boater07

I have very mixed feelings on this option. To clarify-Love it in light traffic on the open road.
However, I'm not so sure when zooming down a freeway at say 75. When a car
pulls in front, I feel the sudden slow down is extreme. { is that the brake? or
downshift?} After that car pulls back-gaining back the speed is also extreme.

While this may be safe in the event I'm not alert to slowing down, my anticipation with the gas pedal is much more gradual. In other words, when I
see traffic ahead slowing down, I do the same much earlier that the sudden brake at the set distance and the resuming speed.
I feel that my speed adjustments are much smoother. Am I nuts

bigh123

You are not nuts. I have the driver assistance package. I love the blind spot and lane tracking assist. The jury is still out on distronic plus cruise control (i like how it will warn you when cruise control is not on and automatic braking when you are not slowing down fast enough without cruise). My danger is that sometimes when I'm driving the cruise control will turn off (braking or slowing down too much) on the highway and I might forget to brake!

vdubpower

works amazingly, only use it on freeway, i always cover the brake but i let it do its thing, very impressive

boater07

Now I'm really embarrassed. I've only used it as function of cruise control.
Didn't know auto braking worked w/o cruise.
Getting the manual out again but find the instructions overwhelming. May have to let the dealer go thru it with me.

W210

I better read my manual too as I thought auto braking is only for emergencies and doesn't work independently from cruise control..

listerone

When Distronic Plus is deployed through the center display options,I'm 99.9% certain that the only times any kind of "automatic" braking occurs are when 1) you've crossed a dividing line (brakes on one side are applied...cruise control,itself,need not be "on") 2) when you're about to turn into a vehicle that's in your blind spot (one side braking,cruise control need not be "on") 3) when you get too close to a vehicle in front of you (cruise control must be "on") 4) when your vehicle detects in imminent frontal crash (cruise control need not be "on").

listerone

No,not at all.While some love the "stop/go" capabilities of "advanced" cruise control,and it really *is* a neat concept,it's still a very imperfect feature...perhaps because it's still relatively new.I love active blind spot and lane assist but don't like "advanced" cruise both for the reasons you've mentioned and one or two others.I wish the cruise could be adjustable so that you can revert to old fashioned cruise and yet still keep the emergency braking features.I think you can disable Distronic on the dashboard but if you do you lose the safety features as well as the "advanced" cruise.But I'm not 100% certain of that.I think I might do some experimentation.

vdubpower

there is no basic cruise control, its all in one with distronic

boater07

Glad I brought this subject up. Looks like I'm not alone.
This afternoon, I went into drive assist on steering wheel to make sure Dist
is on. It shows my vehicle and what appears to be the min brake distance of
50 ft. I then followed other cars which show up on the screen. At a stop light,
I got well into this "safe dist" and nothing happened to braking. [I had my foot ready}
Back to the manual

boater07

Sorry forget everything. It appears you need an actual emergency to test the system [ie pre safe brake and brake assist plus]
Seems it only works at speeds above 4mph.
I'm not about to try it and will simply hope it works.

mnje350

I agree the response of the system to the environment can be less than refined at times. Clearly you can evaluate the driving environment better than distronic can. All of your driving experiences, perception and other cognitive abilities allow you to do a better job at modulating speed, breaking and acceleration. However, if on the other hand you are distracted or fatigued or simply not paying attention, the computer does a very good job at helping you avoid an accident. I am sure it was never intended to replace your own skills rather, it's there to help you complete your journey safely.

These systems will continue to be refined and improved. After all, albeit more sophisticated systems, can land an airliner. Never the less they still want a pair of pilots on board.

Just an opinion.

Karl901

Ok, distronic works great. I use all the time in heavy traffic. Just set the distance at 50 meters at the max speed you want to go, and let it work. Trusting it is difficult at first. If someone jumps in front of you it will go in a panic mode and scare the sh-- out of you. I have used it following cars off ramps and it stop the car completely. When on, you can speed up, just remove your foot off the gas and returns to normal. I took European delivery and enjoyed it on the autobahn.
Max speed you can set it at is 200kph, If you want to go faster than that, you have to use your right foot!

Henrik-200 cdi

I use the Distronic Plus in the city by Stop and Go, it's very comfortable!
I also use it on the Motorway sometimes.
In the city I always set the shortest distance and on the motorway the longest distance.

WEBSRFR

Glad Distronic worked so well for you! I'd love to get it in my next car...

Were you concerned about the break-in period when you took delivery of the car in Germany? I had always wanted to do the Black Forest trail but I've been considered about not being able to enjoy the autobahn and the driving experience in Germany by having to be careful of the break-in period...

WEBSRFR

Karl901 --

PS: What is the speed limiter set at for the 550? Is it 135 mph or is it higher if you do European delivery?

Karl901

Any, MB car you buy for Euro delivery is same car you would buy here, you just interrupt the shipping time line.

Also, yes I did a breaking period. Went to France first, this forced me not to drive fast.

Arrie

How does it work when you turn the radar off? Does that disable the whole cruise control or would it work like normal CC?

Karl901

MB may know?.....?