If not, interior will look very similar imo

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/08/23/...ior-uncovered/

 

Why are those bezels so big? That looks terrible

 

+1. I hope the bezel size goes down and possibly a shade on top of it to avoid glare.

I am glad C-class is skipping the joined twin screen set up between the instrument cluster and the infotainment displays.

Also looks like no physical controls for the A/C and heater, there seems to be a smaller screen below the infotainment screen like the Audis. Also the shifter is moving back to the center console rather than a stalk on the steering wheel.

 

Still a bit prototypish and stuff is covered up, but not a fan so far. That looks somewhat cheap. Center console is very reminiscent of Tesla's huge display in the Model S, which I'm not a fan of at all. Maybe that's what they are going for. Also not a fan of the gauge cluster sticking out like that. Much prefer how it is in Audis and the 2019+ C Class and the facelifted AMG GT. More sporty looking. Have to see what the AMG steering wheel will look like, but being able to control everything from the steering wheel with the touch pads instead of touchscreens is much better. Especially in an AMG which is sprung firmer. Trying to hit an imaginary button on a touchscreen with your hand bouncing up and down on less the smooth roads is neither a safe nor a very good experience. I really dislike this trend to all touchscreen operation. I think it's the worst trend in car history so far. It's not a smartphone! All controls should be easy and safe to operate w/o having to take one's eyes off the road, and not having to take one's hands of the steering wheel is even better. I really like how I can operate pretty much everything from the steering wheel in my 2019 C63S.

 

What's that on the right side of the steering column then (not trying to sound snarky, just asking)?

 

Good question. The stalk looks round rather than rectangular like the one we have on current C-class and hence I assumed it's probably moved (to the area which is in front of the center compartment and still covered). On first glance, it looked like there was something underneath that covering and I assumed it could be the shifter. I agree, it's probably too small a location to place the shifter and it is more towards the passenger side, so I guess it continues to stay on the steering wheel then. I guess I'm wrong then.

Another reason I felt they would move it is because the new CLA45S has the shifter back in the center console area just like the GT and the GT 4-door cars. EDIT: It looks like I was mistaken about the CLA45S as well, it has the shifter stalk in the steering column, and just has a hand-rest in front of the center compartment.

 

The steering column-mounted selector definitely took a while to get used to. Feels a bit "dainty." With how many switches and buttons these cars have now, I guess the "analog" gear selector wold be a bit of an anachronism inside the cabin.

I do like the look and the feel of the BMW M gear selectors (the M-DCT selector, in particular).

 

Yikes that's terrible.

 

‘Hey Mercedes’ will be capable of handling all the touch screen functions so it should not
be a problem for the driver. I don’t like the setup though too busy as it is now.
I Prefer facelift C setup.

 

Voice input is a great input method for things that go beyond a simple button. Classic example is entering a navigation destination, or even things like adjusting the passenger seat heating if they got out w/o turning it down since the controls are hard to reach from the driver's seat. But it's a poor alternative to simple functions that have dedicated easy to reach physical controls currently. For example, isn't it much faster and simpler to put the car say in S+ by quickly turning the drive mode selector knob on the steering wheel vs. "Hey Mercedes....How can I help you....Put the car in Sport Plus....Setting Dynamic Select to Sport Plus". Takes like 10 times as long. Or lowering the temperature by one degree takes like one or two clicks (depending on degrees F or C) of an easy reachable physical button with natural haptic feedback vs "Hey Mercedes....How can I help you....Lower the temperature by one degree....Setting the temperature to X degrees". Not to mention that most voice control systems struggle if you have passengers talking in the background.

I don't see voice control as an effective input method in lieu of today's buttons. Somehow car manufacturers think it's the best since sliced bread. Audi has recently gone touchscreen only in their newest models. They know it's so distracting that most touchscreen functions are actually locked out while the car is moving and the only way to perform these functions is via voice control. You can only hope that there is not too much background noise so it understands what you want. How is this better? Give me touchscreen as an additional input method as it is currently done with MBUX for when I'm stationary or for easier operation of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but don't take away the physical controls. It's a bad move.

 

Longer perhaps but safer under certain circumstances . Unfortunately that’s were we are heading.

 

That's debatable. There's been a study (I need to find it again), where they determined that talking to a machine, no matter how good the voice recognition is takes so much concentration for some people that they miss what's going on around them.

 

Another reason I feel why manufacturers focus on Touch based UI is that the User Experience Designers feel that they can represent better UI interfaces and navigation between screens that is (slightly) harder when you want the UI to be also navigable and usable using non-Touch (aka Rotary) controllers.

When it comes to cars, you have to make some trade-off between distraction-free UI operation and better UI interface/elements (that requires a touch screen to work). Voice based UI helps with the distraction part but doesn't solve the better UI interface.

Voice recognition itself has improved vastly over the last five years when you look at devices from Google and Amazon (Apple is still lacking quite a bit). These devices can understand far variety of accents, languages and correct minor/common errors automatically. However the voice recognition models used by the car manufacturers are not on-par with those (unless they license it from Google/Amazon) and have a lot to catch up. In addition, it takes longer to do the same thing. For me, that's usually the main pain point.

I too agree with having multiple types of inputs (i.e. both touch and non-touch based + voice based). You get to use the type you prefer. For example, with MY19 C63 - I prefer using the center console controller for navigating the infotainment during casual driving but when I want both hands to be on the steering, I can use the steering wheel touchpads. However, I solely use the Drive mode selector on the steering wheel for changing the modes, since it's lesser clicks/keypresses.

The audience is unfortunately broad, and I feel myself (and many others who replied in this thread) are left in the minority. Car manufacturers unfortunately make decisions favoring the majority. The majority (seem to) want touchscreens and voice based UI.

 

Numerous studies have shown increased accidents when people take phone calls via hands free. Just the act of listening to a phone call reduces safety while driving. I don't like looking at other screens while driving. Buttons can be used without looking at them. Too much screen based interactions in today's cars for my taste. It looks great, but I should be able to see everything I need in front of me, and be able to do things on the steering wheel if possible with simple interactions. Buttons/Switches are much safer.

That's not the directions we are headed though. Maybe with all cars having automatic sensors to stop cars, this will prevent us from hurting each other with these distractions they are putting into cars. Thus, they build silly UI's which put us in bad situations, but the autonomous stuff saves us.

 

Im personally a big fan of the stalk type gear selector. Cleans up the center console and actually works pretty well when you get used to it. I don’t miss a big chunky knob that wastes space on center console that could be used for storage or other controls. Simple and clean.