Your take on the infotainment system

7126 Views 19 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Red Jupiter, Nov 15, 2013

sleepyhead

Discussion Starter · Nov 11, 2013

Seems like this is a real hit or miss with people. I personally like it since it makes the dash's shape look less bulky and the center "stack" less cluttered (on the CLA it is already cluttered enough without a screen in it). But many also consider it tacky and cheap, especially since it looks "stuck on." I'm actually most surprised by my Apple worshiper friends who I thought would like the idea of an iPad on their car. The only thing I don't like about it is that until it becomes more common, I don't like the idea of a big iPad sitting like a satnav on my dash for any would be car thief to see.

I know Mazda and Skoda along with Mercedes is going along with the "stuck on" look. Buick has a halfway big lump attaching the infotainment to the dash where it is on the Merc. Audi and Aston both have versions of a pop up that when up is similar to the Merc. Some Toyotas also have an infotainment that is somewhat similar. So it's not a purely Mercedes thing.

Anyways what are your thoughts?

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Armchair Bronco

· #4 · Nov 12, 2013

One of the sales reps I talked to this week said that there were plans in the works to have a direct connection between an iPhone and the dashboard Infotainment display sometime in 2014. He said it would be more like the offering that you can get on the Mini Cooper that just acts as a bigger display for your iPhone (although without a touch screen).

I personally think the Multimedia Package is very overpriced, and it's the one option I'm not at all interested in. Also, given the choice I would much rather use my iPhone's MotionX GPS than *any* offering from MB, Audi, BMW or Ford.

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Armchair Bronco

· #8 · Nov 12, 2013

icwhatudidthere said:
Is he referring to the Drive Kit Plus for the iPhone? I think that's already available.

I hope not. I got the impression that he was talking about something entirely new that would work with just about *any* existing apps on the phone, including a GPS system like MotionX.

The Drive Kit Plus, AFAIK, only exposes things like Twitter, FB, and some news feeds. But it's not deeply integrated w/ the phone.

The next time I'm at the dealership, I'll try to clarify what he meant.

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