cc16177

I currently drive a 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan but I recently took on a new position that involves about 1000mi driving a week. Yikes.

Anyways, the VW isn't doing it for me any more. I'll be giving this car to my GF and getting a new one... very seriously considering a 2012/13 E350 sedan.

My commute is almost entirely highway miles. Typically 200-250mi one way and i'm doing it 1-2 times a week. I live in FL and drive on the turnpike so it's basically a straight line...

I'm thinking the distronic package is worth looking for. Adaptive cruise control and the "active lane assist" or whatever they're calling it, seems great... I test drove an E550 but in that short amount of time it's hard to tell how useful this option actually is.

What do you guys think? Anyone who has it? Has used it long term? Etc?

Thanks in advance

toledotom

I own a 2010 E350 with Option 1 & 2 with Sport package and Distronic Plus. I really enjoy setting the speed and just let the car drive itself. (You do have to keep it between the lines unless you have the New Lane assist) I drove 88 miles one way yesterday and back 2 hours later. NO Fatigue what so ever from driving! It really makes driving any distance on the Highway very relaxing and Non-tiring! Get It...........!!! worth every penny you pay! It also saves gas, I got 26.9 yesterday on a 176 mile trip! NO BRAINER! Get It!

dan1495

It is definitely worth having but it might be hard to find on a used E350.

thefisch

Don't have it, but everyone who does seems to praise it. If you are driving that many miles, you may want to consider a diesel for the efficiency, range, etc.

Johnny Rad

Search is your friend. Here's a good, recent thread...

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ng-assist.html

Good luck!

belarus27

get 26.5mpg on e550 without it lol

belarus27

but as far as distronic everyone really praise it... and its just cool to have this as an option anyways.. id get it if I could.

Airmousam

Get it, you'll love it!

markgm

I enjoy it, it's not perfect, but it's a cool piece of technology.

cc16177

Thanks everyone. It's decided. I need this option! I found a great deal on a 2011 E550 with the option but I feel like I should try and find a 2012+ E350 for gas mileage reasons.

belarus27

as someone said earlier... 2011 models dont have that lane assist or whatevrr its called that helps you stay in your lane while driving...

PaulE550

Hi, I got 27.3 mpg on my 60 mile run just this past Friday. Kept it in E mode and Comfort suspension setting the whole time. So you can get good gas mileage with a E550. Just an FYI.

cc16177

I've never really shopped Mercedes before but from what I understand (From the dealer) the 2012+ models have much better fuel efficiency than earlier models. The E550 i'm looking at is a 2011 as anything newer (in the E550) is probably more than I want to spend.

When it comes down to a 2011 E550 or 2012/13 E350 the 350 should get much better gas mileage (at least that's my understanding).

cc16177

It's quite possible that i'm misinformed but my understanding is the Diztronic Plus package is exactly the same until the 2014 models where you can get steering assist. Supposedly any model with the Diztronic Plus (even a 2011) will use the brakes to keep you in lane... so if you start to move to the left it applies brakes on the right to pull you back into lane.

All of this information is coming from the people trying to sell me the car so it could be wrong.

I guess it was extremely rare to find anything earlier than 2012 with this option but it is possible.

unr1

I think they're right about the brakes helping to steer you back in the center of the lane. However, not sure how effective it is.
Test drive will tell you a lot. But even without the steering assist, distronic plus will be very useful.

On a side note...
I always wonder how much brake wear is increased with distronic.

cc16177

I'm mostly concerned with the adaptive cruise control aspect of the car. I figure an E350 should stay pretty straight in lane as it is... I wish I could afford a 2014 with the steering assist though.

unr1

I wish I could afford a Ferrari, brother. It's all good man, take what you can get

thefisch

One piece of misinformation to correct is that there is no z in distronic.

I agree with the comment earlier that distronic is harder to find in used E350 than E550. If you won't appreciate the v8 power, then I would shop for 2012+ E350 and hold out for the features you want. Personally I was willing to sacrifice a few mpg for the E550 and feel good about that decision every time I drive it.

Arrie

I have a 2010 E550 with the driving assistance package. This includes Distronic Plus, Blind Spot Monitoring and Lane Keep Assist (monitoring).

Lane keep assist in my car, like I believe it exactly is on the 2011 models, is a steering wheel vibrator that activates when your left or right side tires go over the lane marker painting. It DOES NOT apply brakes for keeping the car on lane. This is why I would call it a MONITOR and NOT ASSIST. The assist using the brakes I think came with 2012 model and then the active steering with 2014.

Some data nerds correct me as necessary with the above.

What comes to the Distronic in my car I can say that I will not buy a car without an adaptive cruise control any more. Other car makers have their own systems and they all do the same, i.e. adapt the speed to the car in front of you if you set the speed faster than that car. It is an awesome feature to have. If you take a look at your activity on setting the cruise control again and again when you drive your current car this all goes away almost completely with Distronic.

It also works great in city traffic as it even stops your car behind the one in front of you unless that car stops too quickly, i.e. you need to be awake while driving regardless if you have this system or not. It is absolutely awesome in crawling traffic jam as it follows the car in front of you no matter how slow it goes.

I agree that this system is difficult to find in E350 models. I have seen one and almost bought it but the car had a big defect on the front bumper and the dearer did not agree to fix it so I spent $5000 more to get this E550 instead and you believe me I have not regretted this decision for one second. The bigger engine is just what this car needs and I highly recommend getting the E550 instead of the E350.

What comes to gas mileage of course the smaller engine is better but the difference can be smaller than you think. The E350 gave 27 mpg as best calculating from actual miles driven and gas pumped in the tank. With this E550 the best has been 25.5 mpg also calculating from miles and used gas (car was showing 27.3 mpg). But there is a difference in speed I drive on highway between these cars. I now drive at 79 mph speed at almost all of my Interstate Highway driving when I used to drive 76 mph with the E350. This 3 mph speed difference probably hurts my current gas mileage by half a gallon or so and this means the fuel mileage between the cars is that much closer. It all depends on how you drive but I would say the bigger engine in my car has 1.5 mpg or less worse gas mileage than the E350 I used to have. And the engines on 2012 and later models have better fuel mileage.

City driving then produces far bigger difference in mpg as the bigger engine for sure consumes more fuel with repeated starts from stops as well as during stops while engine files.

For me the selection would be to go with the E550 and Distronic, no matter what year model.

PaulE550

Yes, from all the feedback I've read on this site concerning the model years you're looking at, you should get 2 or 3 more mpg on the highway in a E350 than the E550.

PaulE550

Absolutely good advice! Buy what you can afford to operate and maintain. Don't just shop for what fits into one's budget from the purchase price perspective.

thefisch

I agree with Arrie's comments that the E550 is worth it even if you only suffer 1-2 mpg on the highway. On a recent road trip uphill from Florida to Georgia, manual calculation yielded 25.3 mpg and I cruise at 78-80 also. Coming home downhill, I had my best tank at 27.62 mpg manually calculated still going 78-80. And that's with basic cruise control as I don't have distronic.

If you are really concerned about mpg, then you should get the diesel which should get you into the low 30's on the highway. The 2014+ E250 gets +-40mpg and would be the best on mileage but the 2014 price tag might be too much.

cc16177

Hmm... This makes me consider the E550 again. The one I found is a 2011 with 47k miles and basically every option. They're asking 33k and I would want to add an additional 2 years of warranty which brings it to 35.5

Looking online it seems to be a pretty good price given the options etc, and it also happens to come in the color I would want (white).

It's tempting to pull the trigger but i've only been shopping Mercedes for 2 weeks as I was planning on buying a Porsche Cayman until I actually drove my new commute and realized I want a heavier "highway cruiser" sedan.

cc16177

Thank you! I'll make sure to call it distronic going forward, i'm misinformed enough as it is I don't need to add to it with a random "z" lol

thefisch

I assume it is this one here. Looks good. I like the white with the pano roof. Carfax looks clean with regular maintenance done. May want to look into prepaid maintenance 3 pack after the 50k is done as the 60k and 80k are pricey with the plugs and tranny. You should also get them to replace the wood as it looks faded from the photos and is a known issue for the 10-11 models. Wood is not covered under CPO and the 4 year warranty looks like it expires in a week.

With 1k per week, that CPO warranty with unlimited miles will come in handy.