The bigger the screen the dumber it looks: Why modern car interior design is losing impact and appeal, as shown by the 2027 Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV | Opinion

They say going to the movies has declined since the rise of larger home televisions. It seems if Mercedes-Benz has its way, we will soon be watching movies in the car instead.

At least if the all-new C-Class EV interior is any guide to the brand’s future. While it’s still an optional choice, the new 39.1-inch MBUX Hyperscreen is one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen in a car. 

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mercedes has gone down this path. The German giant’s design leader, Gordon Wagener, is on the record with both his love of a large screen and his dislike of rival brands.

In a rare on-the-record assessment of his rivals, Wagener told the UK’s Top Gear magazine at the 2025 Munich motor show that the new Audi Concept C interior had “too little tech” and looked like “it was designed in 1995” – which is a pretty generous critique of 1995-era technology and design.

In the same interview he explained his decision to introduce larger and larger screens into new Mercedes models, because he believes that owners might want to “watch a movie and stuff like that.”

The problem I have with this is two-fold. 

Firstly, it's not good design. I know that design is subjective, but objectively speaking, the new C-Class EV loses so much about what made Mercedes look and feel luxurious. The difference between Mercedes and mainstream brands was the quality and presentation inside the cabin. 

I haven’t sat in the just-revealed C-Class EV yet, but looking at the images it feels like it could be something produced by any of the new Chinese premium brands.

Yes, there are still some nice premium trims and I’m sure it looks impressive, but for me it doesn’t immediately project a sense of class and sophistication that Mercedes is known for. 

Mercedes’ arch-rivals at BMW have taken a slightly different approach, its ‘neue klasse’ 3 Series and iX3 feature a combination of large multimedia touchscreen, in a conventional sense, with a narrower screen wrapping around almost the entire base of the windscreen. It’s a different kind of big, but it’s still big. 

Not to sound like an old person, but… back when I was younger and obsessed with cars, whenever I sat in a Mercedes, BMW or Audi, you could tangibly see and feel the difference between them and their competition. But that differentiation is getting harder to feel these days, as new brands without the heritage of Mercedes and company can simply go inch-for-inch in terms of screens.

If you look at luxury houses, they do not fill every room with a huge television or make every room feel like a movie theatre. Good design is about moderation and restraint as much as anything. 

Secondly, and more importantly, we shouldn’t be ‘watching movies and stuff’ in the car. If you want to watch a movie, stay at home – or heck, go and watch it on an actual ‘big screen’ at the local cinema.

Cars are for driving and safety should always remain both the car makers and the driver’s top priority. In case any of these designers have forgotten, cars are approximately two-tonnes of metal and glass that typically travel up to 100km/h. This isn’t an entertainment device, it’s transport. 

If you can’t go one car ride without watching a movie or having a screen in front of you, maybe you should see a doctor, not your local car dealer.

Also, just a reminder in case anyone has forgotten, it is very much illegal to touch your smartphone with its 6-plus-inch screen, so why do the lawmakers not have any problem with these absurdly large screens that are becoming increasingly common – and increasingly distracting?

To be fair to Mercedes, the German brand is alone in introducing ridiculously large screens. Instead, I blame Tesla.

The American EV brand really kicked off this trend when it realised it could save costs – sorry, I mean create a minimalist interior design – by getting rid of as many buttons as possible and replacing them with a touchscreen.

Rival brands saw the acceptance of this technology by consumers and didn’t need any more excuses to save money on buttons and dials. And, of course, like anything in the car industry, it soon became a… measuring competition… between the brands. And thus we find ourselves now in the era of the hyperscreen.

The saviour, somewhat ironically, may actually be the Chinese government, which is mandating that car makers do include physical controls for key functionality, which is forcing a rethink from not just Chinese car makers but anyone who wants to sell cars in the world’s biggest market.

While this won’t mean the end of the large screen, hopefully it will restrain future designs and reprioritise design, usability and safety.