Latest news with #MBUXSuperscreen
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
RAY MASSEY: Buckle up for a chat with the new AI Mercedes
Do you talk to your car? If so, you'll love the sporty new Mercedes-Benz CLA which I've just been road-testing – and chatting to – out in Denmark. Thanks to the addition of AI it not only answers questions but – the manufacturer claims – can hold and sustain 'complex conversations'. Offered for the first time in the CLA, the system is certainly a step up from Amazon's Alexa – but it's not infallible, simply ignoring the question when puzzled. There's an undeniable eeriness to conversing with the assistant, too. I drove the all-electric CLA 250+, which will be the first version in a new family of variants to reach UK shores by autumn. While bigger all-round than its predecessor, it still looks reasonably compact inside, and the legroom in the back is certainly a little tight. That said, the space up front is actually more generous than it looks, and there's a decent boot, at 405 litres, plus a handy front trunk under the bonnet adding another 101 litres. Exterior styling is sporty, with a sweeping, coupe-like smart-casual vibe on what is essentially a sleek saloon. Some 142 illuminated LED stars adorn the front grille, plus many more sprinkled around. The interior is a mixture of modern and sophisticated, with flashes of bling that verge on looking and feeling a bit cheap. The dashboard is dominated by a 14in display, and there's an option to elongate it for the front passenger to form the MBUX Superscreen. Without it, the rest of the dashboard is covered in more stars. In urban areas, the new CLA is comfortable and quiet for tootling around. Various warning sensors signal the driver when there are other vehicles, obstacles and cyclists (of which there are many in Copenhagen), giving you time to take evasive action. On faster country roads, it has a feistier side. Powered by an 85kW battery and a 200kw electric motor, the two-speed gear-box accelerates from rest to 62mph in a sprightly 6.7 seconds, up to a top speed limited at 130mph. It performed well on corners with instant speed for overtaking. With a claimed 484 miles – allowing for some reduction with real-world driving – you can safely cover the 400 miles from London to Edinburgh on a full charge. Mercedes says a ten-minute blast on a fast charger will give you a 200-mile top-up. Prices for the new CLA were never going to be cheap – and they are well above the £37,000 cap for the Government's new Electric Car Grant of up to £3,750. There are three trim levels starting from £45,615 for the Sport Edition, rising to £49,375 for the AMG Line Edition, up to £51,770 for the range-topping AMG Line Premium Edition. Maybe I should ask my AI companion for a discount. With a claimed 484 miles – allowing for some reduction with real-world driving – you can safely cover the 400 miles from London to Edinburgh on a full charge CHAT CLA The fourth generation of Mercedes-Benz User Experience – or 'MBUX' - infotainment system integrates AI from Microsoft and Google, combining knowledge gathered from the Internet based on ChatGPT4o and Microsoft Bing Search. So I also 'road-tested' my AI companion – speaking with an educated English woman's soothing, classless tone – with some testing questions. 'Who said E=mc² ?, I asked for openers, before receiving a treatise on Albert Einstein's famous equation linking energy and mass from my virtual assistant. 'Why was Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the news?' I ventured before receiving an oral report of her tearful performance in the House of Commons. Then I went for a moral conundrum: 'If everything I say is a lie, am I now telling the truth?' Gotcha! The AI response did not answer, nor even seek to tackle the question. It just changed the subject, like any wily politician caught out. Humanity 1, AI nil. For now. But I do not doubt as the tech advances, the levels of subtly will increase exponentially to the level of KITT from TV's Knight Rider. IN THE PIPELINE Although only the 250+ version of the CLA is being launched in the UK for now, I also drove the more powerful (260kW), punchier all-wheel drive 350 4Matic version which accelerates from 0 to 62mph in just 4.9 seconds ( 1.8 seconds quicker) up to the same 130mph governed top speed. It felt a gutsier and more muscular drive. From early next year a petrol-electric hybrid version of the CLA will be launched with 48-volt technology, a newly developed 1.5 litre 4-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. I also had an early peek in Denmark of a second generation CLA Shooting Brake estate version following the first launched in 2015. The German car giant's first battery-powered estate car with a claimed range of up to 472 miles goes on sale next Spring and features hundreds of three-pointed stars including 158 embedded into the glass on the car's stellar panoramic glass starlight. Other variants will follow. VERDICT The new all-electric CLA 250+ is a smart and sporty choice with decent acceleration and ambience – though if you want more punch wait for the CLA 350 4Matic all-wheel drive. Either way, you'll never be short of conversation. Confusion over Electric Car Grant scheme On the face of it, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's announcement this week of discounts of up to £3,750 as part of Labour's £650million Electric Car Grant scheme sounds like good news to stimulate flagging sales. But my motor industry contacts, while supportive, warn 'the devil's in the detail', as a complex system will determine which cars qualify and for how much, based on how green they are, including production. Additionally, it is only available for cars costing up to £37,000 – which rules out top-selling Teslas – and carmakers must apply to see if their vehicles are eligible, putting extra bureaucracy on to dealers.
Hypebeast
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Hypebeast
Mercedes-Benz Unveils All-Electric CLA Shooting Brake
Summary Mercedes-Benzhas revealed the all-newCLAShooting Brake, the first estate model in the brand's lineup to feature a fullyelectricpowertrain. Launching in Europe in March 2026, the CLA Shooting Brake blends performance, practicality and advanced EQ technology with an extended WLTP-estimated range of up to 470 miles. With up to 192 miles of range gained in just 10 minutes of charging, the car promises everyday usability with high-speed efficiency. Sporting a sleek, star-lit panoramic roof and an illuminated front panel adorned with 142 LED stars, the CLA Shooting Brake debuts with a refined, futuristic design. The 85 kWh battery powers a new two-speed gearbox and an electric drivetrain offering up to 260 kW. Rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive versions deliver acceleration as quick as 0–62 mph in 6.8 seconds. The interior brings cutting-edge luxury with a floating MBUX Superscreen powered by the Unity Game Engine and ChatGPT-enhanced voice assistant. Beyond its style and digital depth, the Shooting Brake is built for daily life, offering 455–1,290 liters of cargo space, a 101-liter frunk, roof rails and nearly 4,000 lbs of towing capacity. Hybrid variants with 48-volt systems and multiple trim options are expected to join the range early next year.
Top Gear
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Mercedes-Benz CLA Interior Layout & Technology
Except the passenger screen is optional, and if you don't pay, you just get a big slab of black plastic speckled with star emblems. It's not the most aesthetic of solutions. Plus, it's a LOT of screens. Now here's where it gets interesting. The CLA can come with an MBUX Superscreen that consists of an entire dash of screens: a 10.25-inch driver's display, a 14-inch central touchscreen and another 14-inch passenger screen from which passengers can dull their frontal cortex with YouTube shorts. But before you decry the haptic-awfulness of touchscreen dominance, there's another way to communicate with the CLA that works better than most; you just talk to it. Merc's new Virtual Assistant is infused with artificial intelligence from Microsoft and Google, can sense your mood (and act accordingly) and even has a short-term memory. What that means is that you can ask/tell the system pretty complicated things and it (generally) works them out. So you can adjust the relevant parts of the car (air-con, radio, sat-nav, phone etc), but also ask it to find you a Thai restaurant that serves a particular dish, or a pub that serves Sunday roast that also allows dogs. It'll learn, accrete habits, do all the usual, even deliver over-the-air updates for complex systems that should keep the CLA relevant in terms of future-proofing. Very clever, if that's your bag, though it has so many possible functions it'd take a while to get used to and make the most of it. Sometimes you just want to drive somewhere. What about the actual interior? The rest of the interior is well-made and spacious, with some nice materials. Big, floating centre console with cupholders and wireless charging pad, plenty of storage and visual interest.
