I had a round trip of around 80km today and I got a chance to put the distronic plus to good use, I am actually very pleased with the system so far , only thing I wish it would do is reading red lights and stopping at red lights ( will have to see if the MY14 S-class has something like this).

Now the only question I have for those that have this system is if it is possible to increase the gap for the car in front, currently when another vehicle is stopped at a red light the car goes at the set speed until 10-15 meters from the vehicle that is stopped in front and then it applies the brakes and maintains a 3-4 meter distance from the car stopped ahead. I had my foot less than a millimeter from the brakes (just in case) but it worked flawlessly although I have to say that my passengers almost got a heart attack given the fact that the vehicle maintains the set speed speed until what seems like the last chance to brake, if you dont know the system is on and your sitting in the passenger seat your life will flash before your eyes ( not kidding), it goes from fast to dead stop in a very very short time span. I was too impatient to see if the car starts moving on its own once the forward vehicle moves but I am guessing it does.

My assumption is that the system is not meant for regular street use per say but I am also hoping that the system can be adjusted so people in the vehicle do not get freaked out.

***Edit: One more thing I forgot to mention for those that are in the break in period, once a vehicle in front slows down significantly and speeds up again the vehicle will downshift and in my case rev to 3000 rpm to get to the set speed which is not a good thing, manual says 2/3 max or approx 2600 rpm for the diesel, I would have liked something in the software that told the computer that it was still in the brake in period and not to rev that high, maybe I am asking for too much!

 

I think your assumption is correct given that "Distronic Plus" is an evolution of "Distronic" which in its early form gave you a warning that you were closing in on another vehicle when operating on cruise control. All of that more or less implying "highway" versus "street" use. I never use cruise "Distronic Plus" unless im out on the open highway.

 

My son and I test drove a GL550 yesterday. My son had the cruise set to 65 mph and the system worked great. Then we came into a section of traffic signals and the system slowed us down as expected keeping us at a safe distance. When he came to red light (with a truck in front of us), the system brought the car to a stop and the distance from the truck was perfect. In fact, I thought my son was doing the braking. When the light went green and the truck pulled away, he had to press the gas pedal to re-engage the system. All-in-all, the system was very impressive.

 

According to the manual the distance which the car stops is not measures in meters or feet but rather seconds, mine came preset at 2 seconds which I assume means when you are stopped behind a vehicle it would be 2 seconds before impact, I plan to change it to 4-6 seconds which is more practical.

 

Have you changed the set time? If, was it easy? satisfied with the result?