Is Distronic Any Good??
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Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 406
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From: USA
Is Distronic Any Good??
Anyone on here got distronic on their E Coupe? Seems to be rare but while I was reading the brochure for the coupe, I learned how the system is capable of stopping the vehicle to a dead-halt if needed. Just wondering how accurately or smoothly it operates or if it is one of those systems with plenty of annoyances to make it more of a hassle than worthwhile.
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 9
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From: Finland
E250 CGI Coupé ['09]
I've had my E for a week now, and it's a pretty comfy feature. At first I was a bit suspicious about it and I only let it speed-up and slow-down. I finally tried to see if it works as described yesterday, and the car really did stop on the lights as did the car in front of me.
The only thing I would criticize on would be that it slows down a bit when the car in front of you happens to change the lane or so, but it only slows down for a couple of seconds. So that's really a minor issue. All in all, I'm personally very happy with it.
The only thing I would criticize on would be that it slows down a bit when the car in front of you happens to change the lane or so, but it only slows down for a couple of seconds. So that's really a minor issue. All in all, I'm personally very happy with it.
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 12
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From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
MB E550 Coupe
I've had my E550 for 7 months now. Love the car. I DO like Distronic Plus. The minor annoyances mentioned regarding vehicle lane change are far outweiged by the adaptive cruise control itself. As far as the crash avoidance technology goes, lucky that I have not had to use. I would say though that on a few occasions I have received audible and visual (the instrument cluster turns red) notifications about potential rear end crash. These days of driver distraction, it's a wonderful saftey feature. (Could this technology be mandated in all vehicles and solve the driver distraction issues governments are having to address? - maybe....)
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 72
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2010 E350 Coupe, 2010 GL350 Bluetec
There was a thread on this forum a few months ago...
OK, found it, link --> https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-c...e-control.html
Again, it's a nice and fun feature to play with but I think the real value is that it links to Pre-Safe Brake. And just that safety feature alone is worth the extra money IMHO. I have had the alarm comes on a few times already (4000 miles now) although I was able to brake myself every time before the car did it for me. And I consider myself driving very cautiously and 90% of the time within speed limit.
I can think of one scenario it could be very useful. Many years ago I drove into an heaviest fog I've ever experienced on the highway for several miles. It was so thick that I could only see the street lamps while I was under them. Note that it was a notorious foggy area so the lamps were design for fog, but still the visibility was like maybe 20' or less. Not knowing what surrounding others were doing, or intent to do, I didn't dare to pull over. So I slowed down to maybe 15 - 25 mph and finally made it through. During the time, I didn't overtake nor been overtaken by any other vehicle. I didn't see any other car at all, not even on the shoulder (I was on the far outside lane). Obviously everyone thought the same thing as I did, slowed down and kept going very nervously. It would be helpful if I had Distronic Plus in situation like this I think. At least the car would "see" the vehicle in front and would alarm and brake for me if I got too close to the vehicle in front that I couldn't see.
I think of the feature as an insurance policy, but better, that it can actually help to avoid an accident or reduce damages, and I only pay it once during the time I own the car.
OK, found it, link --> https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-c...e-control.html
Again, it's a nice and fun feature to play with but I think the real value is that it links to Pre-Safe Brake. And just that safety feature alone is worth the extra money IMHO. I have had the alarm comes on a few times already (4000 miles now) although I was able to brake myself every time before the car did it for me. And I consider myself driving very cautiously and 90% of the time within speed limit.
I can think of one scenario it could be very useful. Many years ago I drove into an heaviest fog I've ever experienced on the highway for several miles. It was so thick that I could only see the street lamps while I was under them. Note that it was a notorious foggy area so the lamps were design for fog, but still the visibility was like maybe 20' or less. Not knowing what surrounding others were doing, or intent to do, I didn't dare to pull over. So I slowed down to maybe 15 - 25 mph and finally made it through. During the time, I didn't overtake nor been overtaken by any other vehicle. I didn't see any other car at all, not even on the shoulder (I was on the far outside lane). Obviously everyone thought the same thing as I did, slowed down and kept going very nervously. It would be helpful if I had Distronic Plus in situation like this I think. At least the car would "see" the vehicle in front and would alarm and brake for me if I got too close to the vehicle in front that I couldn't see.
I think of the feature as an insurance policy, but better, that it can actually help to avoid an accident or reduce damages, and I only pay it once during the time I own the car.
