Distronic?

[glojo]

Distronic started to get discussed on another thread and rather than go off topic I thought it right to start a new thread dedicated to this topic (until it goes off topic )

Television is a strong advocate of this system and I would value his input, so here are my thoughts to get the debate going.

I used to be very much my own man when it comes to driving and have never liked to follow another car for any longer than necessary. If I close on a car, then it is usually because I am travelling quicker than the car in front and I would always be planning an overtaking manoeuvre moving my position according to the situation as it developed etc.

On a motorway would I take station behind another car and would they appreciate being followed for mile after mile? Hand on heart I don't think I have the patience to follow one car for any distance, unless it was a super car or a open topped convertible with a shirtless Arnold Schwarzenegger (mustn't appear sexiest)

What are the benefits of this option and also how much better is the latest version that we see in the new S-class.

John the curious

 

[Diesel Benz]

A few quick thoughts, trying to stay on topic this time.

I don't see Distronic that useful on motorways where one usually has the option to pass other cars whenever necessary. But I drive a lot on 2 lane roads (one for each direction) where opportunities to pass other cars is mostly not possible at all. You are then forced to follow others, and unfortunately so often other cars drive slower than the speed limit, or my preference (usually close to the speed limit). Distronic allows driving with no stress while it otherwise would be quite stressful when other cars drive at varying speed (don't use the standard cruise, or don't have one).

Distronic is also a safety issue if an object appears that you don't immediately notice, even if it primarily intended for cruise control purposes, that is following other cars.

I'm not sure about the previous generation Distronic, I assume it has the ability to brake at maximum 40% brake power.

I would assume Distronin and Distronic Plus being mostly very similar. The main advantage of Distronic Plus is the ability to bring the car to stop, when following a car in front at traffic lights for example. I do use this a lot but I would still consider the main advantage of Distronic Plus being where Distronic operates equally.

From the W221 features I would consider Distronic Plus above anything else. Night View Assist would not come close.

Distronic is pretty clever on tight turns and similar case where the car in front may disappear shortly from the radar beam. It would not accelerate heavily when the car is on a tight turn. Elsewhere the car would accelerate pretty quickly if a slow object in front disappears.

And Distronic is available for W211 too, I believe Miro and similar experts have installed it to a C-lass too, even if it has not been available from factory to those cars.

 

[glojo]

Thanks very much for the interesting information and hopefully a few more owners will join in?

Who cares if we wonder off topic and hopefully any criticism will be constructive.

Regards
John

 

[MBManInKen]

I personally regret not getting distronic on my current s-class. I will certainly get it on my next vehicle, although I fully expect to continue to drive this one for a bit longer .

There are two aspects to an advanced, or idealised, distronic system in my view:

a) comfort: most of my driving is on motorways. Using standard CC, you sometimes adjust to 1, 2 miles under the target speed because of traffic conditions, then adjust up again. Distronic would be great.

b) safety: the newer system can allow distronic to, if necessary, bring your vehicle to a standstill if something blocks the road. It can calculate that kind of thing in the blink of an eye and not hampered by fog and the like. Or, in queueing, start/stop traffic, it will not get tired or distracted or frustrated, rather keeps "fresh" at all times.

Television has just been that quicker in appreciating the value of yet another one of these tools that technology allows us to build as most of the rest of us have been.

I will get my next car with distronic. And night-view assist .

 

[television]

Like all new things they take time to adjust to, and learn how to get the best from them. My good friends said that when he drove the Lexus that follows the white line in the road that it has very unnerving just like using Distonic for the first few times

I bought my car 200 odd miles from home this time last year, it was a Friday early eve and peeing down with rain. I made my way to the M62 I think it was and sat there moving along averaging 70 mph, after 50 or so miles I started to have a look around and play, and got the distronic display up in the dashboard, then set it at 75mph, it was very unnerving when cars overtook and cut in, making my car slow and the accelerate again, though on my car I do not have the stop function (added 06-03) coming to the M6 toll road that I should not have been near as I had missed the M5, I was sitting there wondering if the car would slow down, and it did.
I was happy in my new toy and the most expensive car I had ever bought, but then when Milton Keynes was only 40 miles away I realized that I had gone wrong, so I stopped for a coffee and a flies cemetery, and worked out how to use the Command. Once back on the M5 it was back into Distronic the road was empty.
Regarding the fuel consumption over this 300 mile trip using Distronic for most of the way returned 29.9 MPG.
Ok I have never got that since, but that is not for here.

I do not know where the latest versions are up to, in the latest SL sales book all it says is that distronic will will automatically keep you at a safe distance from speed from 18-110 mph.

Its standard on the SL600 and not available on the SL65

 

[glojo]

How does the weather effect distronic and what happens if the sensor gets obscured whilst your driving?

Regards
John

 

[jaymanek]

its a radar system, it would be very difficult to obscure it..

i agree with malcolm, it really is a great bit of kit...

What i do is just set to a speed that i feel comfortable at.. if there is someone in front it slows down and usually that person will let you past so it just goes back to its set speed... I feel a lot safer and driving is so much more relaxed.

If you set the speed quite high, then it does get a little scary sometimes as if the car in front budges out the way, it will use all available horses to thrust you back to your set speed.... certainly wakes you up!

If i were buying a new top end mercedes, that would be the first option ticked..

hopefully they will bring it into the lower classes too.

 

[television]

How does the weather effect distronic and what happens if the sensor gets obscured whilst your driving?

Regards
John

Its unaffected by fog or dirt, it is radar where the signal is returned to the car, the beam at 100m is 1.5 - 2 meters wide.
In the display you have a picto gram showing your car and any vehicle within range. When something is in range you have a bright double car lit up in the display. Now if you are driving round a long bend it is possible the the beam will miss the car in front, if there is a barrier on the bend it takes the signal from that and keeps the speed the same, if the bright double car goes off, you know that any car in front has not been picked up and the car in the picto gram goes away.

As with Diesel benz it has never in the last 5k miles ever caused any alarm or problem.

Watching an old top gear while eating there was a little honda or something with it fitted as standard

 

[marcos]

I was a bit sceptical when Distronic came out and to be honest thought it was a bit of a gimmick.
I have since driven an S-Class with it and it is an amazing bit of kit and very usefull, If I did as much driving as I did 5yrs ago then I would definately have it as an option.
It's one of those things that you just don't realise how good it is untill you actually try it for yourself.

 

[MBManInKen]

There is some information on the Mercedes website about the latest version of distronic. Note that it now works from 0mph onwards and will, if necessary, bring the car to a standstill.

I like that. It's all very well talking about how we want to be in control, but if push comes to shove, I'd prefer a system that if necessary intervenes and stops the car before I smash into something ahead (for whatever reason, be it distraction or misjudgement) rather than all this nonsense about "being in control" and ending up smashing into something or someone else...

 

[television]

There is some information on the Mercedes website about the latest version of distronic. Note that it now works from 0mph onwards and will, if necessary, bring the car to a standstill.

I like that. It's all very well talking about how we want to be in control, but if push comes to shove, I'd prefer a system that if necessary intervenes and stops the car before I smash into something ahead (for whatever reason, be it distraction or misjudgement) rather than all this nonsense about "being in control" and ending up smashing into something or someone else...

You have reminded of one of the dangers of distraction can be. A 19 year old lass, a member here, was stuck with a leaking rad on a 124 and I offered to fix it for her. On the drive to Poole to get the bits, it was hard to concentrate on where I was going as she had a bare mid riff and a low cut top on, and very shapely. The Distronic bleeped me to take over at least 5 times on that journey.

She told me when we got back that everyone has accidents when she is in the car
Sorry to a little off topic but it was relevant

 

[glojo]

Never having seen this system I am asking questions of those that have it and welcome the very informative posts. I accept it is radar based and was merely wondering about if the signal could ever accidentally get blocked by either flying debris or perhaps snow etc.

Folks that scoff at innovations or more gadgets are perhaps being unfair, as who here starts there car by usung an old fashioned starter:

All those that advocate the manual gearbox, how happy would they be with the old fashioned gearbox that lacked synchromesh? Indicators??

I'm sure there is a place for distronic and from what I'm reading it sounds like it is worth looking at?

Regards
John

 

[television]

I can put up a couple of pictures of the controls and display and the front sensor in the morning just complete the thread

I am always happy to demonstrate it to you good lady John,you are only ½ hour away

 

[television]

I do not want to take off the grill again so just the front Star,thats how you can recognize a car with it, or inside by the wheel on the console.

 

[glojo]

Thanks very much for taking the time to post the very good pictures.

Regards
John

 

[glojo]

I can put up a couple of pictures of the controls and display and the front sensor in the morning just complete the thread

I am always happy to demonstrate it to you good lady John,you are only ½ hour away

Thanks very much,
We have had the tree surgeon back and now the view from our rear garden is even more stunning. On a clear day I might even be able to see you? Lower the roof and I'll see if I can see this excellent option. (when it stops raining)

Regards
John

 

[television]

Thanks very much,
We have had the tree surgeon back and now the view from our rear garden is even more stunning. On a clear day I might even be able to see you? Lower the roof and I'll see if I can see this excellent option. (when it stops raining)

Regards
John

That must be great now, who's trees were they. the Golden Cap that's visible from you is Charmouth, I found a track that leads to the top and I could just see Torquay, though I had my wrong spectacles on, so I could not pick out your house



I have a new neighbour now, and he has removed all of his trees, its makes a huge difference.

 

[glojo]

That must be great now, who's trees were they.

Well spotted. The offending hedgerows\trees were in two neighbouring gardens. Luckily for me these folks did not object to the cropping, but understandibly, I had to pay the bills. We are taliking waste land that has been overgrown and untouched for in excess of ten years, when we get a clear day I will post a picture.

Regards
John

 

[television]

I see that Jeremy Clarkson said that he loved the Distronic in the Mercedes, tonight on Top Gear.
He commented that the Volvo uses the brakes to slow the car down, that would mean as I thought, that MB uses lock up

 

[crockers]

You have reminded of one of the dangers of distraction can be. A 19 year old lass, a member here, was stuck with a leaking rad on a 124 and I offered to fix it for her. On the drive to Poole to get the bits, it was hard to concentrate on where I was going as she had a bare mid riff and a low cut top on, and very shapely. The Distronic bleeped me to take over at least 5 times on that journey.

She told me when we got back that everyone has accidents when she is in the car
Sorry to a little off topic but it was relevant

Strange.......I've looked through the manuals and cant see her on the options list.....