Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Last year Tesla introduced the yoke steering wheel in the Model S and Model X lineups as mandatory. But customers slammed the move, and Tesla had to drag back the round steering wheel as an option. Mercedes-Benz is reportedly trying something similar with the future S-Class.
Mercedes-Benz did not learn from Tesla’s mistake. Back in 2022, the EV maker offered the yoke steering wheel as the only option for the Model and the Model X. Customers totally disliked the idea. And only months later, following their feedback, the conventional steering wheel was back in the online configurator, despite Tesla advertising the yoke as the "ultimate focus on driving."
It is now the time for Mercedes-Benz to learn the hard way and put a yoke steering wheel in the future-generation S-Class sedan. The flagship should hit the showrooms by the end of 2027, and – considering the speed of the autonomous driving technology development – it might be fully autonomous. That is how the yoke solution might start to make sense.
The German media claims that the flagship might end up with a retractable steering wheel in the shape of a rectangular yoke that would take up very little space when not integrated into the dashboard and would provide better visibility. The S-Class should be the first to get it, but, as you already know, the tech trends are contagious, and it will most likely get to all models of the carmaker in the upcoming years.
Mercedes is also working on bringing back physical buttons to replace capacitive-touch buttons and touch control. But it won’t happen overnight. First, they should make the switch to the Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture (MB.EA), specifically designed for all the medium- to large-size cars in the carmaker’s passenger car lineup. When the switch is completed, there will not be a single ICE-powered car in the company’s portfolio.
The solution might eventually extend to all the series production models, claims German publication Handelsblatt, citing sources from “corporate circles.”
The One-Eleven is not going anywhere the assembly lines. So we can expect Mercedes to bring some design cues from it into future production cars. And the rectangular yoke might just be one of them. The German premium carmaker wants to see for itself if Tesla just made a wrong move at the wrong time or the customers are still not ready for such innovations.
There is still a long way to go. Mercedes is currently working on the facelift version of the S-Class, set to debut in 2024 as a 2025 model year.
It is now the time for Mercedes-Benz to learn the hard way and put a yoke steering wheel in the future-generation S-Class sedan. The flagship should hit the showrooms by the end of 2027, and – considering the speed of the autonomous driving technology development – it might be fully autonomous. That is how the yoke solution might start to make sense.
The German media claims that the flagship might end up with a retractable steering wheel in the shape of a rectangular yoke that would take up very little space when not integrated into the dashboard and would provide better visibility. The S-Class should be the first to get it, but, as you already know, the tech trends are contagious, and it will most likely get to all models of the carmaker in the upcoming years.
Mercedes is also working on bringing back physical buttons to replace capacitive-touch buttons and touch control. But it won’t happen overnight. First, they should make the switch to the Mercedes-Benz Electric Architecture (MB.EA), specifically designed for all the medium- to large-size cars in the carmaker’s passenger car lineup. When the switch is completed, there will not be a single ICE-powered car in the company’s portfolio.
The yoke steering wheel might resemble that of the Vision One-Eleven concept car
Mercedes has already tested this kind of steering controller in the Vision One-Eleven concept car, revealed last month. Inspired by the C111 from the 1970s combines futuristic elements with the retro retro style of the experimental vehicle.The solution might eventually extend to all the series production models, claims German publication Handelsblatt, citing sources from “corporate circles.”
The One-Eleven is not going anywhere the assembly lines. So we can expect Mercedes to bring some design cues from it into future production cars. And the rectangular yoke might just be one of them. The German premium carmaker wants to see for itself if Tesla just made a wrong move at the wrong time or the customers are still not ready for such innovations.
There is still a long way to go. Mercedes is currently working on the facelift version of the S-Class, set to debut in 2024 as a 2025 model year.
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