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Kind of got a glimpse of the new screen setup on some videos of the 2027 GLE in camo. The surfboard is gone. I think it was a great compromise for screens. With that said, I would have liked more of a covering/binnacle feel to it like in this 2021 E class below. But it works. Pic below that is that the 2026 E class. How did we arrive at "plopping" up a tablet right above the steering wheel is okay? It's absolutely hideous. Next up, if you don't get the "passenger display" upgrade, you are left with a huge flat ugly spot that serves zero purpose. Passenger display screens are a gimmick. I had one in another car. My son tried it once. It's a complete joke and has no place in a MB.
This is my tenth MB product as I've always been a fan of the brand. They have lost their way and not to mention their luster. Luckily, I got my 2026 GLE 63 and I'm sure this will be my last MB product. They still have a few good choices (not many) left for now. I like buying at the end of a run (2021-2026) because a lot of things have been fixed.
The strange thing is that Gorden Wagener admitted not too long ago that they went overboard with the screens and that it essentially cheapened the look & feel of the Mercedes interiors. He was saying that they are going back to more buttons and more prestige, but I don't see any of that happening, and Wagener is leaving now. He's being replaced by Bastian Baudy, who is currently leading AMG design. Wondering who's brainchild the new electric AMG GT 4-door interior is. Yes, it's more driver focused, but the only physical controls in the center console are the three knobs to adjust response, agility and traction control with 9 levels. Most people will likely never use them. At least they are keeping the drive mode controls on the steering wheel, and they did recently bring back rollers to adjust the volume on the steering wheel instead of the stupid touch slider they had before.
I have seen that "tablet" main gauge display on the E-class spyshots, and I agree it looks bad.
However, here is the early GLS 2027 look inside (below), and it does not appear that the large pop-up tablet is there - perhaps there is hope that the GLE and GLS dashboards will not look too bad after all.
I am afraid the gimmicky passenger display will be common, as the Pinnacle trim will likely force you to get that 3rd display no matter what. If it is optional, I may skip it. Won't know until the DOG comes out.
Kind of got a glimpse of the new screen setup on some videos of the 2027 GLE in camo. The surfboard is gone. I think it was a great compromise for screens. With that said, I would have liked more of a covering/binnacle feel to it like in this 2021 E class below. But it works. Pic below that is that the 2026 E class. How did we arrive at "plopping" up a tablet right above the steering wheel is okay? It's absolutely hideous. Next up, if you don't get the "passenger display" upgrade, you are left with a huge flat ugly spot that serves zero purpose. Passenger display screens are a gimmick. I had one in another car. My son tried it once. It's a complete joke and has no place in a MB.
This is my tenth MB product as I've always been a fan of the brand. They have lost their way and not to mention their luster. Luckily, I got my 2026 GLE 63 and I'm sure this will be my last MB product. They still have a few good choices (not many) left for now. I like buying at the end of a run (2021-2026) because a lot of things have been fixed.
Silly gimmicks and in their words (MB): "built in camera for selfies, and you can play angry birds." Just plain ridiculous. Talk about losing the plot and making the mistake of trying to appeal to everyone instead of their customer base. Just more corporate buffoonery is all.
He looks like some techno nerd type of guy to me who will push this crap even further. Hope I'm wrong but probably not.
Maybe the bigger issue is that modern cars are just utterly boring to drive. I mean I drove manual transmissions for most of my life and still drive performance cars primarily in manual mode. My hands are busy with driving. But get into most any modern commuter car with automatic transmission or EV (MB etc. included), and the experience is that of a dull transportation conveyance. The fact that most people's driving consists of being stuck in the daily gridlock doesn't help matters. Cars have systematically gotten rid of anything that resembles actual driving enjoyment. What's left is turning the car into a gaming console. I mean even AMG is now literally talking about the gamification of the driving experience, because they have nothing else left in the electric age of cars. I used to go to the Geneva International Motor Show with my dad even before I had a license and it was exciting to see all the different cars. Go to any similar show today, and it's a sea of boring generic boxes of SUVs and crossovers. How did we get here? Everything truly exciting costs north of $400k. Back in the day you didn't have to spend money on a 500hp AMG. Driving a manual Golf GTI was exciting.
Last edited by superswiss; Mar 13, 2026 at 04:13 PM.
I noticed the huge blank passenger in my 2026 E class loaner. 100% agree with your comments on the dashboard design. However, it is not just Mercedes having tablets just sticking up and calling it a design. Like your 2021 picture, there are things to do to make the design more palatable.
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