With the advent of Mercedes-Benz’s electric vehicles (EV) arrived a new kind of infotainment system known as the 141cm-wide “MBUX Hyperscreen.”
This large control hub is only available in the brand’s premier EVs, these being the EQE and its more premium sibling, the EQS.
It’s not cheap, though.
For buyers who don’t want to fork out R3.4 million for the top-spec EQS 53, which is the only model with the Hyperscreen as standard, the fixture runs at a substantial R155,000 when selected as an optional extra.
2.4m² of digital goodness
Spanning from the far left to the far right of the dashboard, the MBUX Hyperscreen occupies a total surface area of 2.4 square metres and accommodates three individual screens – a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.7-inch media hub, and a 12.3-inch “co-driver” display.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, there are a few more cool details to be aware of:
- There are 12 actuators beneath the touchscreen providing haptic feedback
- Two protective coatings of the plastic outer rim reduce reflections and make cleaning easier
- The scratch-resistant aluminium silicate glass was moulded at 650°C to avoid distortion from any angle
- The system features 8 CPU cores, 24gb of RAM, and 46.4gb-per-second RAM memory bandwidth
To keep occupants safe during a crash, it even has predetermined breaking points alongside the side outlet openings and five holders that yield in a targeted manner thanks to their honeycomb design.
For the driver, the Hyperscreen brings several layouts for vehicle information, with the selected theme carrying over to the rest of the displays.
Naturally, this piece of the system shows traveling speed, remaining range, the selected gear, and whether the assistance systems are actively doing their job or not.
They show several interesting statistics, too, depending on the chosen screen.
Drivers can view the G-forces acting on the car when accelerating and braking, the level of boost and energy recovery, a full-size map, or just two traditional round dials like what was found in its analogue ancestors.
There are face recognition cameras for monitoring driver fatigue as well as adjusting the exterior mirrors to a pre-set position depending on who occupies the driver seat, in addition to a fingerprint scanner for driver authentication.
Next to the driver’s display, the central screen is used to control the bulk of the EV’s functions.
The system features “zero-layer technology” which is a fancy term for having the most-frequently-used applications and widgets, which are decided by the car itself, front and centre at all times.
This keeps distractions for the driver to a minimum as now they do not have to scroll through multiple screens and sub-menus to get to their desired function.
Mercedes-Benz identified over 20 abilities that owners regularly make use of which the zero-layer tech can prioritise through “artificial intelligence”, including massage programmes, birthday reminders, to-do lists, frequently-called contacts, seat and steering wheel heating, and suspension lift.
Additionally, the centre screen is the main contact point for passengers as it provides control over such as entertainment, smartphone mirroring via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, online music streaming, vehicle settings, ambient lighting, navigation, and the EV-specific EQ app that shows things like the condition of the battery, regenerative braking, and the nearest charging station.
Like one would expect in 2023, it can also be controlled via a smart voice assistance that understands in excess of 100 commands.
The climate control buttons are then situated on the bottom section of this middle display, and they are fixed in one location so as to always be within close reach.
With a keen eye, you’ll further spot a multifunction camera and light sensor in the top-middle section of the Hyperscreen that takes into account ambient conditions and adapts the system’s brightness accordingly.
As for the co-driver display, Mercedes was one of the first luxury brands in the world to offer such a feature for its vehicles at the time when the Hyperscreen was unveiled, with Ferrari coming to mind as one of the others.
Unlike in the Ferrari, though, where the passenger display only shows media and performance readouts, the Mercedes’ co-driver display provides seven profiles to customise a wide range of content including radio/media, navigation, comfort settings, and car info.
The passenger additionally has seven profiles for customising content to their liking, or dependent on who is sitting in the front seat, with a total of around “800 parameters” to choose from, said Mercedes.
If the passenger seat is not occupied, the screen becomes decorative, in the EQS displaying the Silver Star pattern.
This part of the Hyperscreen, as well as the central display, also use OLED technologies where the diodes turn on and off individually for deeper blacks and higher colour brilliance, as opposed to LCD where they can’t switch off entirely, resulting in a more vibrant experience regardless of the viewing angle and lighting conditions.
Keyword: The R155,000 Mercedes-Benz infotainment system – What you get for your money