Does MB only put Driving Assistance Package in AMG W205s? I've been searching for quite some time and cannot find one with this package that is not an AMG. They advertise the heck out of it and then it's impossible to find.

Thanks.

 

No, it's a regular option. The "AMG" C300s aren't mechanically different from the base or luxury versions, but they're probably more likely to be loaded up with stuff like DA than the base cars you'll find.

 

There are a few, but most dealers don't opt for that package on cars they stock as it is not a very popular package. I found a couple in Houston to test drive, but was out of my price range (as usually if it has Driver Assist the car is pretty well loaded). The dealer I worked with was able to find one in my price range, but the car was in Miami. Dealer said there were only 75 cars available in the southeast with driver assist package on the C300. Best to order the car if you want driver assist, because finding one will limit the other packages or add-ons you can choose. My only mandate was had to have driver assist and in my price range, all other options weren't important to me.

 

The driver assist system is by far one of the most annoying things on the track and on the road. YOU CANNOT 100% disable it. Its always based on closing distance.

It beeps frequently for no reason at all. The only part i like is the SIDE awareness in the mirrors but i am not confident that is part of driver assist or possibly a different feature.

I also never run the lane departure either. Another worthless feature is the Parking assist where it parallel parks for you. I only thought it was neat to show it off. I never use it because I learned how to park at 16.

 

How do you like the driver's assistance package?

 

The DA Package is somewhat of aa rarity in the world of C-Class vehicles. That package is rarely equipped within in-stock C-Class vehicles you'll find at dealers and more commonly added when a person builds and configures their own car from scratch. Searching for a C-Class with the DA Package will also severely limit the search field in terms of available color combos, and chances are, the ones you'll find will be loaded up with other things you might not want to pay for.

Personally, I feel it's an unnecessary option for most drivers. Most people buying/leasing cars at this price point are more than happy to simply have Blind Spot Assist and other standard safety features (Collision Prevention Assist PLUS, Attention Assist, etc). Also, some of the key features within the DA Package are centered around Cruise Control, so if you are someone who rarely (or never) uses Cruise Control, I'd say you should save the money and forget about this package.

 

I came from a fully loaded 13 Nissan Maxima and the only reason I was looking to upgrade cars was because I wanted Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), known as Distronic Plus in the MB world. I actually lost a few premium features I had in the Nissan to jump to this C300. I tested Dodge, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and tried to test BMW but couldn't find any with ACC in Houston.
To Answer your question.
I really enjoy it! My car rarely beeps, in fact only time it beeps is if I turn on the blinker and someone is in my blind spot.
That being said I really only use Distronic+ on the Highways and it is a god send in rush hour traffic. It takes awhile to trust the car will stop and I actually worry more about being rear ended than I do about hitting someone as the system brakes late (you can control distance, but in rush hour if you have set to anything but the closest distance there is too much space). The other thing I noted and why I tend to only use it on highways is because it only notices cars that it sees as moving in front of your car within 300 ft, as in if you are coming up on a traffic light and aren't already following close to a car the Dist+ will not recognize the stopped vehicles and if allowed would ram them full force. When I go to/from work, Once I get on the highway, for 10-12 miles I do not touch the gas or brakes until I get off the exit ramp.

So love it for Highway driving, especially stop and go.
needs improvement:
I think it brakes to late
Doesn't see stopped objects as it approaches them.

As far as the other safety features, blind spot monitoring is great, the lane assist/departure you can definitely tell when it kicks in and doesn't bother me as all it really does is stiffen the steering and slowly guide car back to middle of road. It also will alert you if it thinks you are groggy, but haven't been in that state to test out the functionality and same as cross traffic assist as vehicle hasn't encountered that situation. Overall I would do it again.

For anyone that likes to feel in control obviously Dist+ is not for you.
It definitely requires a lot of trust when it is approaching stopped traffic ahead of it that you can see and would already be braking, allowing it to wait until the car in front of you starts to decelerate then for it to get within the too close zone before it will start to brake is definitely a mini-rush to the senses.

I am a technology geek and one of minority that can't wait for autonomous cars to drive me from a-b, so I can do something else besides focus on the idiot drivers in front of me To me this is the start of that and I hate rush hour traffic or having to always adjust my cruise control when traveling long distances, so Dist+ was exactly what I wanted in a car. Just My Opinion.

 

Or if you're someone who frequently sits in traffic, it's very useful.

 

I use DA more than I thought I would. Mostly the cruise, which I toggle on whenever I'm on a boring stretch of road and traffic is just tooling along at a steady pace. In heavy stop and go it's really handy, since it accelerates, brakes and steers without requiring any driver input.

On the interstate, steering assist is useless and I turn it off. Lane keep assist IMO is dangerous. If you change lanes without signaling it momentarily fights you. For example if you're in the right lane on a 2 lane road approaching an intersection, and the intersection has a right turn only lane, the tendency is to just drift right into the turn lane. The system perceives that as an unintended lane change and tries very hard to prevent it.

PA I've yet to use, but the included 360 cam gets used all the time when parking. The front cam has saved the front lip spoiler a couple of times. I also use it in the car wash to keep the car dead center.

Overall there's no option I have, and I have pretty much all of them, that I regret paying the extra money for.

 

in the 16 C300 I have I can disable pretty much all the safety features, of course distronic+ appears to be the only cruise control, as I haven't found a way to do just normal cruise control, but I hated old style cruise control anyway, so doesn't bother me.

 

Lane Keep assist is not a problem for me as I tend to always use my turn signals. I was test driving a Chrysler 300 and experienced that pulling the car back because I hadn't signaled, so really driving habits will definitely be a major factor in regards to personal preference of the safety features, etc.