Hey! It’s all Me, Me, Me with new Mercs

Hey, Mercedes! On the surface, it sounds pretty rude – I can’t see anyone opening OnStar by shouting ‘Oi, Opel!’, but that’s how you awaken the voice command system in the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class and CLS.

Connectivity and hands-free functionality are big selling points in cars nowadays, and while they have been around for a while, the new Mercedes Me system takes things just a little further.

All you have to do is ask. ‘Hey, Mercedes – turn on the heated seats.’ It’s done. ‘Hey, Mercedes! Turn on the reading lights.’ No problem. ‘Hey Mercedes! Show me restaurants nearby.’ That took a little longer, but you get the gist.

With Apple CarPlay on most of the cars I drive, it’s years since I’ve made a phone call by actually selecting a number from my handset (illegal too, let’s not forget) – I just get Siri to do it. When a text drops, she reads it to me and, if I want to, I dictate a response text back, all without taking my eyes off the road.

That, of course, is not the only way connectivity works. Many cars now come with SIM-card slots that deliver wifi for up to eight devices, very handy for me when I’m working and need to send emails off my iPad, which is a wifi-only model (and, yes, of course I pull in).

For your children, it means they can continue to watch streaming video, or play games against someone on the far side of the world, even while on the move.

Many of these services also incorporate emergency alert systems, so that if you end up in a ditch, the car itself alerts first responders and gives an exact grid reference so they can find you.

Not that you’d want your new AClass or CLS to end up like that. I drove both earlier this week and they’re cracking cars, with prices starting at €31,600 and €64,805 respectively (the latter compares with a base price of €78,150 for Audi A7).

With the level of refinement on offer, I think a polite ‘excuse me, Mercedes’ might just be a little more appropriate than ‘hey!’