The Driver Assistance Pack from Mercedes Benz is designed to provide you with the best Mercedes has to offer in autonomous driving aids. Modern Mercedes cars are famous for their technology options, and the Driver Assistance Pack helps to maintain that reputation.
This all makes the Driver Assistance Pack sound like a must-have. But is it any good? For starters, what features are included, and how do they help you as a driver? And most importantly, how much is all this going to cost?
Let’s start by looking at what is included when choosing the Driver Assistance Package. This pack contains a variety of driving supports for active cruise control and advanced safety features. We’ll talk you through all these features in detail below:
What Mercedes Models include the Driver Assistance Package?
- GLA
- GLB
- GLC
- GLC Coupe
- GLE
- GLE Coupe
- GLS
- A Class
- C Class
- E Class
- CLA Coupe
- C Class Coupe
- E Class Coupe
- CLS Coupe
- AMG GT 4 Door
- C Class Convertible
- E Class Convertible
- SL Roadster
What’s included in the Mercedes Driver Assistance Package?
The Driver Assistance Package from Mercedes contains the following options depending on your model:
- Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC
- Active Steering Assist
- Active Lane Keeping Assist
- Active Lane Change Assist
- Active Blind Spot Assist
- Evasive Steering Assist
- Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function
- Active Emergency Stop Assist
- Active Speed Limit Assist
- Active Lane Change Assist
- PRE-SAFE PLUS
- PRE-SAFE Sound
- Route-based Speed Adaptation
Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC
The Active Distance Assist Distronic might not be a catchy title, but it’s a great feature. This part of the Driver Assitance Pack monitors the distance from your Mercedes to the vehicle in front and manages speed. The system also detects when braking is required, and automatically slows the car (unless in emergency circumstances where driver input is needed).
Essentially this is an advanced cruise control system, with adaptive functions. For any freeway or interstate driving, this is almost a must-have, and the system works surprisingly well in busy traffic too.
Active Steering Assist – With Lane Keeping Assist
The Active Steering Assist function is fairly self-explanatory. This feature supports your steering to keep the car within a lane, by automatically correcting the direction of the car. If you’ve used steering assist feature from another manufacturer you’ll know this kind of system works.
Active Steering Assist is best used on freeways, where lane markings can be easily identified by the front sensors. The system can also use the vehicle in front as a guideline, and whenever it senses your Mercedes is moving into another lane, it will correct the steering.
Active Lane Change Assist
The Active Lane Change feature allows you to switch lanes on the freeway while the Distronic cruise control is active. Simply by using the turn signal, your Mercedes will check if the lane is clear, and move across automatically.
My first impression of this feature was thinking ‘ this is a bit overkill, how hard is it to change lanes’ but I’ll be honest – on long drives the automatic lane change just makes things easier. I could easily live without this, but as part of the Driver Assistance pack, it’s a nice feature to have.
Active Blind Spot Assist
Active Blind Spot Assist is the system that allows you to use our previous feature, Lane Change Assist. With Active Blind Spot, your Mercedes will check for any vehicles in the nearby lanes, and once it’s clear the car will complete the lane change.
Like the Lane Change Assist, this isn’t a feature I’d rush to order if it came as an individual option – but as a combination, you can’t complain. As with every type of driving assist feature, it’s always best to double-check yourself, as the system isn’t 100% reliable.
Evasive Steering Assist
The Evasive Steering Assist feature is solely designed to prevent collisions in your Mercedes. Like many automated systems, this isn’t perfect, but it will support and benefit you in the event of a possible collision.
Evasive Steering Assist is designed to detect when there is a nearby object that may cause a collision, and automatically steer around this object. That could be another vehicle, a person, or any obstructions, but these objects need to be in front of the vehicle for the system to work.
If You Want To Learn About More Mercedes Packages, Try The Pages Below:
Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function
The Active Brake Assist function works in a similar way to the Evasive Steering. When the system detects the possibility of a front-end collision with any objects ahead, your Mercedes will automatically apply brakes to prevent or reduce an impact.
The Cross Traffic function increases the level of autonomous support with cameras, in addition to front sensors. Using this extra identification, the car can also detect vehicles or pedestrians approaching from the side.
Active Emergency Stop Assist
The Active Emergency Stop Assist function uses sensors to detect when the driver may be unresponsive. By measuring the amount of time since a driver input, this feature sends out warning lights and noises to alert the driver.
If the driver is still unresponsive, the car will gradually slow and stop the vehicle and activate warning hazard lights to let other cars know that your Mercedes is stopping. Like any automated system, this isn’t 100% reliable, but if you fall asleep, or you’re unable to operate the car for any reason, the Emergency Stop Assist may prevent a collision.
Active Speed Limit Assist
The Active Speed Limit Assist system works alongside other active cruise control features. This system uses cameras to identify speed limit signs as you are driving, and if it detects that you’re exceeding the speed limit, your Mercedes will automatically slow down.
This feature only works when the Distronic distance assist is active – under normal driving conditions, you’ll get a notification about exceeding the speed limit, but it’s up to the driver to change their speed.
PRE-SAFE PLUS with PRE-SAFE Sound
The Pre-Safe system covers a range of features, all designed to prevent and reduce the impact of collisions. In the Driver Assistance package, these features are upgraded to include Pre-safe Plus and Pre-Safe Sound.
The Pre-Safe Plus feature uses rear sensors to check if any vehicles are close, and approaching too quickly. If a collision looks possible, the system automatically flashes the hazard warning lights and increases seat belt tension to protect you and your passengers.
Pre-Safe Plus also adjusts your seats to an upright position to lessen the impact and adds braking force to stop your Mercedes from sliding forwards as much as possible.
The Pre-Safe Sound feature is one of the most unusual optional extras we’ve come across and is a great example of Mercedes safety engineering. In the event of a crash, the car plays a specific noise, which blocks some of the louder sounds that result from collisions, protecting your eardrums.
We’re no experts and can’t explain how exactly this system works, but it’s reassuring to see that Mercedes has thought of almost everything when it comes to driver and passenger safety.
Route-based Speed Adaptation
The final feature of the Driver Assistance Pack is Route-Based Speed Adaptation. This is the final part of the Distronic system and controls how your Mercedes reacts during active cruise control. The adaptation system uses a combination of map data, front-facing cameras, and radar to check for turns and intersections.
If the system detects a turn, the car will automatically slow down to allow you to steer at a safe speed, and then increase speed once you’re back on a straight path. Like all the cruise control features on the Driver Assistance Pack, it’s an impressive system, but it won’t work on every turn or intersection.
How Much Does The Driver Assistance Package Cost?
- GLA – $1,700
- GLB – $1,700
- GLC – $1,700
- GLC Coupe – $1,700
- GLE – $1,950
- GLE Coupe – $1,950
- GLS – $1,950
- A Class – $1,700
- C Class – $1,700
- E Class – $1,950
- CLA Coupe – $1,700
- C Class Coupe – $1,700
- E Class Coupe – $1,700
- CLS Coupe – $1,950
- AMG GT 4 Door – $1,950
- C Class Convertible – $1,700
- E Class Convertible – $1,700
- SL Roadster – $1,950
Is the Driver Assistance Package Worth It?
I think this one is a straightforward answer – if you do a lot of long-distance driving, or regular driving in busy traffic, this pack is going to be fantastic value for money. The driving assistance takes away most of the strain of long-distance journeys, and the additional safety features offer more protection than almost any other manufacturer.
The Driver Assitance Package is expensive, but when you consider that extras like the Warmth & Comfort Pack are over $1,000 this doesn’t seem too bad. As we said, it’ll suit some drivers more than others, but in most cases, you will find a use for the Driver Assistance Pack.
If you liked this post and want to find out more about Mercedes, and packages from other Manufacturers, check out the links below:
Mercedes Air Balance Package Explained
Audi Black Optic Package Explained
Mercedes Sun Protection Package Explained
Comparing The BMW X6 vs The Mercedes Benz GLC Coupe
