Originally Posted by bitkahuna

after watching this review, i was struck by just how insanely complex the car is to operate, some of which the car does by 'itself' but a load of it the driver has control over through the screens and buttons and needs to know about.

i can understand spaceships or industrial machines operated by skilled people being complex. but cars? that untrained people have to drive? when do we get to the point that someone will have to be 'certified' to drive a car like this?

as most here know, i'm a 'techie' and like many new tech innovations that have come to cars over the years. but providing 'zillions' of controls isn't really intuitive. i'm ok with cars being clever and smart, but i think there needs to be a revolution in making it easier to use, maybe preset profiles for "just let me drive it" to "i'm **** retentive and want to control every setting".

there is some progress on this front though... i thought it was cool that mercedes now has left/right mirror controls where you don't have to select which mirror you're adjusting, it just 'knows' by seeing where you're looking (!). one problem even with that though is the driver may not be aware of the feature, so may not get to the adjusting because they can't see how to select a mirror. the car should probably show which mirror it's going to adjust (L / R).

Originally Posted by SW17LS

Yeah, the complexity of all the tech and how its implemented is a big issue with this car. I have not driven the car or interacted with the tech, I've seen it and sat in it, but this is an issue for a lot of people in the MBWorld forums, the other issue a lot of this new tech for the sake of tech doesn't work well. Door handles don't pop out when they're supposed to, etc. It strikes me as complexity for complexity's sake.

It took me a solid 2 months to become comfortable with all the tech in my W222, and this is on another level....and I'm 40 and very tech literate...

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

Something tells me the EQS interior might function better.

Originally Posted by SW17LS

It shouldn't be any different, except that the EQS does lack some tech compared to the S Class.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

just curious, like what (the eqs lacks vs s-class)?

Originally Posted by SW17LS

It also lacks some of the superfluous head/eye positioning options like the 3d cluster

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

Looks to me that Mercedes is trying to hard on the interior controls. . A model S seems to do the minimal much better The s class screen reminds me of the Toyota Avalon ski ramp. . Something I can’t stand with SG is all the swearing.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

I agree with others that it’s cost cutting. Using a screen to control everything is cheaper. Less parts to manufacture. Less parts to design. Less parts to ship. Less parts to assemble. Then there are warranty stuff like less parts to stock.

Originally Posted by LexWannabe

That was a lot of profanity, even by his not terribly prudish standards.

But it was consistent with his narrative about the car, and as usual, his view of the car was interesting.

Originally Posted by LexWannabe

I saw a statement by a top Mercedes executive that was an eye opener. Basically, he shamelessly boasted that Mercedes is in a hurry to go to all-electric powertrains because they're vastly cheaper to build, yet let Mercedes get away with just as high a price. So don't assume that Mercedes, $140,000 standard of the world and all that, is above cheaping out at the design stage to maximize profit..

Originally Posted by LexWannabe

Which I find easy to believe, since even before I read it in this thread, I already agreed with the assertion that touch controls are all about cost cutting hidden under a high-tech veneer. What's cheaper, numerous individual precison controls, all of which have to be designed, built, sourced and installed individually? Or one screen, one circuit board and a bunch of code that you basically only have to write once? Hyundai/Kia and Ford's obvious eagerness to go to touchscreens even before they're ready for prime time gives you your answer.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

after watching this review, i was struck by just how insanely complex the car is to operate, some of which the car does by 'itself' but a load of it the driver has control over through the screens and buttons and needs to know about.

i can understand spaceships or industrial machines operated by skilled people being complex. but cars? that untrained people have to drive? when do we get to the point that someone will have to be 'certified' to drive a car like this?

as most here know, i'm a 'techie' and like many new tech innovations that have come to cars over the years. but providing 'zillions' of controls isn't really intuitive. i'm ok with cars being clever and smart, but i think there needs to be a revolution in making it easier to use, maybe preset profiles for "just let me drive it" to "i'm **** retentive and want to control every setting".

there is some progress on this front though... i thought it was cool that mercedes now has left/right mirror controls where you don't have to select which mirror you're adjusting, it just 'knows' by seeing where you're looking (!). one problem even with that though is the driver may not be aware of the feature, so may not get to the adjusting because they can't see how to select a mirror. the car should probably show which mirror it's going to adjust (L / R).