Mercedes Benz - 8" Smart Touch screen
* Almost every Mercedes after 2014 are compatible with monitor by itself / with fascia.
Mercedes Benz's most recent-new line up, CLA was available since February 2014,
and nowadays there are lots of them on the road, despite the fact It has high price tag of $60k from base models.
Terrifically smooth and flexible engine allows firm ride on the road while balancing dynamics and comoforts. And CLA has adopted the new display type : Pop up 5.8" and 7" display. Both audio comes with Becker Sat Nav as standard...well not for AMG.
Pretty epic consider in previous gen models 5.8" display audio never came with Navigation as a standard, (same goes for BMW 's 6.5" screen which now supports factory Nav as well) Benz seems had enough with the comparison of less-equipped compare to Japanese / Korean cars. However, if they wanted to up their game against others, they could add Touch infotainment system, yet some people still want the classic dial type and must admit, it's not bad at all.
But when you actually use navigation with dials, even if it has autocomplete address feature, it's still inconvienent compare to other touch type Navs, and those external Garmin / TomTom Navigation monitors aren't really the 'thing' for prestige vehicle like Benz.
And replacing whole audio unit to an aftermarket Sat Nav unit with ulgy fascia is just degrading.
8" Smart Touch display for A / B / C / CLA / GLA / G Series.
Luckily, there are some solutions to ease the pain of dial type navigation.
In fact, It adds touch Navigation compatibility via video device and 8" size touch display monitor. When we've first received & tested, it showed prosming result. As it is purely changing the display monitor only, not altering audio system, the tested vehicle (2014 A250)'s NTG audio features were remaning same. Also, we weren't quite sure before installation, however the glare, brightness and resolution (800 x 480) were significantly better than factory display.
We could tell that the calibration was perfect, as the factory display was standard 5.8" yet when it displayed on 8", no sign of streched nor pixelation occured. Unfortunately the touch function isn't compatible with factory audio features, which is understandable consider It will require a lot more than just replacing monitor. But still, the fact that largest factory display is 7" from Mercedes, 8" mointor is really impressive and stylish. Not to mention it looks same as factory display.
Also when we've tested the Navigation - powered by licensed iGO Primo 9 map - the calibraiton was perfect and touch response was fast and accurate. The rear camera that was factory fitted on A250 was working flawless and the rear sight display was showing great on 8" display.
It is pretty outstyling upgrade, really. As this pop up display by Mercedes is still new (As it's from 2014), and as this touch display is new as well, not many drivers acknowledge such system. Hopefully, as 7" factory display option is safe to say 'overpriced', and 5.8" isn't really enough for what we pay for, this system will soon stand out among other audio upgrades. Key features of this display:
★ 8" Display - thin bezel with wider display panel.
★ 800 x 480 resolution (factory 5.8 is 480 x 240)
★ Perfect calibration and teselation
★ Factory friendly - Radio features are not affected, but fully compatible.
★ Touch screen allows for more additional utility - Sat Nav , Mirror Link and more.
★ Significantly cheaper price for 8" display and Navigation in one.
★ Auto dimming and brightness adjusts follows factory settings.
It's a real deal - bigger screen, touch Sat Nav, better brightness and glare, at price of $1300<.
While the factory option price for 7" with non- touch Becker Sat Nav is around $3000.
Check out the video of breif review done by us on 2014 Mercedes Benz A250 - 8" Smart Audio screen upgrade.
