Top global carmaker Mercedes is relying more on technology than design while upgrading its latest version. Mercedes Benz with the new C-Class has jacked up its offering with not just plush interiors but the two hugely impressive screens.
The latest offerings greet you with a cascading 11.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is in portrait mode. Powering the all-new infotainment screen is the in-house developed MBUX platform.
There's support for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — it's a much-needed feature as most other cars offer wired support. While most people will opt to use Google Maps — the car has its own ‘Mercedes navigation system', which is fairly accurate.
The new C-Class also gets a fingerprint scanner which can be used for you to login with your profile. In the C-Class, as many as seven user profiles can be created and customized. The fingerprint scanner works fine but what impresses you the most is the level of customization the user profiles offer.
Once you key in your details, including height, the steering wheel, and the seat is adjusted accordingly. The next time you log in the steering wheel and seat will automatically adjust as per your profile. It is really impressive and has to be experienced to see how good it actually is. Not just that, it will also remember ambient light colours, and temperature as well.
In case you don't want to register your fingerprint, you can always resort to voice commands. Just say “Hey Mercedes” and your voice will be recognized and your profile gets activated. The voice recognition system in our experience was a bit of a hit and miss.
The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster also has a lot going but that's been a standard for all Mercedes cars in the last couple of years. What's different is the size as Mercedes says it is the largest one offered in the segment.
Something that was limited for the uber-luxurious Maybach-S and the S-class is now available in the C-Class as well — the Car-to-X communication system. The Car-to-X technology can be described — or rather Mercedes described it as — a social network of cars. What it does is that it can capture potholes, speed bumps, slippery roads, heavy rain, fog conditions, vehicle accidents and also allows general warning manual triggers for road safety hazards.
It then can further notify all other connected Mercedes-Benz cars of hazards in the vicinity. How it works? It works with cloud-based Mercedes connect technology. Other cars get notified via the Mercedes-Benz cloud on the navigation system. Drivers get visual as well as audio alerts.
