David Booth: Who knew in 2001, BMW’s release of iDrive would usher in a new era in automotive entertainment. The very first “infotainment” system was much flawed, extremely cantankerous — I can remember having to call a BMW service technician one time to open the damned doors just because I hit the wrong sequence of buttons —  and intensely complicated. The future, if computer-controlled infotainment was indeed the future, seemed so terribly forbidding. Fast forward 18 years and touchscreens, voice control, and now even gesture control are not just accepted technologies, but differentiators in the Millennial-seeking marketplace. With powertrains becoming ever more homogenous — pretty much every manufacturer relies on small, turbocharged engines for most of its models’ motivation — the new car battleground is now digital, every automaker looking for that magical combination of simplicity, power, and most of all, entertainment. We’ve started paying as much attention to what powers the entertainment system as we do the rear wheels, and this is our first head-to-head shootout between onboard computers featuring the two latest entries — Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX system and Audi’s MMI Touch — from two of the automakers who’ve made the most progress in bringing the connected world to the automotive dashboard. Clayton Seams: That’s right. For the sake of this test, we are going to pretty much ignore the cars these systems come in, and focus solely on the infotainment. The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a brand new model in Canada, and with it comes the equally new Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) system — they hate it when you pronounce it “em-bucks. Unlike some cars that have screens seemingly dropped here and there throughout the interior, the Mercedes uses twin 10.25-inch screens back-to-back in one rectangular display spanning much of the dashboard. The gauges and all infotainment functions are espoused in those two screens. One way MBUX sets itself apart from others is the sheer variety of ways you can control it, with no less than four methods. With your hands at the nine-and-three positions on the steering wheel, you’ll find a mirrored set of controls at each hand made up of three buttons. The “back” and “home” buttons are pretty standard, but the centre one is interesting; it’s touch-sensitive, like the centre key of an older BlackBerry. You can scroll across the button as well as click it to make selections. The left set of buttons controls the left screen and the right set controls the right screen. Moving down to the centre console, beneath a handy wrist pad, you’ll find a track pad. This allows you to scroll and click around the right screen; I found it touchy, so it’s best to use it in park rather than in traffic. Additionally, the main display is a touchscreen and works in a way that won’t be shocking to anyone who has used a smartphone or tablet. DB: As opposed to the giant leap forward Mercedes wants MBUX to be, the A7’s new man-machine interface is an evolution of Audi’s traditional MMI, but what an evolution. With three screens — if you include the Virtual Cockpit that is mostly a gauge set but can double as a navigation map — Audi divvies up its screens into modules. The Virtual Cockpit, as mentioned, is your basic digitized gauge cluster, but with the ability to display a big map when the navigation system gets serious. The upper of the two touchscreens is devoted to traditional infotainment functions such as audio, Bluetooth and controlling the navigation. Meanwhile, the lower screen is reserved for more pedestrian decisions, like the air conditioning fan speed and seat heaters. This is where the two systems start differentiating themselves — and, indeed, Audi is employing a fairly unique philosophy here by having the very same buttons that physically controlled previous generations MMIs — think the automatic start/stop switch, the button that raised and lowered the active rear spoiler, etc. — have been transposed almost identically onto a touchscreen. Think of it as an unfamiliar world (the digital interface) made familiar. That’s mighty important to some of the, shall we say, more experienced folk who can afford upscale Audis. CS: While Audi is taking a small step for buttonry, Mercedes is making a giant leap forward in voice command technology. Simply saying “Hey Mercedes” or “Mercedes” will fire up a Siri-like assistant that can help you with everything, from turning on the seat heaters to finding nearby hotels. The system is pretty darn smart. For example, if you want to turn up the heat, you don’t have to say “Hey Mercedes, raise cabin temperature by three degrees.” A simple “I’m cold” will suffice, and MBUX will know what you mean. Say “I’m hungry” and it will show you nearby restaurants. “I’m hungry for soup” will show you only restaurants near you that serve soup, and on and on. The system uses a cloud-based server so, if the internet holds the answer, you’ll hear it. Ask
Origin: Infotainment face-off: Audi MMI vs. Mercedes-Benz MBUX