Distronic - radar cruise control?

This looks like really exciting technology. I have to drive about 110 miles a day on UK motorways, quite often in dense traffic, and the tedium of continually adjusting speed to match the leading vehicle is starting to get to me.

The idea of a car which effectively drives itself in dense traffic sounds potentially like one of the best innovations since air-con. But I am suspicious as to how well it works, I can well imagine it may leave an enourmous gap, merely encouraging other drivers to hop in.

Anyone had any experience with it?

Apparently it doesn't work under 18mph, which I reckon is a real shame, because if there was a system that automatically advanced the car in stop/start traffic then I would be at an M-B dealership *tommorow*!

Reply to
Oliver Keating
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I think that is what testers have said (though IIRC it was about the Jaguar system - but doubt the Merc system is different). Basicially, if the computer leaves enough space for you to react to an emergency ahead, that will be regarded as an enormous gap by white-van man and he will undertake you and slot in front. If you think it bad in UK, try driving in Italy...

Reply to
Ric

Do just a tad more research than you have done, like reading a Mercedes brochure, and you will learn that the RADAR-assisted cruise control is a far cry from "a car which effectively drives itself", especially in dense traffic.

MB's glossy sales literature, which is typically aimed at inspiring a prospect to become a customer, is usually light of engineering details (unserstandably). But even within this context they are careful to advise that their system is not a substitute for inattentive driving. Here is what MB has to say:

"Distronic adaptive cruise control is no substitute for active driving involvement. It does not react to stationary objects, nor recognize or predict the curvature and lane layout of the road or the movement of vehicles ahead, and it can only apply a maximum of 20% of vehicle braking power. It is the driver's responsibility at all times to be attentive to traffic and road conditions, and to provde the steering, braking, and other driver inputs necessary to retain control of the vehicle."

Simply put, MB's Distronic RADAR-assisted cruise control is basically cruise control that can make minor speed adjustmants for you automatically based on the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. It's a nice innovation, but auto-pilot it is not.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

Gordon bennet - i don't think for a moment he needed a lecture like that...

Reply to
Ric

I think he understood that the driver still has to drive the car.

Reply to
fish

The Nov. '03 issue of a US consumer magazine tested such CC systems in both a Lexus LS430 and a M-B S430 and didn't like either version. The testers felt that both systems overreacted by "accelerating or braking disconcertingly"

You can imagine, in our (law)suit happy, blame someone else for any mistake society, how an engineer would design such a CC system - very, very cautiously.

Unfortunately, for us M -B owners, the S430's lousy repair record vs. the Lexus' excellent quality caused the testers to recommend the Lexus over the otherwise favored M-B.

M-B just doesn't get it that owners don't want to waste time with repairs, Lexus understands it.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

No, I never said it was auto-pilot. But 20% of braking power is actually quite a lot. In normal conditions I would say that I only use max 10% of braking power.

Most people never actually carry out an *emergency* stop, so don't realise just how powerful their braking systems are.

But if it could alieviate the accellerate - lift off -accellerate -brake tedium, then it would be doing very well.

Reply to
Oliver Keating

Steve Makohin hat in Betrag news:smakohin- snipped-for-privacy@enews.newsguy.com dies gedichtet:

Of course you are right with that, OTOH Mercedes has to beware of drivers who first fall asleep or start reading the newspaper during the ride - and then sue the hell out of DC. I regard Distronic to be helpful in that type of dense traffic, where you usually always have to adjust or switch off your Cruise Control. It is not suitable for Stop & Go. In Germany at least half of all S-classes are equipped with distronic, and I have not heard anything negative from it. IIRC it works only with speeds up to 100 mph, but this is quite an old info.

Frank

Reply to
Frank Kemper

I highly recommend a visit at

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is also 2videos of how it works in reality. Regards Peter AT 500sec.com

Reply to
Peter Hedenström

I may have been thrown off by the following text in the original poster's message:

"The idea of a car which effectively drives itself in dense traffic sounds potentially like one of the best innovations since air-con. But I am suspicious as to how well it works,"...

It appeared to me that the poster was not talking about what he understood to be _unrelated_ concepts ([1] "The idea of a car which effectively drives itself in dense traffic" and [2] "how well it [Distronic] works.")

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

My suggestion to you: If you are considering this option, meet with a Mercedes dealer and test a Distronic-equipped car yourself in a variety of real-world conditions. This is what I indent to do before I plunk down my deposit for a CLK cabriolet.

Speaking only for myself, I could not tell you from what 10% or 20% braking power feels like. I've never had a mechanism that quantifies brake application.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com 2000 BMW R1100S/ABS | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

I didn't mean to imply that Distronic is a trivial thing. Although I don't have Distronic, I certainly plan to test it out before buying my next car (CLK cab). I suspect it will be something I want, for exactly the reasons you state.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

I think you are confusing what 20% means.... 20% JUST slows you down a little. It will NOT bring you to a stop. When you step on the brake and come to a stop, that is 100% use of the brakes. Not 10% of the capacity of the brake system....

Reply to
Karl

little. It will NOT bring you

of the brakes. Not 10% of

According to the technical blurb "distronic" is able to use up to 20% of the cars maximum deceleration.

Using 100% of the brakes is an emergency stop, like stopping from 70mph in

50metres or so.

Reply to
Oliver Keating

Slightly offtopic:

If you hadn't already thought of it, specify Parktronic for your CLK Cab. Essential.

Rgds DAS

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Reply to
Dori Schmetterling

I'm still in the research stage for a CLK55 AMG Cab. Talk to me about Parktronic (I was planning on skipping it). I know the brochure intelligence about it. What can you tell me beyond that? Why do you feel it's essential? Thanks in advcance.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

Steve, I had never driven (parked!) with Parktronic or any such aid before and it really helps, at least the Merc version does. I took it on the advice of the dealership salesman and I am glad I did (I already had it on my list of possible toys).

Visibility out of a cabriolet, especially at rear, is restricted. (I have a CLK Cab, as you may know.)

It gives a good indication of proximity to difficult-to-see objects. With time you learn to interpret the signals, which are sound and light signals of increasing intensity. When the indication is "very close" (continuous tone and light full on/all bars illuminated) you get out of the car and see the actual remaining distance to gain confidence. You get signals at the front and sides near the front, as well as rear. The light is set into the rear seat and only comes on when engaging reverse.

Maybe you can test this out at a dealership.

What other options have you considered and which have you specifically rejected? I also have the integrated car kit, but this may work differently in the US. It's just as well I did it as holding a phone while driving is becoming an offence on 1 Dec 03 in the UK.

DAS

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Reply to
Dori Schmetterling

I plan to test it out before buying. I thought the rear visibility was acceptable in the cab. I'll have to take your word for it, and I'll definitely scrutinize it before giving it the green light.

The options I'm considering for the CLK55 AMG dream car are: o COMMAND (for the GPS) o Keyless go (cool toy) o Distronic cruise control o Possibly Distronic (based on your suggestion) o 'air flow' seats (cool air drawn in by 10 micro fans for cooler summers) o 6-disc CD changer o Dedicated winter rims and rubber

Passing Up: o Teleaid o Cell phone (Way too pricey to justify. I'd rather get a combined cell phone/PalmPilot (new Tungsten) for around a third of the price)

Always a pleasure talking with you. I'm likely a year or two away from getting the car. At least that's how long it took the last time I went through this ritual.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

Steve (Sorry, I prefer top-posting)

Thanks for your nice comment.

On a CLK 55 you probably get quite a few items thrown in that are optional extras on 'lower' versions.

Yes, the visibility out of the Cab is "acceptable" but it's still not as good as out of a car with full-size rear window. If you're spending all that money the extra is not so great; anyway, do test it as you said you would.

Regarding the other options in or out, I would say:

- CD changer. Great, I am sure, if you spend a lot of time in the car listening to CDs. I only have a single-disc player (Audio 10) but I spend a lot of the little time in the car listening to the radio (in the UK we have the excellent BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, if you like news and current affairs as well as radio drama, that is). On the few longer journeys I make I don't mind manually changing 2 or 3 CDs. I do only about 6 000 miles 10 000 km pa tops.

- Integrated hands-free telephone kit. I paid about GBP 400 / USD 600 for it. How much is now in the US? If you don't use the phone much and it's not illegal to hold a phone, then I guess you don't need it. Also, the type of PDA and how it's used is very personal. I don't think I would like to have a phone/PDA combo as I like to be able look at the PDA while phoning. (I have a Palm m505.) However, a neighbour swears by his integrated PDA/phone device. It's called an xda by the mobile phone operator that supplies it and is Pocket PC based (it's sold under various names around the world). He used to have a Palm.

I must say it is great to be able to receive calls without having to lift a finger off the steering wheel and to make calls, even if 'only' to those numbers stored on the SIM card.

The 'air flow' seats sound good but why do you need them? Aren't you having air-conditioning? And when the roof and a/c are off on a hot day you won't be worrying about a cool derriere...

Whatever you get, I think it'll be terrific.

DAS

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Reply to
Dori Schmetterling

Thank you for your comprehensive feedback. I am just scoping out my first Mercedes (I currently own 3 BMWs). I've heard "horror stories" about MB's "quality issues" and reliability, though my possibly flawed reasoning tells me these viewes are expressed by a relatively few number of very vocal people. A MB salesperson (consume large grain of salt at this point) told me that the "quality" issues reported by the JD Powers Survey were based on year 2000 models that had an unusually high incident rate of light bulbs burning out.

Can you shed some light on the "real story" and tell me what to expect with respect to mechanical failures. Assume that I am diligent in having recommended routine maintenance performed.

-Steve Makohin | Reply to snipped-for-privacy@interlog.com | (hotmail acct is spam catcher)

Reply to
Steve Makohin

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