Mercedes-Benz E-Class’ absolute tech madness — including three screens and 21 speakers

Mercedes-Benz recently launched its latest E-Class model in South Africa, packing an impressive assortment of tech.

While it’s common for many carmakers to fit their vehicles with tech features these days, the German carmaker has truly pulled out all the stops in this luxury sedan.

The tech experience begins upon entering the car, which can be done with a digital vehicle key on a smartphone rather than a physical key fob.

With the optional Keyless-Go package, you can have the E-Class’s flush-fitting door handles automatically extend outwards for opening as you approach it with your smartphone in your pocket.

Once inside, your attention will quickly be drawn to the dashboard’s “Superscreen”.

It boasts two large touch displays behind a single sheet of glass stretching from the centre of the cabin across to the passenger’s side.

The first 17.7-inch screen in the centre is the regular infotainment display with all the apps and settings that the driver would need to access.

The screen runs on the third generation of the MBUX multimedia system, which supports built-in navigation, multimedia playback, and apps popular on smartphones like Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok.

Alternatively, users can connect their Android smartphone or iPhone wirelessly and use Android Auto or Apple Carplay instead.

One noteworthy feature is an interior-facing dashcam to use apps like Zoom for video calls or to make general in-car recordings.

The second 12.3-inch display on the passenger’s side can also run a wide range of apps.

The difference is that certain apps — like video streaming services — can be enjoyed by the front passenger on this display while the car is in motion.

To avoid the driver getting distracted by movies or other content played on the passenger’s display, the E-Class features a special passenger screen tint feature that can detect when the driver’s eyes are off the road for a long time and hide the screen from their angle.

A third 12.3-inch display serves as the digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel.

This display can be customised with various colours and designs and supports a 3D depth effect to create the illusion of a physical instrument cluster.

The driver’s display has a section for showing 3D images of cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles detected by the E-Class’s exterior sensors.

There is also a heads-up display that projects key driving information on the windscreen for those who want to keep as much of their attention as possible on the road.

Blasting Burmeister audio

Audiophiles will also get a kick out of the car’s sound system, which boasts a whopping 21 Burmeister speakers with an output of 730 watts.

The optional Burmeister system supports 4D atmospheric sound combined with special exciters in the seats that vibrate to amplify the experience.

The car’s elaborate network of ambient lighting will also flash in sync with the music.

The air vents are also digitally linked to the infotainment system.

If a user selects where to direct the vents to blow air, the car will adjust the vent accordingly.

However, users can still manually change the direction in which the vents are pointed by hand for faster adjustment.

While the array of customisation and settings might be overwhelming at first, you only have to tune them to your preferences once.

The E-Class boasts facial recognition technology that identifies the driver after they enter the car and adjusts the driving, information, multimedia, and communication system settings according to their preferences.

The driving experience itself is also enhanced with tech such as the Agility Control suspension system with selective damping and an optional rear-axle steering package that can reduce the car’s turning circle by 90cm.

The standard LED headlights can also be swapped out for Digital Light projection headlamps, which lets drivers show off various animations on the road or objects in front of them.

These lights can also adapt to changing conditions in traffic and the carriageway, as well as weather.

The tech extends to the driver assistance systems, supported by various ultrasonic sensors around the car’s exterior.

Other noteworthy tech-powered features in the 2024 E-Class, including several optional add-ons include:

• Active Brake Assist helps avoid or reduce the impact of collisions with other road users.
• Active Parking Assist, Remote Parking Assist, and Memory Parking Assist which can automatically park in spaces it has learned.
• Active Emergency Stop Assist to detect an extended absence of driver activity and bring the car safely to a standstill with controlled braking, followed by an automatic emergency call.
• Active Stop-and-Go Assist automatically moves off within up to 60 seconds and with moderate lane guidance.
• Digital Logbook app to track journeys for tax-keeping or other purposes.
• Driver Assistance Package Plus with speed adjustment, steering, and lane changes in the event of collision risk
• Evasive Steering Assist to help the driver manoeuvre out of situations where the risk of collision with a pedestrian, vehicle, or cyclist is identified.
• Guard 360 vehicle protection and entertainment package
• Pre-Safe Impulse Side detects impending side collisions and moves front occupant towards the centres of the vehicle with pyrotechnically activated padding in the seat back
• Pre-Safe Plus alerts drivers behind with rapidly flashing warning lights when it detects threat of rear-end collision and protects driver and passenger by activating reversible seatbelt pretensioner.