2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA - Is this infotainment enough?

An advanced infotainment system in a luxury car acts as a duplicate smartphone while you drive because they use artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technology to enhance the connected car experience. The MBUX is the best example of such technology and the new GLA is equipped with this exact high-tech MBUX system. So, let us shed some light on this infotainment system in the GLA.

At the beginning of 2018, Mercedes-Benz and Nvidia announced the next-generation MBUX powered by artificial intelligence. The American computer technology giant Nvidia produces fundamental chips for the MBUX system. Roughly every Mercedes-Benz car now has the futuristic infotainment system, thanks to Nvidia’s expertise.

If you are a gaming enthusiast, you would be flabbergasted by the specifications of this MBUX fitted in the new GLA. The system has an Nvidia Parker six-core CPU, a new Pascal 256-core GPU with DirectX 12 support and 128-bit 8GB LPDDR4 RAM - it runs on a Linux operating system. This prodigious configuration supports 4K 60fps videos too. It can literally run the latest Assassin’s Creed or Battlefield with the higher settings.

The GLA has two 10.25-inch widescreen displays with a resolution of up to 1920x720 pixels and it is far enough for such screen sizes. The driver display has two circular dials - speedometer and tachometer. It also shows various menu options such as navigation, phone, media, radio and assistance features. Besides, you can also view a full-screen map on it. This instrument cluster has themes too - Classic, Sport and Progressive.

Here is the most important section of the MBUX - the infotainment unit. It lets you control almost every function of the car in various ways. To put it simply, there are four different ways to control this screen - the most commonly used is the touchscreen, then via steering-mounted capacitive switches or the touchpad with haptic feedback and lastly, the easiest method, that is voice commands.

When the infotainment system switches on, you will see a primary menu that contains - Phone, Radio, Media, Comfort, Info, Mercedes Me app and Setting options. Each function has been given two quick access buttons below the main symbol.

Apart from the primary menu, the overall layout of the touchscreen has a prominent home screen button with a profile section by that. You can set up multiple profiles of your family members or friends to have your preferred setting while you drive the car. Additionally, there is a search tab, a clock, a cell phone network symbol and a message inbox shortcut. You can pair two smartphone devices at the same time to this MBUX system.

When you open one of the primary menus, other options will appear. For instance, if you choose the Phone menu, there will be options such as find contacts and dial-up a number. 

Other primary menus follow a similar suit. The Comfort menu lets you adjust 64 colours of ambient lighting and brightness as well as seat kinetics while the Info tab gives you all information about the vehicle performance and fuel consumption. The settings option opens various vehicle control settings and lets you toggle between them.

MBUX is equipped with an AI-based voice assistant and you can wake it up by saying, “Hey, Mercedes.” It can execute almost all your commands that can be done through touchscreen or trackpad. For example, when you say, Hey Mercedes, I’m feeling warm, it will reduce the temperature. The voice assistant can also open the sunroof, play music or radio, dial a number, phone up your contacts, set a direction on the map and even cancel your appointments.

In conclusion, Mercedes-Benz and Nvidia have created the next level infotainment system. This MBUX in the GLA is an excellent system with ample features and it should provide a better in-cabin experience. It can also be your office where you can view important emails, tasks and business calendar.