XxLHCxX

I am about to order a S550 and was wondering if I should option up for the Night Vision. I live in the city with city lights. I am not sure if the Night Vision will be helpful for me as I personally think it would be more of a distraction and something that I might only use it once or twice.

I am just wondering for others, how useful is the night vision option.

Thank you in advance!

oswiff

I live in Manhattan but go out to Long Island every weekend where Night View Assist is a great thing to have so I added it to my incoming car

I had it on my '12 s63 and in the city, I wouldn't say it's a distraction but it doesn't help. All the cabs and cars tail lights just light up the screen. So i never used it in the city. So if you rarely drive to the suburbs, i wouldn't bother.

SteveVukelich

I have the system, and even with lighted roadways, it sees pedestrians and animals along or in the road. I have it setup to pop-up the IR view display when people or animals are near the roadway. They are identified with a red box. Many times the glare of lights does not permit me to see people along the road, and when the IR scene pops up I am more aware.

aypues

ya the new system makes more sense when it automatically pops up for pedestrians and animals outside the range of the headlights...that's a nice forewarning.

Chucky300

I was going to get it because of the coolness factor. I have it on my 2012 Audi A8L but truthfully, I use it once in a blue moon (and we know how often blue moons come about).

I left it off the car. 2 months of driving, I have no idea if I ever needed the feature.

ajm0623

you've received good guidance here, but i'll throw in my 2c as well. i have the night vision with pedestrian detection on my amg and like it for what its function is intended. it won't be a distraction if you don't engage it (i.e., it is not activated all the time) but when you need it (like on dark twisty roads or "out in the country"), it works very well. i was impressed by its ability to "see" warm objects ahead before i could see them with the naked eye and show those on the screen. it also has a very cool feature that outlines those objects calling your attention to them in a more pronounced way. i don't use it very often, but when i do engage it, it works as intended. i guess it all comes down to how much driving you do in the conditions for which it was designed. only you can answer that.

XxLHCxX

Thanks everyone for the input! I have decided to probably forgo the night view assist as I am hardly in country roads.

hyperion667

I ordered it too, but mainly just to impress myself lol

schuk

The way I see it if your main commute is in the city you will probably never use it. But what about the highways at night? Will the night vision in a timely manner help you avoid a crash with a deer if you drive 75 mph on a dark highway?

wilassasin

Dont get because of coolness factor, I have it and like it but only because I live n a jersey country suburb and we have plenty deers here but other than that I would have passed on it. It does pick up images from a great distance and also from the sides off of the road very well so you would be able to adjust to or avoid an impact easily, but thats only if you're monitoring your screen which can be a distraction.

schuk

Make sense that it works as a distraction if you are driving on Hwy and keeping your eyes on the screen. But isn`t car stopping by itself to avoid a crash when it sees an obstacle?

aypues

The old model is different. You had to manually engage it. The new model lets you select a setting to have it pop up automatically which is less distracting than constantly looking at it.