WHEN is a GL not a GL? When it is the new Mercedes-Benz GLS obviously. The Stuttgart-based brand is continuing its renaming strategy at full pace, with its upper-large SUV the latest to be tweaked to sit atop a line-up that includes GLA, GLC and GLE.

Each is meant to align with respective passenger cars the A-Class, C-Class and E-Class, but that ascension leaves the seven-seat GLS in a predicament. This facelifted version of the three-year-old second-generation GL is substantially older and up to $100,000 cheaper than the equivalent S-Class it is meant to mirror.

Given the opulence and detail design of the S-Class, has Mercedes-Benz made the right decision renaming the GL before it switches to a new-generation model?

Frankly, that answer may not matter because sales of the outgoing GL are up 50 per cent this year and well ahead of Range Rover and Lexus LX rivals. Landing in an SUV-loving market, the marketing types who made the renaming decision may have earned their keep.

Click here for the full review...