synergize

For 2018 you can get Apple CarPlay/AA but not with Comand. After doing some research Apple CarPlay just mimics what App your using on your cellphone (only certain Apps apply) on a smaller screen in the car, what good is this? Wouldn't Comand be better? Comand is about $2200 and CarPlay/AA is about $350. It sounds like Apple Carplay is a waste of time! WTF?

Options from MB Order Brochure:

868 Smartphone Integration Package - Delayed Until 09/17 Production Not available with Multimedia Package (320)
14U – Smartphone Integration  16U - Apple CarPlayTM
17U – Android Auto
All Models



320 Multimedia Package
Not available with Smartphone Integration Package (868)
531 – COMAND navigation
448 – Touchpad
8.4” Hi-resolution color screen  502 – Map Updates for 3 Years

What would you get?

FastE

I have a 2017, so it wasn't an option for me... but what would I get?

I use my iPhone for all my Music. When the connection works between command and my iPhone I love it - but the problem is it is glitchy. I don;t really blame the car - because a reboot of my iphone usually solves it.

I just used CarPlay in a rental. It really is very nice, but I am not excited. If you love Apple Maps and have good cellular range where you are then all is good.

I prefer Waze, and it does not come up in CarPlay. nor does Google Maps. Nor does anything other than Phone, Music, Apple Maps, and Messages.

Where I was renting had limited reception and I found it REALLY slowed down everything. If that is a possible scenario - skip it. It was really annoying because I couldn;t just run music and use the cars native Nav system - you had both, or neither.

Given the choice... I like what I have (Command). CarPlay needs more Apps or it will become a useless option.

hatata

CarPlay is still so far off from being an essential add-on. Not to mention you get a smaller screen which makes it a no no for me. Multi Tasking is awful with Car Play and only one piece of information can be displayed at one time.

Command is clunky and quirky but once I became accustomed to it and set some good custom voice commands for common tasks I usually do while driving it does all I need it to do. I like that the cars navigation shows up in my dash as well when I am in a very unfamiliar area.

jatt143

I just ordered my C43 and got the apple car play / Android auto option. Now I'm thinking about switching to command.

synergize

From the posts above, it does sound like the way to go? What kind of delivery time are they giving you, 3 months or longer? Are you getting the coupe or sedan?

jatt143

Yea 3 months, Sedan

FastE

I am in a GM with CarPlay today. My opinion remains the same. I was happy I could disconnect the CarPlay so I could just use the GM Music app and run Waze on my phone. Not a good sign.

Good luck. To each their own - but I prefer Command.

jatt143

I'm a big fan of android auto. I have used in once on rental Navigator SUV and didn't find any issues with it ( Android auto now has Waze ). So I went ahead and installed an Alpine android auto radio in my SUV. after doing some reading looks like no one has had the android auto on their benzh yet.

unr1

rent a car with carplay... you'll see it's overrated.

jatt143

jackrand2000

The photo shown is the GARMIN nav, not CarPlay. Rental car places don't spend the money on Command, and they prefer the GARMIN SD card (instead of CarPlay) because they can charge you for GPS that way. If they put in CarPlay they can't disable it and not charge you.

jackrand2000

I have not used COMMAND NAV much, only the little bit on a test drive and sitting in the lot. Rental cars never have Command or Carplay, only Garmin (vis the SD Slot). My past experiences with auto nav systems is the maps don't give as good of directions than Google. From reading posts, different people have different experiences with this. Perhaps it's regional. A concern with CarPlay is, the auto industry does not move at the speed of technology companies. I just bought a GLC300 with CarPlay and am having some random problems. If these turn out to be Mercedes bugs, I am concerned about the speed at which Mercedes will fix the problems. Generally, these integrated systems are complicated and there can be some finger pointing about where the real problem is. (Is it CarPlay or is it COMMAND?).

Things I like about CarPlay:

1. SIRI is easy to use, familiar and works pretty well. Great for making calls, changing play lists and sending text messages. All of these have improved a lot in the last couple of releases. I remember a couple years ago having unpleasant experiences with CarPlay. I have struggled learning auto nav system voice commands in the past. When I demo'd COMMAND at the dealership, the few voice commands both I and salesperson gave didn't work (failed to understand).

2. Perhaps it's regional, but in my experience, Google Maps & Waze are superior to all for providing good directions that get you there the quickest. Apple maps has improved a lot and in my opinion also better than any of the car nav systems. BTW Apple Maps via CarPlay is much better than Apple Maps on the phone. There is much more information displayed.

3. It will evolve and improve every year. COMMAND likely will not. But this invites opportunities for problems with new versions of CarPlay not playing nice with COMMAND.

Things I don't like about Mercedes' implementation of CarPlay:

1. When CarPlay is active, the 2nd usb port is not accessible to listen to music via COMMAND. This is unfortunate. I prefer to leave an ipod plugged in so that the last play list is still in the same shuffle. If I close itunes on my phone then in carplay I have to resellect the playlist and although shuffled, the shuffle is always the same, so I end up hearing music I recently listened to instead of the rest of the playlist I have not listened to.

2. In the GLC300 there are no "next/prev" button directly linked to music playing. So when apple maps is on the screen, and I am listing to a playlist from the phone, if I want to skip the song I have to press MEDIA, may need to turn the dial depending on what is highlighted, push dial right for next song, press NAV button to get the nav back on the screen. Best case it's a button push and then a dial push, which is not efficient and requires taking eyes off road. In the Audi, there are "next/prev" buttons on the steering wheel dedicated to the music source, so what ever music source is playing, those always work. Mercedes should adopt that strategy.

3. If Apple Maps in on the screen, and I navigate to MEDIA on the driver's console, the screen changes to match. I was hoping I could control music (next/prev) from the driver's console while Apple Maps is on the screen.

4. Mercedes does not support CarPlay via bluetooth like BMW does. Although the battery drain from running AppleMaps necessitates charging, we now have wireless charging, so Bluetooth + wireless charging would allow one to just get in the car, set the car on the charging pad and everything would work.

Things I don't like about Apple CarPlay that are out of Mercedes control:
1. The car screen and the phone screen stay synchronized. So let's say apple maps is on the screen. We want to locate the nearest starbucks on the route. Apple maps doesn't do that. So the passenger navigates on the phone to Google maps. At that point the car screen changes to the carplay menu since google maps is not one of the CarPlay apps. Basically anything you do on the phone changes the car screen to match if it's a supported app, and vice versa. The iphone is a multitasking OS. I don't think they had to do it this way.

2. No google maps or waze

3. When a play list is playing, I would like to see the album artwork on the screen. This screen is so boring, very un-apple. If listening to a playlist from an ipod using COMMAND (while CarPlay is not active of course), that display includes artwork and is nice.

CarPlay problems:
I have had this car for only a few days, and hope I can find solutions to these problems. I can't express how upsetting it is to have a brand new car and have problems with the infotainment system in the first days:

1. Volume randomly does not work to control music volume when car play is the source. However volume for navigation directions does work. Immediately following a Nav instruction, if I adjust the nav volume and keep moving the wheel, when the nav volume window expires if I am moving the volume wheel it will very briefly adjust the music volume, but then stops working. I have had this experience with 2 different phones. I have rebooted phones, and deleted and connected the phones to the car. The problem persists.

2. Carplay stops working. Last night, Apple Maps was on the screen and we were listening to a playlist. Suddenly Apple Maps disappeared and the screen displays a message that there is no CarPlay device connected, but the music was still playing from the phone. I tried unplugging the phone, rebooting the phone, turning the stereo off/on, and nothing I did would get COMMAND to start CarPlay again. COMMAND only saw my phone now as an ipod (still plugged into the correct usb port).

Standingoten

ErikM

I have a question or 2 for those with Carplay and have a C43.. When the iPhone is connected to the car via Bluetooth can one hear Google Maps directions? Does the C43 have Bluetooth Audio streaming for music? and lastly can one have an Ipod hooked up to a USB port and still have Bluetooth active?

susman@eurogermantown.com

I think if you have Android you'd be better off with that.. waze, google maps, better interface... but at the same time its so much cheaper also

agchenry

I have the multimedia package and I was wondering for those that have carplay can you send2benz addresses to vehicle's gps using MercedesMe? Or would that be only for those with the big screen? To me, that is the one thing I use the most(send2benz)

susman@eurogermantown.com

no, send2benz does not work with carplay or AA... but since the phone is with you , you can put the address in and when you get in the car and plug in , it will have the address in there already

mfeinst

Hi all, first post here -- I have a 2018 C43 on order with the Smartphone Integration Package and just wanted to shed some light on why I went with that over the COMAND/Multimedia Package.

1. Sound Quality. Bluetooth audio leaves a lot to be desired, and the sound coming from a Lightning cable on an iPhone will be vastly superior. I actually think a lot of why people don't like the Burmester is because they're using subpar audio streams to judge the quality of the sound system.

2. Being able to use Siri from the steering wheel is a huge plus. Rather than having to "retrain" the COMAND system to do what I want, I already have all of my preferences, lifestyle, etc.. on the iPhone, so why reinvent the wheel (no pun intended)? I actually prefer Apple Maps (in the minority here, I know), and I like being able to access Spotify, Audible, TuneIn Radio, and my locally stored music via the same device.

3. I didn't want the touchpad in the center console. Seems redundant compared to the knob that's already there and looks cluttered.

4. It goes without saying, the main purpose of CarPlay is to integrate the phone and messaging functions seamlessly into the car. I have an aftermarket headunit in my current car with CarPlay, and I couldn't imagine not having it.

Hope that provides some insight from the other end of the field.

Geremy