Driver's assistance package
 

Anyone have experience with or order vehicle with the drivers assistance package? I can't imagine the take is high on it at $2800 on the new C, and none of the dealer stock units seem to have it. Guess one accident prevented and you'd wish you had it. Or for the distronic cruise.

What does the package include?
Have to ask cause it differs for each country I believe

I have very mixed feeling about the option...more negative than positive.In fact I believe that the feature contributed to the accident that caused my Bluetec to be totaled (*very* long story).In short,I think the feature contains some good ideas but the way they were executed (at least in 2011) clearly showed that a *lot* of improvements and refinements were needed.But as I've suggested the refinements I have in mind may have been made.

$2,800 USD
Driver Assistance Package
DISTRONIC PLUS® with Steering Assist
BAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist
PRE-SAFE® Brake with Pedestrian Recognition
PRE-SAFE® PLUS
Active Blind Spot Assist
Active Lane Keeping Assist

I just spent a few minutes with Google and found that actual insurance data shows that cars with forward collision detection with auto braking show a statistically significant reduction in claims and that the claims that do occur cost less. This feature is standard equipment (at least on US cars). The data also shows that the active headlights are reducing insurance claims, something that surprised me. The blind spot detection systems don't seem to have much effect on actual crashes, but you can buy it as a standalone option if you want it.

There isn't enough data to know whether the features in the driver assistance package actually reduce crashes, so it's a bit of a leap of faith to spend that amount of money on it. But there is of course the convenience part, which is worth the money to some buyers.

I'm pleased that Mercedes made the technology that is now known to reduce crashes the most as standard equipment and is not charging very much money for the other bits of technology that have shown to be effective. I am going to pass on the driver assistance package, but now that I found out about the active headlight benefits, I think I'll go ahead with that as a requirement. I'm glad I spent the time to look this stuff up!

I remember one owner posted somewhere saying the advanced driver's assistance package malfunctioned and caused his w205 to brake hard in the middle of a community intersection. fortunately not much traffic there. So I presume there still are some kinks in the system.

I always believed that more gadgets are just more parts waiting to break down. I don't like how the system interferes with my driving style so I skipped it.

The driver assistance package is one of the top reasons I went with the C Class (C400). The technology is cutting edge. I'm sure others auto makers will follow soon, but for now MB has them all beat. My car should arrive next week. I'll post my experience with the package in the next week or so.

I have It on my car which I'm picking up on Friday or Saturday!

2800 is a steal. The old distronic packages without the steering assist was even more costly.

filter through this thread for a good review on the driver assistance package...

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...w-opinion.html

From what I can tell you shouldnt be using this in a community. It wont know when to stop for lights and such and the second you hit the brake its off. I am talking about the distronic of course, but I thought that was the braking part. I dont see it kicking in unless the distronic is on.

For those of you that have the driver's assistance package, do you like it and find that you use it a lot? It's really tempting but also really expensive. I'm just afraid it might be one of those features that sound cool but that I end up not using too much. On the other hand, it's one of those really unique features that most cars don't have and I don't want to eventually regret not getting it.

The other downside is that almost no cars on lots have this feature, so afraid that I'd have to do a special order to get it.

For me it sounded cool and was something cool to show buddies but then I never used it

The value of distronic cruise is totally dependent on how often you use cruise control. I absolutely love it and use it whenever I can, which is not that often because my wife primarily uses the car. I find Blind spot monitoring helpful and worth it, but I am not sure about the active part as mine is a 2010 and it won't try to pull me back into the lane. I would think that active lane tracking would be of value to people who use distronic cruise often, but it is somewhat of an annoyance for me driving in town as the lines are all over the place.

Again, I love the features, but I would probably not buy it if I got a new car because I do not drive on the highway that often and my wife doesn't use cruise control.

It's one of those things that sometimes you don't notice is there, but in the worst circumstances you may wish you had it. I will say on long drives or in stop and go traffic the distronic is awesome

You survived this long without it... It's hard to believe but you did

The chance of distronic making a significant difference in the morbidity or mortality of a driver involved in a car accident is vanishingly small IMO compared to the difference basic things like seat belts, crumple zones, abs, abs, structural rigidity, and airbags are proven to do in an accident ...

I would think the chance of MISusing distronic or succumbing to a distro glitch and being in a serious accident are higher.

Distronic plus w/ steering assist is awesome. The car accurately stays in it's lane. All you have to do is have contact with the steering wheel. At first it takes a little time to trust the system and you still have to pay attention, but it greatly reduces the stress of long drives, especially in traffic. Below 40 mph you don't even have to touch the steering wheel. The car will track the car in front of you, even to a full stop. If you stop more than a second or two, you must tap the accelerator, the car then continues unassisted. If the car in front of you stops suddenly at slow speed and you're not paying attention, you won't hit it; emergency braking will be applied. Of course it's best to pay attention.


The other features are great also (pre-safe brake, cross-traffic assist, pedestrian recognition, active lane keeping and active blind spot assist), hopefully though, you won't have to use those often.

Though most of these don't save lots of lives they do lower insurance claims significantly. IIHS claims they can reduce accidents claims up to 30%. Most of those are inattentive oops at slower speeds. My take on them is positive, our MDX has essentially the same suite of driver assistance features though a little less sophisticated. They are a very welcome thing to have on long highway drives where they reduce driver workload very significantly. They take a little to get used to but after you get the knack of them you wonder why not all cars have them.

They didn't have any C's on the lot with this feature, so we checked out a W222 with distronic cruise and steering assist. The consensus was it's great on the highway but the steering assist was fairly lousy around town. I wouldn't count on it steering for you around town, the car was all over the road like we were drunk. On the highway at speed it worked much better and could be a real fatigue saver.

If I was going to be out of town or commuting on the highway day in and day out, I would unquestionably add the option to reduce driver fatigue. I could see this option contributing much more to my well being than the media package or leather seats on the highway. If you are going to be mostly around town in stop and go traffic, I would probably avoid it as it needs a few more years to be perfected.

Advanced Driver Package
 

I have this on my 2013 GLK, special order. I would not likely buy another vehicle without it. Saved my backside several times. The Distronic is great but does require you to be attentive as it sometimes slows too quickly at the wrong time but in light to medium traffic it is fantastic. An extra pair of eyes. Also, with the active lane change assist, there have been a few times that someone is there that I did not see, even with a quick shoulder check that required the car to push be back from the lane to avoid an accident. I might have missed them anyhow but it is good to know it is there for that back up set of eyes. If you can get it!!:)

Good comment from the person with the MDX. I had to drive my son's MDX the other day and wondered why his car was not slowing down with the traffic as my GLK does. Duh! I agree, all cars should have this feature for safety alone! : )

Blind Spot Assist
 

I ordered on my new C300 Luxury two weeks ago, but I won't receive it until mid-Jan. I can report that when test driving two C300s from two different dealers, Blind Spot Assist alerted me in heavy traffic. These were low speed merges where two lanes merged into one. In both cases, I had not seen the hidden cars, because the dealer stickers covered the entire left rear windows! (I had not bothered to adjust the mirrors.) Before turning the wheel, I would have leaned forward and really craned my neck. But Blind Spot Assist alerted me as soon as I activated the turn signals.

Blind Spot Assist
 

I ordered the Driver's assistance package on my new C300 Luxury two weeks ago, but I won't receive it until mid-Jan. I can report that when test driving two C300s from two different dealers, Blind Spot Assist alerted me in heavy traffic. These were low speed merges where two lanes merged into one. In both cases, I had not seen the hidden cars, because the dealer stickers covered the entire left rear windows! (I had not bothered to adjust the mirrors.) Before turning the wheel, I would have leaned forward and really craned my neck. But Blind Spot Assist alerted me as soon as I activated the turn signals.

Interesting post! I'm trying to decide if I should order the Driver Assist Package or not..... my main concern has to do with how intrusive is it? I think I read something about the car vibrating the steering wheel when it's approaching the line. Does this mean that my steering wheel will vibrate and try to keep me in a lane when I'm purposely trying to change lanes? I'd like to think the electronic nanny system will only make itself known when it's actually needed. What can I expect?

I ordered my C300 with the Driver Asst Pkg and hope to receive my vehicle in January. I've skimmed the manual on the MBUSA website and I think that if there is no danger of a collision there will be no input from the car.


Taken from the manual:


Active Blind Spot Assist evaluates the


free space in the direction of travel and to the


side before making a course-correcting brake


application.


It sounds too good to be true to never have to worry about lane changing someone and causing an accident.