bigbot45

My wife has a brand new Lexus with the feature. Mercedes has nothing to fear yet. The Lexus/Toyota system seems to be one to two generations behind. I would really like to try out the new system in the S-Class. Our system recognizes vehicles at....was it 300 ft? What distance does the new S-Class recognize at?

Otherwise I wholeheartedly agree...even if it isn't standard you shouldn't need to equip the C-class to the extent you must to get the feature.

unr1

I think it will just be in tiers
more advanced driving capabilities on higher packages
And basic full range cruise as standard.

Jdem22

Yeah man I know, that is why I specifically said "at the lowest setting". Even at the shortest following distance, a tractor trailer has a big enough gap to move in front of the car.

yjchua

Distronic was probably designed for civilized German driving conditions.

In Australia or Malaysia, I'd never use Distronic in bumper-to-bumper traffic, because even at the minimum setting, queue-jumpers would still cut into my lane.

gfmohn

Odd, my 2015 C300 does not have that problem. At the closest setting and low speeds, it stays close enough to the car ahead that I am a little uncomfortable. I can even back off the setting a little without inviting line jumpers. There is nothing civilized about the traffic in my area, either. I live in Eastern Massachusetts, where drivers are a little proud of being the worst drivers in the U.S. The accident statistics (and the insurance rates) prove it, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles said it (several decades ago), and there is an extremely funny book about it. (The book is entitled "The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets. That is the second edition. The first edition was called simply "Wild in the Streets", but copyright problems arose when it came time for the second edition.)

Massachusetts likes to be different in everything, and one of those differences is yellow centerlines. I now believe that this is why my Steering Assist has never really worked. It just struggled a little, enough to relieve steering effort a little. I just got back from a trip to northern Maine, round trip over 750 miles. I discovered that Steering Assist worked well on Maine Interstates and even on well-marked secondary roads. In Maine, all markings are white. On the return trip, Steering Assist also worked well in the center lane of Massachusetts Interstates, where the markings were white on both sides. Steering Assist still did not work well in the left lane, where the line on the left was yellow.

I also found that, even when my Steering Assist is guiding the car okay, it is very fussy about the amount of pressure required on the steering wheel. Just a couple of fingers (as I have seen illustrated) is not enough. I must grip the wheel with a full fist and remember to maintain that exact pressure. Just a little too much pressure, and the system thinks that I want to drive myself and quits guiding. But on the whole (and for the very first time), Steering Assist made a valuable reduction in the fatigue of this elderly driver on a long trip.

BenzC400

My experience is slightly different. I use steering assist for every highway trip, including to and from Boston. I drive mostly in the left lane and the system has no problem with yellow lines and accurately stays in the lane. I also find that I can drive with very litttle contact with the streering wheel. A couple of fingers or just resting my hands on top of the wheel works fine.

I agree that in stop and go traffic, Distronic can follow very close. It’s difficult for someone to cut in front, but some will still try. The system will detect the car that cuts in, but it can get a little scary.

JIMSHANN

The only way I can resume is to pull the lever. Tapping the gas pedal does nothing.

Mr. J

Must be an AUS spec thing. I use this feature nearly daily and confirm that the tapping the pedal resumes operation from a full stop including autostop.

unr1

Yep, same here. Although I prefer to pull the lever. A lot easier for me.