The big screen seems a distraction until you realize that almost everything is automatic - headlights, wipers, even music requests: “Play the Rolling Stones.” Voice commands are as good as your phone. The Mercedes' commands can be hit-or-miss (this is not the latest MBUX system I recently experienced in the A220 sedan) and will get better with the next generation.
Wurlitzer organ model 4150 full#
Other commands are voice-operated - “Set the cabin temperature to 72 degrees." Navigating to a destination requires only a direct command - “Navigate to Detroit Metro Airport” - rather than having to enter a full address. More information - navigation, speed limit - is available in a head-up display floating above the hood. Those buttons on the Mercedes steering wheel mean you can thumb through multiple menus without taking your hands off the wheel. It’s as if Rubens and Mondrian painted a car in the same year.īehind the divergent designs, however, both automakers have labored to make high-tech, driver-centric products. There are just two buttons on the steering wheel. A polished plank of wood spans the dash with a giant 15-inch tablet hanging in the middle. The doors are laid out with so much silverware - seat controls, Burmester speakers - that it could be an ambassador’s dinner table. The steering wheel has more buttons than a Wurlitzer organ. Lush console wood, chromed oval vents, tanned leather. The cabin of the Mercedes is like something out of Neuschwanstein Castle. Oh, these Silicon Valley engineers are clever. Slide into the battery-powered Tesla and it’s already on, having recognized your key card (assuming you didn’t summon it from its parking space via Tesla’s phone app). Push the start button and the dapper German’s turbo-4 shudders to life. The Tesla’s key is a Visa-shaped card that fits in your wallet. The Mercedes comes with a handsome, weighty doorknocker of a key. Not even a “3.”Ĭlimb inside under their panoramic skylights and the differences are even more dramatic. Out back, the Mercedes provides more information with C300 and 4MATIC badging on the trunk announcing its unique class and drivetrain. This ship’s bow carries a giant three-pointed star. The Tesla announces itself from the front with a simple “T” logo. It’s iPhone simple from sleek shoulder lines to - well, it doesn’t even have a grille, much less one with diamond studs.
From its flowing lines to its diamond-studded grille, it’s palace sculpture. But look a little closer and both cars want to take you to the same digital future.Īfter some stodgy years at the turn of the century, Mercedes' exterior design has emerged as the segment’s fashion plate. View Gallery: Henry Payne compares Mercedes C300 and Tesla Model 3Ĭredit Tesla with not just pushing the envelope, but establishing new class aspirations.
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