Difference between Cruise control(Distronic Plus) and SPEEDTRONIC

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ChrisAlex

New Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
8
Car
Mercedes Benz CL 550
Hi guys!!
I am new to this site.i just bought my brand new Mercedes CL550 2 months ago.but i couldn't get a clear about this electronic driving system.i read the owners manual but still have some questions:confused:.could anyone please tell me the actual difference between the cruise control(Distronic plus) and SPEEDTRONIC??
How to get the best out of them in different situations??and finally what are the safety measures when we use it?

Thanks!!
 
Welcome to the site.

DISTRONIC PLUS is adaptive cruise control: you set a speed and the car will drive at that speed unless the traffic in front slows down, in which case it will also slow down. You do not need to press the throttle. Note that it won't necessarily detect pedestrians, and it can only brake to about 0.4g.

SPEEDTRONIC is a simple limiter: you set a speed and drive as normal, with the throttle, and the car won't let you exceed the set speed unless you press the throttle hard (kickdown) to override it.

I'd use the former on a relatively quiet motorway (set to 70 and relax - but not completely...); and the latter in urban environments (set to 30 and stay alert).

Safety? DISTRONIC PLUS is a convenience feature which arguably reduces safety by encouraging you to concentrate less. SPEEDTRONIC is useful for not edging over the limit without having to stare at the speedo. In a big powerful car it's easy to blow past 30mph limits in suburban streets, which can be more dangerous than it seems.

Your manual online, for reference:

http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/manua...l?id=in-depth/d2755e85335.shtml&part=in-depth
 
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Hey Troon!!
thanks for the quick reply bro!!!!:)
everything is clear:thumb:
 
I totally disagree with the safety assessment of Distronic Plus.

It is one of the best safety features available on a car. Where fitted the system acts with the pre-safe system and means the car will do what it can in terms of braking in order to minimise (avoid?!) the impact speed in a potential collision. (I have done 40k in the last 15 months and can state that on the one occasion it kicked in the braking force was phenomenal - motorway concertina through successive late braking manoeuvres in front, I stopped with room to spare although I was more concerned about the car behind me!).

Interestingly if all vehicles had such a system such events would never happen again!

There are a number of scenarios where the system is absolutely superb. In particular, poor driving conditions where the driver knows that the car is 'seeing' the road ahead allowing them to remain composed and to concentrate on the hazards surrounding them rather than peering into the gloom at ever increasing stress levels and at the expense of other potential hazards.

I once followed a friend in horrendous, torrential rain - I locked onto their car and adjusted the gap to safe distance. I arrived relaxed with minimal fatigue, my friend had eyes on stalks and was shattered.

This reduced fatigue keeps you safer and for longer IMO.

Another example is slow moving traffic on the motorway and cars with faulty brake lights where speed differentials are difficult to spot, the distronic can spot the change in relative speed quicker than the driver ever could.

The system is not an excuse for the driver to switch off, and gives the opportunity to re-prioritise their attention to other hazards. This, coupled with the inherent nature of the system to minimise impact speed, makes it an invaluable safety feature if the car is driven in a competent manner.

No system is fool proof and any car driven without due care and attention is a dangerous tool. (There are new systems in development which combine automated steering, traction control, adaptive braking which are designed to further reduce these risks, but while we still put humans in control we will never prevent all accidents).

What is so wonderful about Distronic Plus is that it is also a convenience feature adding a whole new dimension to cruise control but it is so much more than this.

It's a shame these sort of system aren't standard on all cars and HGVs, I guarantee the roads would be a much safer place.)

Regards, Neil
 
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Thank you!!!:thumb:
 
Before Distronic Plus was Distronic.

Distronic had limited braking, and wouldnt bring you to a stop. Distronic Plus brakes hard if needed and will bring the vehicle to a stop.

I presume the original Distronic engineers wanted the system extremely well proved before they'd make it posisble for the car to suddenly stop ...

I have distronic in my ML. What is *great* about it is that it does distance warning, i.e if it detects the car in front suddenly braking it beeps (you can turn this off), and once or twice it has meant I havent had to brake so hard.

In reality, we all miss the cues until later than we could, and this extra help is a good thing in my opinion.

Whether Cruise control itself encourages some people not to think or not is an interesting question !

Cheers

Richard
 
Lots of ++++ for Distronic System. I have them both.
 

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