NavNut

Those of you who have this option: Just how well does it work? Would you get it again?

I've been thinking about this one, and I have to admit, I have never used regular cruise control systems because of the problem that this option seems to fix: I am normally, contantly putzing with it because I usually catch up to cars and have to back off, so the result is I never turn cruise on.

This feature seems to solve that problem. I can set a speed and a comfortable following distance. If it works well, this sounds ideal for longer trips.

The risk is that it doesn't work well and I end up not using it either. If it didn't cost an arm and a leg, I would just get it, but at $3k, I need to think it over.

My salesman keeps talking me out of it by giving the example that if you leave a space in front of you, people will be constantly cutting you off and you keep falling back and back and back, never even reaching your set cruising speed.

With all I'm hearing, I am beginning to wonder if he's trying to talk me out of it because it's another feature you can't get. I'm assuming someone on this board has it... how is it? Is it worth three grand?

-NavNut

Dannyalh

My E500 came with distronic and I have used it since November. It is a good option. You can adjust the distance you want to maintain from the car in front of you. It works great. It is pricey but I think it is worth it if you like to use cruise control. My only complaint is I wish I could select a distance a little shorter than what the system allows.

swift45

Can distronic, or super distonic be retofited to a 2010 E 350 (212) I am in the LA, Cal. area?
Would appreciate any suggestions.

George H.

TheGreatOne45

he's talking you out of it because the cars he has on the lot w/o distronic have a higher commission for him. always remember that in any sales environment, 99% of the time the rep who you are dealing with does not care about your well being. they are looking to make the most money possible for themselves. there are exceptions to this rule of course.

Mackhack

I wanna have it retrofitted in my car for years now. Just think about driving long distances on the freeway how much more convenient the drive will become.

I even drive with cruise control in traffic (although I have to turn it on and off constantly) but the gas mileage becomes so much better and I'm quite addicted to improve my mpg constantly with every tank.

So if you would ask me, go for it!

LaicepsYdobon

I didn't have it on any of my W211s but I have it on my current W212 and I must say that I LOVE it ! When I go on long trips I set my Cruise Control on 80mph and cruise along but I end up catching up with cars quite often and they don't move out of the way in time so I was constantly switching it on and off. The DistronicPlus is like a dream. Set it and then forget it. My one and only complaint is that even when I have the system setup to leave the shortest distance between two cars it is like two car length and people either cut you off while you are flowing a slower car or the car in front will not pull over because you are not close enough. But in the majority of the cases it works just awesome and I would not get a car without it anymore.

Heatwave

I don't have Distronic on my '07 E350. But we had it (by a different name, of course) on a former car: a 2005 Toyota Avalon. It took a little getting used to, but I came to love it. It's a good safety device: set the time interval you want to maintain from the vehicle ahead of you ... such as 2 secs, 3 secs, or 4 secs. The system did a great job of maintaining the selected time interval. Downside: usually, the car's slowing down was so subtle I didn't detect it until I glanced down at the speedo and realized that I was now following along (for instance) at 67 mph instead of the 78 mph I had set on the cruise control. Distronic is going to help a lot of MB drivers avoid tail-gating vehicles ahead of them.

Mackhack

But Distronic doesn't use a time interval. It uses distance to the vehicle in front of you.

Diesel Benz

Depends on the interpretation, I guess both can be considered correct. Distronic actually keeps a distance that you travel in a given time at the current speed. The time is at least on my 221 from 1 to 2 seconds. Distronic Plus applies a fixed distance when it stops the car behind one ahead, otherwise the "1 to 2 second" distance would be a bit too small.

Mackhack

Diesel Benz, I know that both could be considered correct. What I tried to say is that you don't enter a time as a measurment to the vehicle in front of you but rather meter/yard/feet or whatever.

Sorry for the confusion.

Heatwave

I concur in your statement. Our Toyota presented its distance control in feet, but I interpreted it in distance-per-second. At its closest setting, it maintained a 2-second interval between me and the vehicle ahead ... I know because I've always mentally counted 2 seconds for my distance interval: "One potato, two potato, three potato," ... etc. The distance spread out as our highway speed increased, but the time interval remained constant.

We're talking the same thing here. It's a good system. I wish it were on our E350, but I can still count potatos ....

Mackhack

I learned half the speedometer as distance in driving school in Germany as a minimum distance. So if you would drive 100 km/h then 50 meters are minimum distance. But different countries different ideas.