It’s a big weekend for posh battery-powered crossovers. BMW has already shown off the new electric iX3, and just days after being shown to the world, it’s going to meet its biggest rival. Mercedes-Benz is unveiling the electric GLC with EQ Technology crossover at IAA Munich this weekend, and it’s released a sneak peek of the cabin highlighting the presence of a screen bigger than my television.
We’re talking about a single display spanning nearly the entire dashboard, clocking in at 39.1 inches. Mercedes-Benz will proudly tell you that it’s the largest infotainment screen it’s ever put in a car, and it’s hard to deny that this setup is, as the Brits say, chuffing massive.
On it, you’ll find the same sort of MB.OS software seen in the new CLA, which means that all of your climate controls beyond temperature and defrost are buried in a sub-menu, and that ChatGPT-4o is on board in case you want to try breaking a chatbot by asking it to translate the script of “The Bee Movie” into Aramaic, then into Cantonese, then into Hungarian, then into Latin, and then back into English, then read it back to you.
Alright, admittedly, there are some good things going on here. Firstly, having everything be one big screen is far more sophisticated than laying three screens under one sheet of glass. Secondly, there doesn’t appear to be a giant bead of ambient lighting running across the top of the dashboard, which should be a bare-minimum thing but you never know with Mercedes these days. Third, those center HVAC vents are quite good, yeah? Squared-off and fluted like minute markers on a watch dial, there’s something chic going on that elevates them above MB’s more commonly used illuminated bunghole HVAC vents.
However, the biggest deal with the cabin of the new Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology isn’t the ridiculous display or the new air vents, or even four proper window switches unlike the new CLA. Instead, I’m most excited about this cabin addressing a major pet peeve of Mercedes-Benz interiors. See what’s on the steering wheel? A proper scroll wheel for audio volume, and there’s one in the console too. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but for anyone who’s spent time in a Mercedes-Benz with the current version of MBUX, it is.
That’s because if you hop in a C-Class or GLC or E-Class, you won’t just find that all the steering wheel controls are capacitive touch, you’ll also find a capacitive touch slider for audio volume on the console that just doesn’t operate with precision. The quick, short sort of slide that should bring the volume up from near-zero to a modest amount results in your neighbors listening to Future too, and that’s just not a good look.
So, welcome back, physical volume controls. Cadillac brought them back years ago, Volkswagen’s just brought them back, and now it’s time that Mercedes-Benz brought them back. Anyway, expect to see the rest of the GLC with EQ Technology, an electric compact luxury crossover with a naming scheme like a home stereo, to debut on Sunday.
Top graphic image: Mercedes-Benz
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“I love knob” has a different meaning in British English…
If you love your knob they respond well to a little polishing.
I needn’t explain my opinions on this. Hate it, terrible for all the reasons, etc.
But what does “ChatGPT-4o is on board” mean?
Is there a locally-installed computer system running it? If so, is that separate from the infotainment and other systems?
Or does it just have access to the cloud/datacenter-based service?
If it is a connected service rather than local hardware, why ChatGPT-4o?
It seems OpenAI tried to remove access to it (something about “too much choice confuses users”, supposedly), so if it’s just connecting to OpenAI’s service, it’s weird to specify a model OpenAI wanted to depreciate.
Is it because the car’s client software is meant to work with that specific version?
I guess there’s gotta be some integration with the car to let it control systems like climate control, help you find products and services relevant to your interests nearby, and scream in simulated pain when the giant continuous display panel inevitably breaks.
Will it be updated to use the newest GPT later? Paid upgrade? Future model years only?
It means they have yet another reason to collect your data for resale.
As a driver the only screen that big you should be looking at is the windscreen. Also, what is this going to be like if you’re driving at night. The tiny 6inch screen in my car with a cowl over it pisses me off enough at night.
Which segways nicely into saying thank you for the Night Panel feature or this website now, chefs kiss right there!
Dear automakers,
You get no credit for doing the absolute bare minimum (i.e. a volume knob). Especially if you have important climate controls on a touchscreen. Which this does.
F-off with this technodystopian bullshit.
Sincerely,
Your tech-exhausted customers.
A potent analogy.
I know it won’t necessarily feel this way for most of the readers here who haven’t seen much of notoriously generic Chinese EV interiors, but this Merc definitely feels like one of them. The only minor differentiators are the continuous full width screen (many Chinese cars now use very fancy AR-HUDs with a slender gauge cluster screen), the not very unique air vents, seat adjustment on the doors, and the cupholders that are vertically oriented for some reason which blocks off space that could be used for something else.
This could either mean that they’ll get better sales in China from the seemingly favored setup, or worse sales because the many competitors have better a implementation at a lower price.
Looks like a nice enough place to sit.
The screen should be used to project the area in front of the car obstructed by the dash, to give the illusion of driving a car where the windshield extends downward. I find it strange that you’d be looking out into a landscape, only to have what appears to be a separate desktop wallpaper landscape directly underneath it.
Thanks – I hate it.
Because that’s not a knob – it’s a thumbwheel.
I have a thumbwheel on my steering wheel now and every once in a while I accidentally bump it while making turns. Fortunately mine just changes the selected gauge cluster display, but if it were a volume wheel I could easily see eardrum damage happening. 🙂
The 1969 Mercedes-Benz 220 diesel I took my driving test in had the windshield wipers on the turn signal stalk, along with some other things like high-low beam and “optical horn”, but I kept turning the wipers on when signaling for a turn. That, and the test guy thinking I was always in the wrong gear ( it was a diesel, they always sound that way ) was deemed reason to fail the test.
I came back with an old Maserati convertible, and first gear was good for 65 miles an hour, so I just left it in first. I think reverse was good for 65 too, but I never tried that. I passed, I think they didn’t want to se me again.
I don’t see the console volume knob
No one else does either. Move along, Kid.
I think it looks quite good, but why so many manufacturers insist on having high-gloss black plastic on their steering wheels is beyond me. It’s the only part of the car your hands are touching 100% of the time – I get it looks cool in photos, but it ends up a greasy mess after only one Big Buford. It should last at least 3 Big Bufords before looking that bad.
I have one of these. Fingerprints on the steering wheel aren’t that noticable on such a small area as compared with a big touchscreen or dash trim. They’re kind of stuck using black so that there is good contrast with icons to read easily while driving. Which leaves you with a matte or glossy finish. Matte plastic is more present on lower-end cars think Chevy/Toyota. So that leaves you with gloss black.
Just commenting to appreciate the top shot, despite the word Knob not actually being in the body of the article at all. The joke was too good to pass up, and I respect the commitment to always having the perfect top shot, 10/10 no notes.
But does he keep it polished?
Eh, I love lamp.
Nice hed … I mean top shot.