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Capacitive Steering Wheel Coming to the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

If you can call them as such, smart steering wheels aren’t anything new. In 1974, the Lincoln Motor Company added two rocker switches on the steering wheels of the Continental and Continental Mark IV to activate cruise control functions. Fast-forward to 1988, and Pontiac leveled up to no fewer than 12 buttons for the Trans-Am and Bonneville.
2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class 15 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
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This smartness became all the more apparent in the 1990s and 2000s. Now, however, automakers are playing in a different league with touch-sensitive buttons and capacitive hands-off detection. These technologies are rolling out in Europe this summer with the mid-cycle refresh of the E-Class, the mid-sized sedan from Mercedes. Available in three more body styles, the W213 features a sensor mat in the steering wheel rim.

Care to guess what that thing is meant to do? Marcus Fiege explains. "The sensors on the front and back of the rim register whether the steering wheel is being held. No more steering movement is required to signal the assistance systems that the vehicle is under control,” says the Head of Steering Wheel Development at the three-pointed star.

Yes, that’s a real man and that’s a real job! “The Touch Control buttons integrated into the steering wheel spokes now also function capacitively. This reduces the mechanical operating surfaces to a maximum,” he adds, failing to highlight two potential drawbacks.

You see, smartphones record and evaluate your finger’s input with the help of capacitive sensor technology. In the case of a hardware malfunction or a software issue, your mobile device needs either servicing or replacing. Compare the fragility of a touchscreen to physical buttons and you’ll understand what the second problem boils down to. But wait, there's more!

Have a guess which is the more expensive option: a steering wheel as we all know it or one with sensors and capacitive mumbo jumbo? To the point, Mercedes has another reason to hike up the retail price of the E-Class by switching to a new steering wheel design.

You know that Tesla is pretty much the leader in all things EVs, right? Think about the steering wheel of the Model 3 for a second, then consider how many buttons are there and what kind of buttons. Adding complexity doesn’t necessarily mean going forward, but only time will tell if Mercedes’ solution will trickle down to other automakers.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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