Gone are the days of aimlessly digging through the piles of crap you’ve accumulated on your passenger seat in the dark—if you’re planning to drive a 2020 Mercedes Benz CLA, that is. A new teaser video released on social media displays a neat new concept: a motion activated dome light.
The video was posted on Facebook as part of Mercedes’ teaser campaign to build hype before the second-generation CLA is officially debuted at CES next week. It shows off a new feature known as Interior Assistant. At its most basic, the motion of the driver’s hand heading toward the passenger seat will trigger the dome light, illuminating whatever happens to be obscured in the dark. When the driver’s hand moves back to the wheel, the dome light turns off.
It’s not clear what the parameters are here, whether this function is available at all times or if it turns off once the car is in motion. It would make sense that it would turn off once you’re driving to reduce distractions. On the other hand, the only time I’ve ever needed a motion-activated light is when I lose my chapstick or my water bottle while I’m already on the road.
If you’re not quite impressed by the lights, then you might be interested if you noticed that ‘Edition 1' badge on the passenger-side dashboard, which indicates this model is going to get some extra features from the rest of its CLA peers if you’re willing to pay a little extra. It’ll only be available during the first twelve months after the launch, so you’ll have to get in on that real quick if you want an automatically illuminated driving experience.