Mercedes-Benz Gls450 vs Alfa Romeo 4C

What's the difference?

The ‘Upper Large SUV over $120K’ segment of the Aussie new-car market is what you might call the top end of town, not only in terms of the extravagant models available but also their purchase prices, which stretch well into six figures and require monthly lease payments that rival home mortgages.

It’s where you’ll find some of the most prestigious marques in the automotive world including Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Range Rover, Lexus and BMW. And, of course, Mercedes-Benz with its big GLS which represents the flagship of the German manufacturer’s SUV fleet.

It was given a refresh in 2023 with cosmetic and multimedia upgrades along with powertrain enhancements, but there have only been minor changes since then. We were recently entrusted with the keys to the latest GLS to see if the ‘S-Class of SUVs’ leaves any room for improvement.

Nothing could’ve better prepared me for my drive in the 2019 Alfa Romeo 4C than a trip to Sydney’s Luna Park.

There’s a rollercoaster there called Wild Mouse - an old-school, single carriage coaster with no loop-the-loops, no high-tech trickery, and with each ride limited to just with two seats apiece.

The Wild Mouse throws you around with very little regard for your comfort, gently impinging your fear factor by making you consider the physics of what is happening underneath your backside. 

It’s an unbridled adrenaline rush, and genuinely scary at times. You get off the ride thinking to yourself, “how the hell did I survive that?”.

The same can be said with this Italian sports car. It’s blisteringly quick, it’s superbly agile, it handles like it has rails attached to its underbody, and it could potentially do brown things to your underpants.