Mercedes-Benz is on a big push to change its stodgy image and entice younger buyers to the brand. In order to do so, it’s bringing some – in my opinion – much-needed sporty liveliness to not only its exteriors but also its interiors.
Case in point: the interior of the 2015 C-Class, which you see above. And at first glance, I absolutely love what the designers have done with the place.
Gone are the fuddy-duddy linear strips of wood and chrome. In their place is a wholly three-dimensional dash wish a floating navigation screen, round air vents, and a super futuristic-looking touch-pad and joystick infotainment controller – all finished off nicely with red leather.
Mercedes designers didn’t stop there. If you scroll through the pictures above, you’ll see a new heads-up display that is far more modern than any we’ve seen before. Other units from BMW and Cadillac look Tron-like. This one looks like a smartphone screen.
It also appears the COMAND infotainment system has been cleaned up and modernized, too, with graphics on par with Apple. Notice the touch-pad – following the track laid by Audi and BMW – that allows the user to draw in which symbol they intend to enter instead of having to choose it from a scroll wheel.
Keeping with every new Mercedes generation that comes out, the new C-Class also will be fitted with a slew of new radars, infrared, and cameras that will monitor surrounding traffic.
No word yet when this new C-Class will debut but it’s likely to be at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show in January. Feasibly, however, the Germans could wait for the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Regardless, there should be many more opportunities between now and then to learn about the next-gen C, which has been supplanted by the CLA as the entry-level Merc here in the States.
