rbrylaw

I am still in the camp which says a touchscreen has no place in an automobile. I'm actually sorry to Mercedes finally acquiesce to bring a touchscreen to MB cars.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...m-its-vehicles

2012 merc amg

Agree, I think that's one reason I see so many crazy accidents up and down I75 is driver inattention. To me those huge screens in the Teslas are super dangerous. I think all mfg's ought to do away with touch screens.

rbrylaw

Holding a phone behind the wheel of a moving car should be illegal in all states and come with a HEFTY fine as well. I've been rear-ended twice by a driver distracted by their phone. I'm all for personal liberty and choice, but NOT when that choice puts my safety at risk.

ua549

This should happen more often. New York mayor Bill de Blasio ordered his police detail to pull over texting driver.

rbrylaw

Absolutely it should. I'm appalled at how many drivers I see driving and tapping the screens of their phones while driving. Even more surprising is how many people, with modern cars and let's face it, modern cars all have Bluetooth these days, but they're still holding a damn phone to their ear with one hand, and steering with the other hand. Grumpy old man old! Harumph!

petee1997

Young people are more apt to be using their phones in their cars as opposed to "grumpy old men". The reason you see more old men is because you live in god's waiting room.

rbrylaw

Um, I don't recall saying anything about seeing more older men. And Tampa, by the way, has a very young median age. My reference to being a grumpy old man was more jest than having anything to do with age demographics.

nycebo

Wait, diddid I just read somebody rag on Tampa? It's go time!

Mercedes should definitely take a lesson from Mazda. I think automakers go with a touchscreen for the cool factor but it lacks the practical factor.

rbrylaw

For some reason, people think Florida will sink with old people. Sure, there are areas in the state where the median age is older. But Tampa, isn't one of those places.

Median age in Tampa: 36.2
Median age in NYC: 36.2

Harumph!

E300-18

2012 merc amg

stephos

Touchscreen can only be operated safely whilst stationary in my opinion.

When driving my wife's car whose only input method is touch, I find it almost impossible to steady my finger to touch a specific point without having to keep my eyes firmly on the target. (Don't even get me started on fingerprints!)

So, give us a touchscreen if you must, but do not take away an alternate method of input that is safer to use on the move.

rustybear3

That's the problem. They took away the rotary dial and leaves you only the touchpad. I had the touchscreen in my last car, Cadillac ATS and absolutely hated it! Constant fingerprint magnet. I can't imagine the additional uneccessary hours spend wiping it down over and over.

On top of it all, it is so dangerous to use while driving! Definitely, stationary use only. Glad I got my car before they implemented them.

Cao Black

A divergent view...

Hmmm, I'm betting the average age on the W213 forum is significantly above 36.2 years. That may explain the anti-touch bias. I use touch on my truck's SYNC 3 system all the time. It works well and I like it. I have never crashed. It's not as if I'm constantly having to reach over and touch the screen. Some "touching" might be done before ever putting the vehicle in motion, and some "remote touching" can be done using the steering wheel controls. Fingerprints? That's another story.

The COMAND wheel works well, once you get used to it and Mercedes menus. I would be happy to carry on with it, but they are eliminating it in favor of the touch pad. Show of hands, how many even use the current touch pad, especially while driving? In fairness, the new touch pad might be a huge improvement over the current version, but it seems to me you have to take your eyes off the road to use either the pad or screen.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the touch screen MBUX system, especially the improved voice functions. In the long run you may not have to touch anything...just talk to it.

ua549

I have disabled the touchpad. Mostly I use voice commands even when stopped.

nycebo

Whoa, I would never have guessed that, even being as much a fan of TPA as I am. Solid. Sadly, I'm on the north side of those figures now and widening the spread daily. Hrmpf.

nycebo

I think we are coming at the same conclusion from two different approaches. I'm against the touchscreen because I have to 1. take my eyes of the road to focus on the screen, 2. lean forward to touch the screen, and 3. focus to keep my finger from bouncing around as a result of bumps. I'm not averse to a touchpad, per se (in contrast to the touchscreen) but I like the wheel because I can just flick it. Maybe I'm just used to the wheel after 5 years with it. I'll reenable the touchpad tonight (yes, it's disabled) and see if I get used to it over the next week or two.

thefisch

I admire the stance on taking out touchscreens but this will hardly make a difference as the real issue is other distractions in the car like the phone everyone seems to be looking down at. To be honest, until I got a car with attention assist, I didn't think that I was part of the problem. But I have gotten the wake up call from attention assist on more than one occasion due to using my phone just to view a map for directions. Unfortunately, that only engages after driving a certain speed for a certain time. So I've tried to be better about not using my phone.

But even without checking my phone while driving, I didn't realize how much there is to pay attention to in my non-touchscreen W212 until I did a 7 hour solo drive in a 20 year Volvo. Honestly, it was refreshing to be in a simple car by today's standards without all the bells and whistles.

ua549

When I selected the W213 over the BMW 5 Series, the deciding factor was the BMW touch screen that I couldn't reach from my normal driving position even when stopped. The lack of a digital instrument cluster for the early 2018 model year clinched it. Hopefully MB will offer non-touch screen alternatives for the upcoming models. Otherwise, hasta la muerte.

E300-18