Since the dawn of infotainment, memes have theorized when car dashboards would be entirely screen. Obviously, the Tesla Model S’ portrait-style setup accelerated things, but the arms race really took off over the past five years or so. Who will win the race? Well, here’s the interior of the incoming electric Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and not only does it look like a McDonald’s drive-thru menu, the old Mercedes-Benz 190E probably wouldn’t even recognize this thing as a descendent.
Like in the new electric GLC, everything is computer. On top trims, a massive 39.1-inch screen runs all the way from the driver’s side air vent to the passenger-side air vent. That’s a larger screen than the TV I play video games on, although it definitely isn’t a standard aspect ratio. The good news is that the brightness of the instrument cluster, center section, and passenger section can all be adjusted separately, so your retinas probably won’t get seared if your passenger decides to watch a YouTube video. The bad news is that if the screen malfunctions, there goes everything from your HVAC controls to your gauges.
If you’ve noticed a bump atop the screen, it’s there for a slightly dystopian reason. This selfie camera is also capable of being a webcam for Zoom calls when the car is parked. Does anyone driving a C-Class need to maximize shareholder value that much? Still, so long as you say no to video conference calls, the ability to snap a quick selfie with passengers sounds like a fun way to make memories, even if your phone could do it anyway.
Mind you, not every new C-Class will get the enormous screen, because most models will be equipped with lots of smaller screens. One for the gauges, one for the infotainment, and even one for the passenger, all separated by black borders. This so-called Superscreen is undoubtedly cheaper to manufacture than the large single-piece unit, but I fear how cheap all those borders will look.
Are there any physical controls? Only a modicum. A small bank on the console houses a volume scroll wheel, a drive mode selector, a hazard warning lamp switch, and three other buttons. None of which appear to be climate-related. Instead, all your climate controls and heated seats are in the screen. Mercedes-Benz still states that with this interior setup, “Analogue and digital aesthetics merge seamlessly.” Is an analog aesthetic in the room with us?
Mind you, these photos of the screen setup give us a huge clue as to the capability of the new electric C-Class. The digital dashboard displays 684 kilometers, or 425 miles of range at 90 percent state-of-charge. That should equate to 472 miles or 760 kilometers of range on a full charge, a considerable figure for a compact electric sedan. Granted, it’s possible this may align with WLTP range ratings rather than the more realistic EPA range ratings, but nothing in this class really comes close to that sort of mileage.
While that information’s likely an easter egg, Mercedes-Benz has announced a variety of available features. You’ll be able to get the new C-Class with a vegan-certified interior that replaces cow hides with some sort of plastic, ventilated seats and a backrest massage will be an option, there’s an available illuminated moonroof with oodles of etched three-pointed stars of questionable taste, and you’ll be able to choose several types of leather and wood.
That last bit is important because while a huge screen might impress Best Buy enthusiasts, there are still a lot of people who expect a luxury car to be made of nicer stuff than a regular car. Softer leathers, slabs of real veneer, nicer headlining, real metallic components. Considering visual technology ages with time rather than use, the long-term prospects of the new C-Class are looking interesting. It might make a splash now, but how will it lease in five years’ time when competitors have crisper screens with deeper blacks and cleaner user experience design?
Regardless, we can expect to see a whole lot more of the new electric Mercedes-Benz C-Class on April 20, when the full thing’s unveiled in Korea. If the GLC’s any indication, expect an enormous grille and questionable star-shaped elements in the lights. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be looking at W204 C 63 AMGs.
Top graphic images: Mercedes-Benz; McDonalds
They make it look like a space ship.. then they give it the most wimpy, high pitched running sound… PLEASE – make the EV sound like a 100-ton pyramid floating above the ground! Give me deep, bass-heavy running sound. This car is a complete failure if it doesn’t sound like alien oppressors landing on earth with all that tech.
Mercedes needs to bring back the R-class. There. I said it.
Cool, I love glare! And who’s most likely to buy MB cars, but people who are older and have more money, people for whom glare is a bigger issue.
Not a fan of touch screens but this is this is so much better than the iPad on the dash look of the SL and teslas.
Some time in the near future:
“Hey C-Class, let me get ….uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…two number 9s, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda”
Response: “Now playing Who Let the Dogs Out by the Baja Men, on repeat.”
The GLE/GLS showed off the three-screen “Superscreen” in press pics, and yep, it looks stupid and ugly.
This won’t age well.
We added a big screen!
-Won’t the drivers get disctracted?
We’ll add more driver assists so they can pay less attention to the road!
-Great, that means more screens!
Awesome, we’ll add more driver assisstance!
-BIGGER SCREENS!
This ouroboros of suck that car design has been in for the last decade or so has been amazingly terrible
I’ve never found a screen in a car to be distracting. It’s not like you watch movies on them. It’s not like a screen is a “gee whiz wouldya look at that” thing anymore, even to small children. How would they be distracting?
Congrats, you just described the entire car, nay the entire brand.
Wow, it sucks!
MB really has lost the plot. Big screens aren’t luxury; they’re the opposite. I mentioned the other day that I had a ’26 C300 as a loaner and I found it tacky. I’ll take my ’19 with its “tablet tacked to the dash” over this garbage every time.
Living the dream in my 2010 with double row timing chain under-stressed V6 , made in Germany , last year before start/stop. A return to the old classic build and style they were respected for. I avoid the years that got Chrysler stink on them, and won’t own a “connected” car. Clouds are for shouting at, not connecting to.
Cant wait for Mercedes-Benz to sent out a letter like BYD about the photoshop, well, send it because this is getting out of control. Soon we will have more screen than windshield.
My reaction when I go from my Blazer EV huge screen to my Volt or even my Mustang with single din radio, oh my eyes can rest. I sit 8 hours per day at work with 3 monitors, a phone to look for notifications and messages, a rear mirror that is a camera also. This is just pushing me to go the opposite way when it comes to car screens. I dont want them anymore.
“Aw, it’s not for you. It’s more of a Shelbyville idea”