Dema

I am trying to decide between two cars where major difference is these two packages. Actually the cars have more differences, for example one his sport and another luxury, however major decision point is still between Lighting and Distronic. I can read many threads here where people are excited about lighting package. I can also read about terrific functionality of Distronic. Obviously it is nice to take both but I do not have the opportunity. So I am thinking toward to Distronic based on
- drive mostly on free ways and lightened city streets
- spend lot time in commutes sitting in slow traffic
Can someone add more thoughts?

bob2011

If i was in your position i would go for the lighting package, then again i do alot of nighttime driving on the freeway so my opinion might be a bit biased. I honestly would not get the distronic on any of my future cars, why you ask? Well frankly distronic would kind of make me lazy in my driving and i like to be the only one in control of my car.also say in the future you decide to keep the car after its warranty expires, and something happens to distronic, im assuming its not a cheap fix.

GregTR

Of those two features, all else being equal I'd go with distronic myself and I do drive a lot of open highway and night but I'd still rather have the autopilot with all the safety features than the adaptive LED high beams.

Since our situations are all different, I don't know why you can't have both short of doing a more extensive search or simply waiting out a special order or the extra $1,500 would break the bank. Unless you have to have a new car today I don't see any reason why you would have to compromise. This is what I don't get about people. They are buying possibly the second largest ticket item in their life and they can't wait 8 weeks for it to be just the way they want it.

Where I'm coming from people had to wait 5 years for a new car after they already put 50% down up front and the only option they had when the cars came in was whether they wanted to take the blue one or the red one. My dad picked a blue one even though the hood was damaged and had to be repainted because he didn't care for the red color. I ordered 3 of my last 4 cars and I don't think I'll do it any other way again.

rjej84

to me i care about the looks of the car. Ill only probably put 5k miles a year on my E but im so glad i decided to make sure i got the lighting package. It just makes the car stand out so much more. With so many features, i dont miss distronic

Dema

Unfortunately a dealer sold the car with lighting package although I put a deposit on it. However I am not really angry, so far I am impressed with distronic, it is pretty much intuitive to operate, and works well, although it works not in my style of driving, it starts braking a bit too late and keeps much closer distance. Regular LED lights look still brighter than previous Xenon, so not much disappointment in this department as well. But certainly I will take lighting when will take W213 after 3 years. .

T.H.Carrera

so did you buy the car? and which dealer you decided to go with ?


I think Distronic will be best for you.

GregTR

I love it when people act these cars are like one of a kind specialty items. They are commodities sold in huge quantities by a huge number of sellers with a ton of substitute goods available.

Either way, enjoy the new ride. You do know that you can adjust the distronic following distance from 1 to 2 seconds. Page 196 in the user's manual.

Arrie

You said in your first post that you spend lots of time sitting in slow traffic. Distronic is perfect for that.

It takes a bit of "getting used to" to trust that it really stops the car behind the one in front of you and you need to understand that it will not stop behind a car that is not moving before the distronic sees it. Also there is a limit how much brakes Distronic applies.

It is a driver's aid system and as that works very well. I have the 2010 model Distronic that does not do any steering functions but it is just so nice equipment to have in city or on highway. Especially in highway when you want to drive your speed but it is just a hair faster than the car you want to follow. With Distronic no problem.

In traffic jam what could be better than let the car follow the slow moving car in front of you? No need to keep foot on the brake pedal and when at full stop just a flick of the stalk makes the car move again to follow the other car. No need to use foot on the accelerator pedal.

Just use it at all times. In about a month when you get used to it you will see you picked the correct car and will have this system in your next car with the lights package.

PeterUbers

At this price point, order your car with everything you want, give up a bit of negotiating power due to the car not being on the lot, and enjoy both features.

I could understand if the car was 20k or $30k... but for a $60k+ car.. I dunno, a couple thousand extra usually should not put the car out of the question for most potential buyers unless they were well out of their financial comfort zone to begin with. But to each their own, respectfully.

Dema

I completely agree with a point to do not save of features you like, otherwise you just wasted $60k or more and as result remain stressed.
Some features are controversial. for example I like leather-wood steering wheel look, however I like better feel of leather wheel.
Dealers seem order cars with really weird options set, why luxury edition is coming just with keyless go without power trunk opener? Obviously it is cool feature when you can open trunk by raising your foot. It is certainly luxury feature, since sports man can open trunk using hand.
Anyway I didn't want to get another Benz, I gt really tired driving only Benz for last 10 years. So I did attempt to get BMW, Audi, or even Lexus.
Audi residual is too low, so payments for $60K car become $800. Certainly Audi is nice car, but still behind of Benz, fully loaded A6 doesn't have even power trunk opener. Did I mention HOLD feature? I use to it, and can't imagine a car without. BMW appeared to cost $10K more than equally equipped Mercedes. However when you drive 535i, you get better feel but not equal to $10k. Somehow Lexus GS looks really weird, and although it has nice interior, I still can't imagine to drive so ugly looking car. Jaguar? Indeed really handsome car in and out, but owned by an Indian company. It makes you feel you drive Indian car. Anyway, we have only two Jaguar dealers one in San Jose and another in Walnut Creek, so it is far for me just to do any research. Tesla? I feel like really hyped car, you need to put $5K deposit to just test drive it.

GregTR

There is no controversy, some people like the wood, others like the leather. This is why they offer both and you can order it either way.

As for the Keyless-GO, the Keyless-GO with the trunk release was a late release so the early builds had no choice but only offer the keyless-go without the power trunk. My BMW sedan has keyless-go but no power trunk so it's not like the two are married to one another and one is a must. Wife's A4 Avant has keyless go and power trunk but you have to push a button to open the trunk, putting your feet under the bumper does nothing.

In Europe the hands-free trunk access is also incompatible with the factory installed hitch so that is another reason why you would not want it.

Either way, did you already get a car and sacrificed on the options or are you still looking? You don't need to justify your choice for us as to why you still went with MB over the A6 or the 5 series or over Tesla or the "Indian" Jag.

T.H.Carrera

I am still not clear if you have purchased a car already ?

Dema

Yes, I got car, it is why I have more lights on different features. I didn't explore all, but that I explored I like so far. I noticed that garage door opener procedure was changed, so I had to read manual, but new procedure requires less efforts and more error prone.
I noticed also some transmission change. For example a car doesn't roll back if you release brake on steep drive way. However if you touch gas, it jumps forward. I didn't figure out yet how make it moving slowly. New engine is really quiet, so if you have some music playing you can barely notice it gets shut off on stops. Ride quality is also improved for sport, much smoother and less road noise.

T.H.Carrera

well congratulations then! How about some pictures and details on your deal? Also where you got it from :0)

Dema

I got it from Fremont, I am not really good negotiator, so I got $8K off MSRP. People shared sales people contacts with me here, however no one from them was willing to negotiate. But I agree if you are good in negotiation, you can do $10k and even more. And you can get discount at any MB dealership, here is no magic of some particular one. For example Oakland was willing to give $10k discount, but they didn't have a car I wanted. It wasn't sunny in California today, so I didn't take any pictures yet. I regret I didn't take pics of luxury with wood steering wheel at a dealer. That car looked really gorgeous, so no surprise it was sold so quick.

golfster

The Tesla location in Palo Alto didn't require a deposit for a test drive. Nice car overall, but didn't jazz me enough to purchase it as of yet.

Congrats on the new car.

Dema

Do I need to make an appointment? I am going to be in Palo Alto tomorrow and would love to compare new E to Tesla.

golfster

The showroom is actually Menlo Park although I referenced Palo Alto. I didn't make an appointment, but was there right around noon on a weekday. That particular day, there weren't any appointments scheduled for that hour, so they offered the test drive. The test drive was lengthy and the product specialist was thorough with his demonstration of the car, the features and even willing to answer questions about past service bulletins and updates. He likes cars, not just Tesla's, as well as the technology in the car. Here's his contact info:


Nick George | Product Specialist
Tesla Menlo Park | 300 El Camino Real | Menlo Park, CA 94025
p 650.681.5800 | e nigeorge@teslamotors.com

And to keep the MB content, you'll immediately notice the switchgear, like selector on the stalk, turn indicators and cruise is right out of our E's as it is supplied by MB.

Dema

Thanks. Actually I was looking for another show room closer to Mountain View. Menlo Park location is more convenient for me.

alexunlv

The Tesla is an orgasmic wet dream drive.

Dema

I posted couple pics in the picture thread. Any interest of interior?