have it done at your local car-wrapping company. Moreover, the upcoming GLS will also be available with a generous host of aftermarket accessories not long after its launch.
 
But when is it due? No one outside the company really knows, though it will probably sit under the spotlight during an internal event in the coming months. The first copies should land at dealers in Europe probably next year, and we expect the upcoming GLS to launch in our market as a 2026 model, with the AMG GLS 63 joining it shortly after, perhaps for the 2027 model year.
 
Before wrapping it up and calling it a story, we have to remind you that the 2026 Mercedes GLS is not a brand-new flagship crossover but a second mid-cycle refresh of the current third generation, which entered production almost five years ago. With this second facelift, the three-pointed star marque hopes to keep its BMW X7 rival appealing for a few more years.