Ok, I have a 2015 SL-400. My girlfriend just picked up a used 2013 SLK and both have the same command system.

Honestly, this system is really terrible.

I had a 2008 ISF and the Lexus system some 7 years ago, actually worked well. You could say, "Call Susan Jones" and it would. You could so, "Show restaurant icons" and it did. You could even say, "I'm hungry" or "I need gas" and it would put the right POI's up.

My 2012 Lincoln MKZ, same deal. It (Microsoft Sync) actually worked. You could say, "Phone" then "call bob smith" and it did - reliably. You could say, "Search POI by name" and it generally, did.

These two systems both had good voice recognition and they had good logical layout. The Lexus system you could say a number of commands from any screen and it just worked. The Sync system in the Lincoln, was a little more fussy about what mode it was in.

I'll be damned if I can get the Mercedes system in my 2015 SL400 to even get close to what I want it to do. I have yet to get it call anyone by name. I have only on rare occasion, gotten it to recognize a street name. I have yet to get it to recognize a street by spelling it. It seems completely unable to search POI's by name - which is truly bizarre.

The CPU seems quite snappy, the GPS data is good and the maps greatly detailed, even extravagantly so.

The problem is two fold, first, it simply has voice recognition that I'd expect out of a Commodore 64. To call it voice recognition - is at the very best, hopeful and much of the time, merely a fantasy. I'd say it had, "voice stimulation" meaning voice input stimulates it into some random activity, much like shaking a Magic 8-ball and asking it a question.

Second, the logical organization of the User Experience is really aggravating. In user interface design, we general like to avoid (or actually very carefully employ) something called "modality". Humans are not typically very modal - you can be driving along with the radio on the screen and hit the voice command and say, "call mom" and you expect it to work. A UX that invokes a great deal of modality will only allow certain commands based on the operating mode at the moment. In which case, you have to tell it to exit, tell it phone to set the mode, and only then, say, "call (name) " .

But man, this thing is nearly useless while driving. It isn't a learning curve thing, it is just flat out terrible.

Sorry, the car is great, but the Mercedes Command system an utter fail.

 

I have three apps on my phone (google, s talk and s drive) that run rings around the voice command in my 2014 sl550, I love the car but as you do, hate the voice command.

 

I haven't experienced the modality issue in my 2015. I can be listening to radio or media and say "Dial name." The car will then prompt for a name and I simply say my wife's first name and it continues. Did you do the voice training? That may help.

 

I think the entire functionality of the Audio/Nav system sucks compared to the eight year old LS460 Lexus I had. I can't even find a calender.

 

I agree with the general sentiment. The UI of the entire system is not designed for ease of use. It's as though it was designed by UNIX geeks. A User Interface should make sense to the average person without a big learning curve - it should be intuitive. Both my old BMW and Lexus 460 had better systems. It is a system that makes sense for those who think like the programmers! Ridiculous.

 

I agree, MB Command sucks, I never use it. Everything is done on my iPhone

The best telemetrics I've used was in my Prius, amazingly intuitive, never touched the manual, worked every time flawlessly

I've complained on these boards for years about MB telemetrics. It's the big disappointment in MB, especially for the price of these cars. When I complained to my MB salesman, who has been with MB for 35 years, he explained that MB spends the majority of it's resources on safety engineering. However I nearly ran a red light one time trying to get the Command system to work, so how safe is that?

 

Well airplay is on its way to the rescue supposedly but that probably won't happen till 16. What's interesting is Apple is using Test car to record a lot more data that could mean a lot more functionality with voice commands in the future

Mercedes was one of the first manufactures that indicated they would be using it

 

I don't think CarPlay will be available with the 2016 models. MB is dragging their feet...although they blame Apple:

I just got off the phone with our factory trainer and he told me that Apple is having major issue with the car play and it is being delayed indefinitely at the moment (ETA end of 2015). Our cars are already compatible but MB will not support faulty product until it is fixed properly.

---from my salesman

 

I couldn't agree more. A $60,000 car that doesn't recognize even basic commands!!! Or, to be more precise, has the annoying habit of being perfect 1 time out of 4. So it's not like it's broken, it just sucks. I have had it back to the dealer two times. Once they 'reprogrammed it' the other time changed the rear view mirror that holds the microphones. I wouldn't mind if it was a Ford Focus. I'd expect junk.

 

Actually, I had a 2012 Lexus and found THAT system's voice command to be much worse than my 2015 C63 (W204).
For instance, with the Lexus, you couldn't dial by name unless all the names were transferred to the car first. With the MB system, you can voice dial by any name that's on your phone. I have not transferred any names into the car.

Train the software by reading the names and numbers, that will help.