Auto Express – August 20, 2019

82 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS MercedesGLEvsVolvoXC90

Infotainment Which multimedia system is best formusic, sat-nav&connectivity?

THEMercedesGLEgetsanewMBUXsystemthatfirst

appearedonthenewA-Class.It’sanimprovement,

becauseintheGLEyougettwo12.3-inchdisplays

(oneisfortheinfotainmentandoneisadigitaldash).

Sat-navisstandard,alongwithasuiteofextra

features,includingvoicecontrol–justsay“Hey

Mercedes”toactivethecar’spersonalassistant.Thisis

clevertech,soit’sashameCarPlayconnectivitycosts

anextra£495aspartoftheTechpackage,forexample.

Thisdoesalsoaddaugmentedrealityforthenav.

Thesystemisimpressivebutthewayyoucontrol

ithastakenastepback.Merc’soldrotarydialwas

veryeasytouse,yetthisnewonehasamorefiddly

touch-sensitivepadonthecentreconsole.Atleastthe

centrescreenisalsotouch-sensitive,butthisdoesn’t

helpmuchwhenyou’redriving.Thegraphicsare

greatandyougetplentyofstandardkit,though.

THEXC90usesanine-inchtablet-styleportrait

displayonthedashboard,withadigitalinstrument

clusterbehindthesteeringwheel.Thecentral

portraitdisplayisatouchscreensoit’snotaseasy

touseonthemoveaswe’dlike.

AndroidAutoandAppleCarPlayare£300,which

isabitcheaperthanontheMercedes,butitstillhurts

thatyouhavetopayextraforthisfeaturegiventhat

it’sstandardonmuchcheapercars–especially

consideringthelistpriceofeachmodelhere.

TheVolvo’sscreenmeansthesmartphone

integrationlooksgood,butit’squitesmall

becauseit’sdisplayedinaboxonthemain

menuratherthantakingupthewholescreen.

Themenusareclear,butsometimesthescreen

hasahabitoftakingalittlelongertorespondto

inputsthanthefasterMercedes’system.

Mercedes

GLE

Volvo

XC90

MBUXStandard

Keyfeatures:Large dual displays,sat-nav

Sensus ConnectStandard

Keyfeatures:Portrait screen, sat-nav

ȑȑ 4 L 4 L

score

4.2

ȗȗ 4 L 4 L

score

4.1

DisplayDecent

graphics and large,

high-quality displays

enhancethe experience

forthe driver and

passengers, although the

MBUX controls aren’t the

best and youhavetopay

nearly £500 forCarPlay

DisplayPortrait

touchscreen is more

of achallenge to

controlonthe move,

but has intuitivemenus.

Smartphone integration

costs£300 but you

don’t getthe benefit of

full-screen interaction

FORAND AGAINST

FORAND AGAINST

Large twin screens look great, interface

is easytounderstand, lots of features

Touch controller is fiddly,smartphone

connectivity isn’t standard

Standardsat-navworkswell, intuitive

menu layout, decentlevel of features

Smartphone link costsextra, graphics

notasgood as Merc,slowertorespond