toban

I am waiting to order a 2012 E550 4Matic with the new V8 engine. I have been "on again off again" about the Distronic option.

Can anyone tell me if this is worth the $2700.00 Canadian option price?

Toban

220S

If you do a lot of freeway driving and/or stop and go freeway driving and/or long distance in areas where there is a fair amount of traffic, then yes, imho. I didn't get it with my car, but I can get a factory install by Steve@BenzNL for the same price as the original option cost. I decided not to do it only because I moved away from a major urban area and no longer do much freeway driving. But if you feel advanced cruise control is worth it to you, go for it. Distronic Plus is a pretty good system.

Jan AMG

I'd say yes

wmoor004

It came on my vehicle but I have only used it once...

lfranklin

I had it on my cls and have it on my E......wouldn't buy a car without it. It's like sex, once you've had it, you can't do without it.

listerone

For me it was a must-have.I think it's well worth it.Lane change warning is useful as is active cruise.It also includes,I believe,some kind of automatic emergency braking feature which I haven't needed (yet,at least) but sounds like a real useful feature.I'm really glad I have it.

ttoE550

I use my adaptive maybe 90% of the time just driving around town. We have a lot of 2 lane roads with no passing, so I just set it at a comfortable speed to have my car automatically adjust for the speed of the car in front. With that and lane departure assist, I can just spread open the newspaper and enjoy the ride.

It is also very good to have with lots of stop and go traffic.

I enjoy it less in heavy traffic that is flowing nicely (you have the option to turn it off). The minimum distance it will follow the car in front invites people to pull over into your lane - one car jumps in, your car slows down to open up the minimum distance, another car jumps in, your car slows down,... I find that irritating.

Live Oak

IMO, Blind Spot Assist alone is worth it.

Arrie

If Distronic can see moose, like I think it can as it is a radar it is well worth the money on those long midnight drives in summer time when you only see the red eyes of the animal when you pass it. Distronic will be on brakes well before you even guess one of these monsters jumped on the road.

YYZ-E55

DISTRONIC is great both on the highway and around town. I had it in my E-Class and miss it everyday - it reduced road rage significantly for me.

As mentioned, PRE-SAFE BRAKE acts as a "virtual crumple zone" in the event of an imminent collision and could certainly reduce the chance of injury.

ttoE550

I'm not sure about a moose, but I know it can see deer and bicyclists. I had a deer run in front of my car -- no danger as it was sufficiently far off -- while using adaptive cruise, and got an immediate hit on the brakes. Woke me up if nothing else. Also, I can't tell you how many times I've been following an SUV or van that suddenly veers around a bicyclist I could not see (the SUV or van blocking my view) -- the adaptive cruise immediately recognizes the bicyclist and hits the brakes.

It's both a cool system and sober reminder that cars that drive themselves have a long way to go. During the Cmas lights festivals, for instance, I'd set the car to follow at maximum distance so I could enjoy the lights without worrying about the car in front. Several times the system just gives up, and shuts itself off with a warning beep. It's happened several times for the past two years, so it's not a fluke.

Arrie

And the pre-safe brake works without having the distronic ON. Pre-safe is ON all the time and automatically applies about 40% brake force if the driver does not touch the pedal at all. The car will hit but with much less force that without the pre-safe.

Distronic will stop the car 100% if distance allows, like in normal traffic it does.

Live Oak

That's happened to me a couple times in my E550. In both cases, there were a lot of bugs -- it was evening. Looking at the front of the car, I saw a lot of dead grasshoppers. I've come to the conclusion that maybe Distronic sees this big bug real close, at high speed, and figures it must be really screwed up because another car can't be that close that fast, and shuts itself down.

A big guess on my part.

Strangely, after a few minutes, it fires back up all by itself. ????????????

pb12

Ill throw my 2 cents in the ring. I purchased a 2011 550 4matic on Friday, and it took quite some time to secure a 2011 I was willing to buy. One of my criteria was that whatever car I purchased MUST have Distronic as one of its options. I spend a lot of my time slogging up and down I5 between Portland and Seattle, a stretch of road which standard cruise control requires a good deal of intervention.

This morning i drove up to Bellevue from my home in Portland and I did hit the brakes once. That is not to say that it was smooth saling, hardly. Distronic really is amazing, and well worth the money. The car braked and accelerated very very nicely. It is extremely impressive technology.

M

Autobahn-Maniac

I would never own a car without it. It is more important than most options IMHO.

wmoor004

I stand corrected... Once I reviewed all the feature that came with my Distronic - There is no way I would own an automobile without it... My main reason for the purchase was "Blind Spot Assist! Lane Assist can get cumbersome but you can always turn it off (Aggressive drivers). I've used the Adaptive Cruise Control once.

listerone

Distronic was a must have for me as well.I bought "off the lot" because I'm an impatient guy and there was an in-stock promotion in effect so my dealer (in Massachusetts) had to contact a dealer near Baltimore to find what I wanted (or something close,at least).

abiazis

YES...no question...no doubt......no hesitation...

fingroupb

I've tried the adaptive cruise in heavy traffic here in the DC area and found it to be just ok. The problem is the system, obviously, can't see traffic ahead of the car in front and so can't anticipate, making for a somewhat jerky ride. It is pretty cool though I can do better.

The Lane Tracking feature is a PITA and I've turned it off for local travel. With all the construction around here, the lanes veer and are alternately marked by dashed and solid lane markings. The first time Lane Tracking braked one side of the car because it thought I was drifting was startling.

Blind Spot Assist is fantastic and is, as someone above mentioned, worth the price of the whole package.

We have yet to take a trip in the car but will use all of the package out on the road.

MagicJack

Distronic is well worth it.

If I could have only 1 option on the car it would be distronic. I would sacrifice engine, radio, leather, airmatic, parktronic etc to have it.

Sher Judge

Absolute YES as DISTRONIC is real Life Saver.

Johnny Mo

Well I am going to go out on a limb here and be the first NO vote for this. I've mentioned this before - in my post when I had to special order my E without this feature, but for me I'd prefer that my radar detector not get false alarms the entire time I am driving than have the distronic...I've driven for 25 years without the aid of electronic nannies and having them is not going to change the way I drive, I use my mirrors, I drive at night for the rnage of my headlights etc. I'm all for technology and advancements in safety, but between the laser guided lane control on alot of Infinit vehicles and the MB's with Distronic I pass on the road, I get more than my fill of false radar alerts so I don't need to become my own false alert generator.

For the price - I would likely be driving with it off most of the time so woudln't be worth it for me.

Live Oak

And it can be very subtle, sneaky actually.

I've been cruising Interstate cross country at, say, 80mph, with the distance dialed in at maximum. Listening to the radio. All of a sudden I notice that I'm doing only 70mph -- matching a car ahead. Distronic slowed me down so calmly I didn't even notice the change.

Of course, Distronic, or any other cruise control, is not appropriate for "The 405" or other fast, high density highways. I really appreciate PRE-SAFE BRAKING, but I don't ever, ever want to have it kick in.

grane

How does the RCMP ( or name certain US states) know you are not using a ""banned in nanny state" illegal radar or laser detector? not a knock just a respectful question.

I love my Parktronic but use fog lights to detect critters.

No experience with any Distronic system. Are they radar or laser based? Do they work in the rain?

ttoE550

It does work in the rain, but using cruise control in significant rain is not a good idea.

Radar detectors are banned in nearby Virginia. I have driven past many, many speed traps with no issues. Just in case, I bookmarked the manual that mentions that this might happen (edit) so I can show the police.

Distronic is radar-based. No lasers.