2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class vs. BMW X7: Big Luxury SUV Photo Comparison

The BMW X7 was rumored for many years. But Mercedes clearly got to the segment first with its original GL-Class back in 2006. This proved that it pays to be large and in charge, though many other manufacturers have luxury 3-row SUVs of their own, some of which are capable off-roaders.

But on styling alone, we think the X7 has got the GLS beat. Mercedes created one heck of a messy design with the smaller GLE and it only got slightly better here. There just seems to be too much cheap-looking plastic all over the front bumper, and the lack of character lines doesn't help either.

The X7 also got its fair share of criticism, but most of it was directed at those oversized kidney grilles. Especially with the M-specific body kit, it looks pretty good. The rear is another place where it dominates, as its exhaust setup is more imposing and the taillights don't copy other models too much.

The interior might favor Mercedes, at least in the front, where the MBUX infotainment dominates your view. But it's not like BMW doesn't do luxury well, and we're fans of the easy-to-use iDrive. Some people have complained that the GLS doesn't do that good of a job in the last row, where the X7 has a dedicated second sunroof, for example. That's why we want to know which you guys like the most.

Surprisingly, the two companies also offer very similar sets of engines, mainly large V8s and a few inline-6 choices as well.