The 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC's COMAND system feels like a tech throwback
Cars
[MUSIC]
Today we're taking a look at the technology in the 2019 Mercedes Benz GLC.
In particular, the command info-tainment system in the dashboard.
Now, the standard setup is going to be a 7-inch screen, but because we've got the upgraded navigation system, we have a larger 8.5-inch display.
And when the car is turned off this screen looks huge.
But when you turn it on.
You'll find that a lot of the tablet that sort of poking up under the dashboard.
Is just bevel around what's a reasonably sized screen for a car of this size.
It's actually pretty easy to view when you're driving.
And it stays out of your line of sight which is good.
And one of the interesting things about a command is that there's no home screen per se.
Instead, you interact with it via this bar along the top of the screen.
Now you get that bar to show up by either swiping up on this touch pad or clicking up on this control wheel.
You can use either one.
It can be a little bit confusing if you jump back and forth between the two, but I find that it's better just to pick one and stick with it, and you'll be a happy driver Now along the top you have your major sections which includes navigation.
Which is where your maps are.
The maps look pretty good.
You'd think they'd look a little more dated because this is an older entertainment system.
But, Benz has done a pretty good job of updating this software.
We've also got radio where you'll choose between your satellite radio and HD, AM and FM radio stations.
The next section is gonna be media.
That's gonna be where you control your digital media sources including bluetooth audio streaming, your CD slot which is interesting to see on a 2019 car, as well USB and SD card connectivity.
Phone acts pretty much you expect a bluetooth AS3 system to work.
And the vehicle menu is where you're going to adjust various things like your vehicle settings.
Like how long your lights stay on when you leave the car.
Here's were you can also adjust the individual setting for your drive mode.
If you want a sporty suspension but really soft steering, you're gonna do that there.
An finally we've got energy flow and consumption.
That's where you're gonna monitor your fuel economy and how the hybrid powertrain on this plugin model is operating.
Overall, I find that it's a pretty easy to use system once you've spent a lot of time with it.
And I've spent about a decade hanging out with various iterations of this command sort of organizational structure.
But it's not exactly the most intuitive.
If this is your first Benz, you're gonna want to sit in the driveway and figure this thing out particularly because there are a lot of inconsistencies in how Command organizes things.
For example, you go into the radio and you want to switch between satellite radio and FM radio.
Well, to do that you're gonna click down to the band icon on the lower bar And you switch between your different bands there.
However, if you're listening to Bluetooth audio and you decide you want to listen to a CD, you can't click down to the lower band, you have to do a drop down on the top bar.
That brings you to a completely different screen that allows you to choose between your various onboard digital media sources.
You would think that bands would do some sort of standardization there so that it's always the same movement when you're choosing your audio source.
Another nitpick that I have is relevant to some of the safety systems.
You see, this vehicle has a 360 camera system equipped.
A rear camera is standard, and that's gonna allow you to see the area around the vehicle.
But the feed from those cameras is already pretty dark in the daytime, and I found that it's almost unviewable at night, which makes it less than useful for things like parallel parking.
It's not all bad, though.
Yes, there are two control schemes right here, and that can be a little bit weird to deal with.
But I do like that Benz puts hardware buttons right here on the dashboard that allow you to quickly jump between the different areas of the infotainment.
So if you're on the vehicle screen and you wanna get that map up quick, boom, one touch and you're there.
I really like that.
And i also liked that it doesn't lock you out of address or destination entry while you're rolling which allows the passenger to help out with inputting destinations are searching for addresses instead of just sitting there helpless or having to pull over to do such a thing.
So there's been your overview of the command system and the dashboard of the Mercedes Benz GLC.
But if you wanna learn more about the technology in this car, including the safety tech, or maybe even more nitpicks that I have about command, be sure to check out our full review over on theroadshow.com.
[MUSIC]
