Merc techs it too far
Afew days after driving this Mercedes-benz E-class estate I was in a virtual round table conference with the boss of Merc passenger cars.
We were meant to be asking questions about the upcoming new C-class but I took the opportunity to have a good old rant.
I’ve said for years that if I had to own just one car for the rest of my life, that had to do all jobs, it would be an E-class estate. We owned one years ago and I still regret selling even though we don’t need such a big car. What’s my problem?
The new car has been spoilt by an overcomplicated control system.
This E-class is not totally new, it’s a facelift. To my eyes the styling hasn’t dated at all and there was no real reason to fiddle with it. But that’s not how car companies work.
There’s much new under the skin and so Mercedes needed to flag up this car as being different. At the front, LED lamps are now standard, the grille has been redesigned and so has the bumper; at the back there are new tail lights.
Inside the changes are more significant because the refreshed E-class gets Merc’s MBUX infotainment system. In a lowly spec version this means a pair of 10.25in screens and in our top spec AMG
Line Night Edition Premium Plus (I should have had a moan about overlong model names while I was about it) a pair of 12.3in screens.
There’s also a new steering wheel design and here’s where my issues start. This four spoke wheel is loaded with capacitive touch controls that aren’t brilliant to use.
My other gripe is with the touchpad on the centre console that you can also use to control the system. It’s easy to drag a sleeve across this which will result in various annoyances including accidentally changing radio station.
Also, if you’ve got your phone plugged into the centre console (hooking up to Apple Carplay isn’t wireless) it’s easy for the lead to brush across the touchpad too.
The man from Mercedes understood my point but defended the over-complication by pointing out that Chinese customers (who are probably the most important and plentiful) like a lot of tech as opposed, he admitted, to the average European customer. Eventually, I suppose, if this was my car for life I would eventually get used to the human machine interface issues.
The rest of the car is fantastic. Our test car is fitted with Mercedes’ 3.0-litre straight-six diesel engine. It might be the unfashionable option these days but this 326bhp unit is silky smooth, almost silent at speed and even on start up, and will return up to 40mpg. It’s connected to the company’s excellent nine-speed automatic gearbox and 4Matic four-wheel drive system. A fast car, too, with 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds.
Add to all this a luggage area that holds 640 litres, which outdoes all rivals, and a whopping 1,820 litres with the rear seats folded down. At £62,165 our test car is pretty expensive but if you kept this car for as long as it will last then the price will eventually be forgotten.
It’s an interesting subject, this overcomplication of cars. I’m a mad-keen biker and I see the same thing happening in the motorcycle world. However, there’s a lot of noise from riders who want things kept more simple and straightforward to use. After all, being distracted by fiddling with a screen’s controls is even more dangerous on a bike.
SNOOKER legend Stephen Hendry is amazed old sparring partners Ronnie O’sullivan and John Higgins are still at the top of the green-baize game.
The Rocket clinched his sixth World Championship last season, just one behind Hendry’s record haul of seven.
And the Scot’s compatriot Higgins ended a barren threeyear ranking title drought by winning last week’s Players Championship.
Hendry, 52, retired back in 2012 but made a comeback at this week’s Gibraltar
Open, two days after Higgins hammered O’sullivan, both 45, 10-3 in a showcase final.
He said: “When I retired I probably wouldn’t have thought Ronnie and John would still be at the very top of the game now.
“I would have certainly have said they would be around the top eight or so.
“All the players who have joined the ranks, the young players and the Chinese players, and these guys are head and shoulders above the rest – Judd Trump apart.
“They’ve just proved how good they are, it’s amazing to see and every credit to them.”
Hendry’s eagerly anticipated comeback ended in a 4-1 defeat to another of his good pals, Matt Selt.
But he rolled back the years with a vintage break of 107 in his only frame win.
Hendry’s ultimate goal is to once again walk down the famous Crucible steps with cue in hand, but he’s not getting ahead of himself despite showing glimpses of his undoubted class during the match against Selt.
He added: “I’ve always tried to keep expectations low about the comeback, it’s not a full-time comeback.
“I want to enjoy the buzz and hopefully next season we can get back to normal with fans in venues again.
“If my game continues to improve then I’ll see what happens in the future.
‘‘It’s not about winning eight world titles. I’m coming back to play in arenas and enjoy the buzz of competing.”