There are a lot of features in new car interiors that people don’t like, but really, I think they get too much hate. Screens are a good example—I don’t very much mind having two big screens staring back at me at all times. It’s nice to have the customization and adjustability in the gauge cluster to see the data I want to see. And I’d be lying if I didn’t run Apple CarPlay for music and navigation on every new car I drive—something that requires a screen to operate. Would I rather have a set of nice, analog gauges in my sports car? Yes, definitely. But for a daily driver, a screen-heavy cabin is just fine.
If there’s one thing I absolutely don’t like about new car interiors, it’s the widespread adoption of touch-capacitive buttons. These types of input controls, which don’t actually give any meaningful feedback when you interact with them, are harder to use correctly and don’t provide nearly the same satisfaction as using a real, tactile button, knob, rocker, or scroll wheel.
Mercedes-Benz is guilty of doing this to the extreme on many of its models. For the past few years, many of the controls in its interiors were relegated to touch-capacitive buttons, including many of the buttons on the steering wheel. In my experience using these buttons, it made for lots of missed or incorrect presses and, in the case of the steering wheel buttons, lots of accidental presses. It frustrated me to no end.
Thankfully, that era is starting to come to an end. Mercedes began adding buttons back to the steering wheel of its SUVs back in September. It’s just revealed the refreshed 2026 S-Class, and it’s giving a real, actual, physical control back to one of the interior’s most important features: The volume knob.
How It Was, And How It Is
On the previous S-Class, drivers had two ways to control volume with their hands. They could use the horizontal touch-capacitive scroll bar mounted just beneath the central touchscreen, which worked by gently dragging your finger from left to right (which is both annoying and kind of hard to do while you’re driving).
Alternatively, drivers could adjust the volume by using the vertical slider on the spoke of the steering wheel (shown in the lead image of this article). This is equally frustrating, as it requires a delicate, consistent touch to make any material adjustment to the volume. It was pointlessly clunky for the sake of aesthetics.
The central volume control, sadly, looks to have been retained for the 2026 S-Class, which is a shame for passenger princesses who prefer to control the volume in the cabin. But for the driver, the touch-capactive setup has been thrown out in favor of a physical scroll wheel:
The steering wheel, which was previously all touch-capacitive, also includes a new rocker switch on the left-hand side for adaptive cruise controls. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the previous slider controls, according to Mercedes. People who actually bought the car didn’t like it, either. From the press release:
The new multifunction steering wheel boasts improved ergonomics and intuitive operation. Based on customer feedback, Mercedes-Benz has reintroduced a rocker switch for Digital Extra: Distance Assist DISTRONIC and a roller switch for volume control. The capacitive switch panels are seamlessly integrated and provide tactile aids for better orientation.
Like Ferrari before it, Mercedes is caving on its touch-capacitive heavy design. Unlike Ferrari, though, Mercedes doesn’t go far enough. Many of the buttons on the S-Class’s wheel, including the cruise control buttons and the navigation pad, are still touch-capacitive. I won’t rest on this subject until Mercedes (and every other manufacturer that uses touch-capacitive buttons) stops for good. But seeing as how the volume knob is one of the controls I use the most, I’m glad it was the first to be addressed.
What About The Rest Of The Car?
Mercedes says more than 50% of the 2026 S-Class is “newly developed, updated, and refined.” In addition to the interior updates shown above, the car’s fascia has been updated with a 20-percent larger grille that’s illuminated as standard, alongside the hood ornament, which is also illuminated. There’s also a new daytime running light setup that resembles the brand’s tri-star logo, as first seen on the E-Class. The car’s massive grille reminds me of AMG’s “Red Pig” 300 SEL 6.8 AMG, a sedan-turned-race car that won its class at a 24-hour Spa Francorchamps event in the early 1970s.
The back seat, meanwhile, is described as a “boardroom on wheels” with a “first-class experience,” according to Mercedes, which should tell you all you need to know about the type of consumer this car is targeting. Individual rear seating is an option, obviously, allowing buyers to have two recliners in place of the standard bench. Then there’s the backseat tech, which is absolutely stuffed to the brim:
The two new MBUX remote controls for rear passengers provide effortless operation of vehicle functions such as climate control and window shades, as well as the larger 13.1-inch displays of the MBUX High-End Rear Seat Entertainment System. These rear passenger displays also feature integrated HD cameras, making them ideal for video conferencing with Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Webex.
In the new S‑Class, entertainment becomes effortless. The expanding portfolio of apps includes video streaming platforms such as Disney+ and RIDEVU by Sony Pictures Entertainment – available on both the front passenger display and the dual displays of the MBUX High-End Rear Seat Entertainment System.
As for powertrains, buyers will have three to choose from at launch here in the U.S.: The base S500 4Matic gets a turbocharged inline-six paired to a 48-volt mild hybrid system, making 442 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque (or up to 472 lb-ft for short periods with the help of the integrated starter-generator). The mid-range option, the S580 4Matic, gets the twin-turbo V8, also paired with the mild-hybrid system, which makes 530 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque.
If you want the most power, though, it’s not the V8 you want, it’s the S580e 4Matic. It takes the six-cylinder from the base car and combines it with an electric motor, making for a combined output of 576 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. Though if it’s power you’re after, you’re probably just better off waiting for the AMG version to show up (which, if I know my Mercedes product launch timings, should be sometime later this year).
Top graphic image: Mercedes-Benz
“a 20-percent larger grille that’s illuminated as standard, alongside the hood ornament, which is also illuminated”
That’s sofa king trashy! The S-Class was basically the default head-of-state car. Now, imagine those leadership figures driving around in this gaudy rolling light show.
The lighted emblem craze has really blown up. I just drove through north Texas and saw a 4th gen C/K with an illuminated bowtie. It truly has filtered down quickly.
I thought the worst feature of the S class was depreciation. Why doesn’t their best and Brightest get busy on that?
How many different layers of idiots had to sign off on making bad car controls?
This is old, old perfected engineering they chose to ignore.
There is no excuse.
Bean counters always rule, until they have less beans to count.
Mercedes has been a trend chaser for awhile, instead of setting them. The hot new EV companies did those style controls, so Mercedes followed. I wonder if they could have marketed high quality controls as a mark of luxury, pleasant tactile feedback or something. j
There seems to be a consensus about the feel of controls, and placement.
Some 40s cars had white translucent knobs that were visible in moonlight.
Button feel was perfected by the 70s.
High end Sony video equipment had controls that were all different colors, shapes and textures and could be operated in total darkness.
Their rotary controls have not been improved on. Just abandoned.
Micro switch has had buttons that can be labeled, light up and change color when pressed.
At least one keyboard has offered programmable digital imaging for switches, so you could offer mechanical keypads that repurpose for different functions, if required.
I kept a phone with a mechanical keypad until I was forced to stop.
I was also one of the people shown a beta iPhone a year early. That really did happen.
I wish that my dad or myself could remember the brand, but my parents had a hi-fi system growning up. I can still recall the smooth weight of the massive volume knob. Never felt another control like it since.
The good ones were really good!
I feel like all these ugly new luxury cars must be reflecting an era of increasingly conspicuous consumption. The S-class used to be at least somewhat understated but those, for lack of a better term, “cheeks” either side of the enormous front grill look like they’re just there to catch your attention. They’re certainly not cohesive with the rest of the front-end design.
And that interior is downright gaudy with all that blue light and silver accents – it reminds me of a stretch limo you’d hire for your Year 12 formal (or whatever the American equivalent is – prom?).
Correct, our equivalent is prom, and at least when I was in high school (over 15 years ago now), you’d rent a limo with cheesy neon interior lighting and a “bar” that had no drinks unless you paid extra
Yep same here, though we weren’t allowed drinks anyway as we were all under 18. My date smuggled a six pack premix in though and we hurriedly polished them off before getting to the venue. I supplied a custom playlist for the journey on a burned CD. Unfortunately, the limo had to stop to jump-start the other limo we hired (we were a big group) and that caused the playlist to start over from the beginning. All that hard work choosing the back half of the playlist for nothing!
Good times.
They did it for cost reasons in the first place and to be able to have multiple functions behind
Plus, if you’re locked into their soon to be unobtainable specialty electronics, you know that will cost you when it goes toes up!
What is that ugly wart on the front fender? If it’s something functional, it might be forgivable…
Touch capacitive buttons are flat out *more dangerous* than real knobs and buttons. My car has capacitive touch for both fan and temp control, and it’s not just irritating, it’s more dangerous.
The process management that has to occur at a mile a minute to (1) look down and “memory eye” where the “fan speed” up-carat is, then (2) return my eyes to the road, (3) try to adjust and miss hitting the touch spot on the screen (4) look down to confirm what I already know, I missed, (5) return my eyes to the road, (6) look down again and not at the road to make sure I hit the damn minuscule hitbox on the screen for the fan, (7) oh, I hit the right spot but didn’t hold the touch for long enough or my fingers are dry in the winter, so let’s rinse and repeat that whole process meanwhile I just blew past a cop and that’s the best of many many potential outcomes we could have got here…
My old car had two knobs for fan speed and temp, and my eyes *never had to leave the road* to adjust either, I could just reach down and the one I wanted.
Its not that the interior can flood if leaves block a drain and the electronics are mounted to the floor?
I guess rich people never drive outside.
The capacitive buttons on this ugly-ass (I seem to recall the S Class being attractive at one point) car are nothing compared to what Ford did to the new Expedition. Not only are the steering wheel buttons completely capacitive, they are also completely unlabeled, which is an awful combination.
Like many, I wish car companies would stop trying to be tech companies.
I drove a 2025 Expedition Platinum, briefly. Other than the split tailgate and the enhancements to BlueCruise, I think it’s a downgrade in every way. It’s styled worse, functions worse, and that goofy squircle steering wheel looks like something you’d find on a toy and not a $70K+ truck-based SUV. The 2022-2024 is where it’s at and will age well. It got a nice facelift and the 2021 F-150 interior without jumping the shark on styling.
I bet I’m not the only person that uses a white paint marker to label things with grey on grey or black on black labels.
Every iteration the S class falls farther from grace.
I really think MB leadership no longer have a solid grasp on what constitutes value in their brand. I’ll give them a hint: it’s not gizmos.
My most hated new-car feature is when they try to hide the camera sensors or whatever in a fake portion of grill. I can see it in the lede photo, and I’m sure it’s worse in person.
Just put it in a big fuck-off Mercedes logo in the middle.
That white steering wheel looks awful and it’s brand new. How’s it going to look after a few years of use?
should be fine, since your fancy driver will be wearing gloves
You don’t know where those gloves have been!
If your driver is wearing gloves, he won’t be operating the cruise controls, stereo controls, etc, etc, etc.
I don’t allow my driver the use of those functions.
Many gloves work with touchscreens and touch-capacitative controls. Not that I like those things, but that’s worth pointing out.
came to say the same. I’m sure MB will sell you a pair of custom Driving Gloves for a reasonable price.
Dirty and awful.
Pretty horribly, if past experiences are to be believed.
A couple of years ago, I was shopping for a C217 S-Class Coupe, specifically a 2015-2017. Without fail, the ones with the light interior and more than 40,000 miles had the leather dye rubbed off. That the dealerships–some of which were Benz stores–didn’t take the relatively cheap step of having someone come out and re-dye the steering wheel was, I thought, appalling.
Why would they? They know what they got!
Now it’s vintage!
Yet another word ruined.
Just like “organic” , “evolution”, ” synthetic”, “amazing”,….
The S-Class always struck me as an odd model to be used as a technological showcase, since it’s bought mainly by late-career professionals in their 60s and limo services so you’d think rugged simplicity, however exquisitely detailed and luxuriously finished, would fit the bill. Something like what the Lincoln Town Car was in the ’90s after the Malaise Era froufrou was finally cleared off but before Ford cost-cut it out of contention as a luxury car.
Except it really isn’t.
Nearly everything here was already rolled out on the E Class a couple years back.
It wouldn’t do to have the most expensive car with the fewest features in the lineup.
And while I hate the bi-plane steering wheel, the controls function just fine – once you figure out what does what.
I’d say the switchover to the W220 in MY2000 was when the S-Class began to put overt technology into the mission briefing. Mercedes-Benz lots its shirt on the over-engineered, old-world W140, so the W220 was to be a cheaper car to produce that could make it up with bleeding-edge tech.
Beyond that, there really isn’t that much of a market for old-world luxury cars. Not a lot of people buy these flagship sedans as it is, and the ones who do so want the latest and greatest.
Also, while simple, I wouldn’t say any Town Car past MY1994 has been “luxuriously finished” in any competitive sense. And they got worse and worse. By the time the final ones rolled off the production line, they were pretty crappy, with unconvincing plastiwood trim, a profound lack of sophistication (they didn’t even have cabin air filters) and the same grade of leather that was aspirational in a 2003 Taurus. I was pretty appalled with our 2005 Signature Limited, which belonged to my ex.
Hmm it’s easy to look back to old cars and say tech was less of a focus back then. The simple fact is there was just less of it. That doesn’t mean the values have changed much. The S class was always a pioneer of new gizmos (ABS, ESP) the w140 had a heckin powered center rear view mirror.
That’s exactly my point. What high tech there was in the W140 was concealed well; the W220 was the first car of the Sonderklasse lineage wherein Mercedes-Benz leaned into the tech and made it more overt. And then the W222 and W223 have really leaned into a more modern, night-clubby vibe with tech at the forefront. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. It’s just what I’ve observed.
I very much do mind if those screens are too bright at night. Yet no auto reviewer makes any mention of nighttime visibility. I want to know if all the dumb screens can be sufficiently dimmed/turned off. Preferably, it’d be with a hard dial or button, not buried three levels deep in a touch menu, because as it turns out, it’s dark once a day.
“as it turns out, it’s dark once a day”
That very much depends on where you are and what time of year it is.
lol, I very much debated with myself the semantics of that phrase, especially because I drove to and from work in the dark yesterday.
We did lose an hour of darkness to daylight savings.
I wonder why do that. The dark side has cookies.
I will say, our S580 center stack screens are always the PERFECT level of bright. They’ve never been too bright at night (and that’s one of my pet peeves, living out
In the dark country).
I’d love to see an analysis of how much money the haptic bullshit/MOAR SCREENS actually saves these manufacturers…because literally no one wants it and it’s never worked. Honda tried this shit in the 20 teens. Everyone hated it and they had to back track. VW brought it back in the early 2020s, everyone hated it, and now they’re frantically trying to backtrack on it and it’s done an inordinate amount of damage to their brand equity.
The German luxury brands all jumped on it recently too and now they’re having to set money on fire to get away from it. An executive at Audi went on the record this week and said over-screening interiors is bad…as their new A5, Q5, etc. continue to roll out with nightmarish 3 screen dashboards and steering wheels covered in dysfunctional haptic shit.
I want to know hard numbers on how much money we’re talking about, because it caused all of these companies to go “well everyone hates this but let’s do it anyway and see if anyone notices”. Surely their bean counting nerds have to have come up with some obscene sum of money, because there’s really no other explanation…and now we’re celebrating cars new cars that have interiors with normal buttons, knobs, and switches.
I can’t even tell you how much Honda Passport content I’ve consumed lately that’s included “it has regular AC controls and a volume knob” as one of the highlights. HOW THE FUCK DID IT COME TO THIS?!
I actually think it’s indicative of a larger change in societal behavior. Prior experience used to be highly valued but at some point our collective attitudes shifted to seeing experience as something that gets in the way of new ways of thinking.
I guess that is even true to a great degree but as with many things a happy medium would probably be better for us.
Stop pussy-footing: it is hazardous while driving. The tfh I wear says it is on purpose, so accidents occur more frequently, and the driver (assuming the safety features worked) has to buy a new one.
That’s grimdark and a perfect encapsulation of lines goes up to the right infinitely.
I’m not buying one until I can get cooled seat belts.
Which car company will be the first to provide AI voice recognition for control of all non-driving functions?
Does Waymo or any other autonomous taxi services have AI voice recognition for passenger requests?
That’s gimmicky. They should focus on cooled/heated headliners. Sometimes I touch them.
As a short person (though slightly taller than Torch) and shrinking, I never concern myself with headliners.
well then they need to make one that is height adjustable. Plenty of innovating left to be done.
Don’t forget the airbags! They MUST be at the ideal temperature upon deployment or I may be slightly less comfortable for the score of milliseconds before I lose consciousness.
“the only car company that lets you choose a custom scent for your airbag deployment motor.”
I’ll take mine in the smell of burning cash and band aids.
My 21 Outback does a surprising number of non-driving functions by voice command. I’ll never have to worry about the screen controls in a S class
“20% larger grill” is an observation pretending to be a benefit. I find it unlikely previous S-Class owners were griping about their uphill towing performance.
It could have said “20% smaller grill” and we’d accept smaller grills are good now.
I don’t hate the grill, but I am firmly against the lighting of said grill. Your point stands, though.
I think the lit emblem is tacky on the lower spec cars as well, but it’s simply unbecoming of an S-class.
I agree the lighted emblems are tacky. I also think the three orange lights along the front top of the grill as introduced by the Ford Raptor are tacky. I’ve seen them crop up on everything: RAM, Chevy, 4Runners, RAV4s, and a 30 year old Nissan Hardbody survivor (that one made me LOL).
IIRC, the Raptor is actually mandated to have those lights because it’s over 80″ wide and subject to commercial lighting standards. Any narrower than that is just aping the styling cues for styles sake.
yup. Some trucks have them because they are a legal requirement. I think Ford had some fun styling them instead of sticking them on top of the cab like everyone else. fine. But yeah since it signals “HEAVY DUTY MAN TRUCK” they show up on places they don’t belong.
The FMVSS also states they should be placed as high as practical. I guess modern trucks are so tall that the hood line is now practical.
I think it can also indicate a wide trailer.
Does Torch still have the Yugo? An intermittently flickering and buzzing badge would be the chef’s kiss.
Special versions offer blinky colour changing logo menus.
On a screen.
You know damn well the majority of that grille is actually blocked off and is strictly non-functional.
I get the hate for non-physical buttons, but I really don’t get it for screens. Screens are darn useful. For Carplay, for setting vehicle options, for lots of things. It’s not distracting, like some people claim. You don’t watch movies on them, after all. If you’re old enough to drive, you shouldn’t be distracted by having a moving map on a screen.
I am with you that screens can be very useful for many things. Unfortunately too many times that has been twisted into screens are good for everything.
Yeah. I think when people say they hate screens, they mean they hate how car makers use them. Small, but significant, difference.
I would strongly agree, The issue is not the screens built into the car that are distracting, it’s the small ones people refuse to leave in their pockets while driving that are far and away the problem. The insane number of people I see in cars that I KNOW have Apple Carplay and Android Auto, but are staring down at their phone in their hand is truly insane.
well until CarPlay lets you play Wordle, what else are they supposed to do? /s
And they don’t even try to hide it! A lot of them just straightforwardly hold the phone over the steering wheel or directly in front of their eyes at head level.
I’m not anti-screen. More space to clearly layout information without having to move between screens is great as the article notes. And screens give a lot of flexibility to settings and options that are hard to capture with analog buttons.
I think what people hate, or what I hate anyway, is moving functions that are best handled by a physical button to the screen. And not just to the screen, but to a specific menu on the screen. Give me a volume knob, a button for the seat heater, and some basic HVAC controls with knobs and I’m happy.
This is it exactly. It’s not that screens are inherently bad, it’s that moving functionality that used to have a dedicated physical control to a screen is bad.
Heck, I’ve paid good money to add a screen to literally every vehicle I’ve ever owned because GPS is one of the modern wonders of the world.
I’m not anti-screen, I’m anti-bad-interior-design.
I’ll die on this hill. I freaking hate car screens. Its not because they are “distracting”. Its because its an annoying lightsource that often doesn’t dim well enough for me to not be annoyed. Its because they look cheap and low effort. Its because I associate them with the worst interior design ideas ever built. Its because I love cars because they are machines, not computers, so give me back my mechanical parts. I would be in to televisions if I cared about the size of your screen. Its because screens removed the standardization of the stereo industry, upending one of the fun bits of car modification completely.
Screens literally provide me with zero new benefits that are of importance to me. I have yet to use a built in car screen and think “gee thats so much better than how it used to be done”.
And them darn dang power windows!! I like me dem cranks!!!!
The amount of control we have over the UI and the built in features of the car, which in many cases previously reserved for the factory or dealer are now within our reach. Screens give that to us. I get the need for physical buttons my G80 has them for most everything you need them for, but I love the screen which lets me configure 100’s of small items to make the car personalized for me. I can do all of that on the screen and not on my cell phone with some stupid hacker app that I have to go on Redit to figure out what codes to put in and not brick my car.
At least they replaced the iPad thing with a horizontal center screen which fits the dash.
Meanwhile, we get a bunch of junk nobody asked for:
Fender vents (Are they even real?)
Piano Black Grille surround
Illuminated hood ornament
19 inch wheels
“AI” Infotainment
Optional (thankfully) Heated front seatbelts
Heated seatbelts, really? I’ve never heard of that.
Its never been a thing because its never been something someone has ever wanted.
But hey – Complexity for Complexity’s sake.
think of all the R&D to make those reliable and safe enough for first responders to be able to slice through. All so your passenger can freak out thinking their seatbelt is somehow catching on fire.
“All so your passenger can freak out thinking their seatbelt is somehow catching on fire.”
Well since you put it like THAT now I want it!
“No no, it’s supposed to feel like that. Doesn’t that feel nice? Isn’t it cool I paid $5K for that?!”
Right? I remember how all my friends used to joke about my BMWs and Audis that would briefly tug on the front seatbelt when you began driving. They said the car was trying to cop a feel. I can only imagine what they’d say if they thought the seatbelt was going to light their asses on fire, haha
Look at that back seat. Why the hell are the front seatbelts heated? I guess your chauffeur will be comfortable.
Maybe they are back seat controlled so you can torture your driver into doing what you want. Kind of like whipping a horse.
It’d be even better if they were heated AND electrified.