Compare the2022 Jeep WagoneerVS 2021 Mercedes GLS

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Wagoneer are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLS doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Jeep Wagoneer has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GLS doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Wagoneer has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The GLS doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Wagoneer has standard Park Assist with Rear Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The GLS doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Wagoneer helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The GLS doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Wagoneer’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLS.

Both the Wagoneer and the GLS have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Wagoneer 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLS. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLS ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Wagoneer for 5 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLS.

There are over 6 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Wagoneer’s warranty.

The Jeep Wagoneer’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the GLS’ engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep 11th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 30th, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Jeep vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Jeep 1 place higher in reliability than Mercedes.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Wagoneer (except Grand Wagoneer)’s fuel efficiency. The GLS doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Wagoneer has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLS (26.5 vs. 23.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Wagoneer has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The GLS doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Jeep Wagoneer’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mercedes GLS only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Wagoneer has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The GLS doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Wagoneer is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the GLS.

For better maneuverability, the Wagoneer’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the GLS’ (38 feet vs. 39.4 feet). The Wagoneer’s turning circle is 3 feet tighter than the Maybach GLS 600’s (38 feet vs. 41 feet).

The front grille of the Wagoneer uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The GLS doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Wagoneer uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The GLS doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Wagoneer offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the GLS can only carry up to 7.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Wagoneer’s middle and third row seats recline. The GLS’ third row seats don’t recline.

The Wagoneer’s cargo area provides more volume than the GLS.

The Wagoneer offers a maximum 10,000-pound towing capacity; the GLS’ maximum is only 7700 pounds.

The Wagoneer 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Wagoneer can be unhitched and driven around locally. The GLS can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Wagoneer’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The GLS has neither an oil pressure gauge nor a temperature gauge.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Wagoneer has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLS only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Wagoneer has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the GLS.

The Wagoneer is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The GLS doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.