[JoeyO]

Does Blind Spot Assist require those little round sensors placed in the bumpers (front or rear)?

Just wondering. Because those little round sensors are a deal breaker for me. I much prefer the nice clean look of an unobstructed bumper without those ugly doo dads.

 

[coloradotrv]

As far as I know, all cars with backup sensors require those little round things in the back.

 

[milazzo]

Does Blind Spot Assist require those little round sensors placed in the bumpers (front or rear)?

Just wondering. Because those little round sensors are a deal breaker for me. I much prefer the nice clean look of an unobstructed bumper without those ugly doo dads.

They are pretty much all color matched nowadays. I could see not liking the black ones.


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[JoeyO]

As far as I know, all cars with backup sensors require those little round things in the back.

I'm not talking about the backup feature. I'm talking about the Blind Spot Assist.

 

[JoeyO]

They are pretty much all color matched nowadays. I could see not liking the black ones.


Sent from my iPhone using Mercedes CLA Forum mobile app

Yea, I don't like them. It looks like 4 people dinged your bumper in 4 places. :-(

 

[coloradotrv]

I'm not talking about the backup feature. I'm talking about the Blind Spot Assist.

Correct, I was merely point out the bumper is going to have those round things anyway. From what I have read the car comes standard with backup assist.

 

[JoeyO]

I just learned on the USA configurator that the little round circles only show up in the picture when Parktronic is selected. They do not show if Blind Spot Assist or Driver Assistance Package is selected. That's good news for me.

Having said that, is Blind Spot Assist a good feature to have? Is it gimicky or does it really save your butt from bumping into the car next to you? I do a lot of highway driving so it might be a good feature for me to have.

 

[DavidR]

For all these type of driver aid features like PARKTRONIC, DISTRONIC and Blind Spot Assist, I believe you need to consider your own driving history and your own unique needs. If you frequently struggle with parallel parking, then get PARKTRONIC. If you frequently find yourself slamming on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of you, then get DISTRONIC. If you struggle with checking your blind spot when changing lanes, then get Blind Spot Assist. If you're doing a custom build order for your CLA250 or CLA45 then you'll be able to fine tune your order to fit your exact driving characteristics. If you're buying off the lot, then you'll have to settle for the best possible mix of features and functions that are available.

 

[tavolcom9]

For all these type of driver aid features like PARKTRONIC, DISTRONIC and Blind Spot Assist, I believe you need to consider your own driving history and your own unique needs. If you frequently struggle with parallel parking, then get PARKTRONIC. If you frequently find yourself slamming on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of you, then get DISTRONIC. If you struggle with checking your blind spot when changing lanes, then get Blind Spot Assist. If you're doing a custom build order for your CLA250 or CLA45 then you'll be able to fine tune your order to fit your exact driving characteristics. If you're buying off the lot, then you'll have to settle for the best possible mix of features and functions that are available.

I agree mostly however I always think of assistance options as added conveniences. Why parallel park your car yourself (which I am perfectly able) when it can do it for YOU? I love driving and I'm getting all these options simply because there are times when I'm multitasking or busy on the phone or maybe even too hungover

Not all systems are created equally; however, I've found the MB assistance systems to be the best engineered and produced vs any other car manufacturer out there. Sometimes it's the simple things the car can do itself that make your day.

 

[JoeyO]

For all these type of driver aid features like PARKTRONIC, DISTRONIC and Blind Spot Assist, I believe you need to consider your own driving history and your own unique needs. If you frequently struggle with parallel parking, then get PARKTRONIC. If you frequently find yourself slamming on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of you, then get DISTRONIC. If you struggle with checking your blind spot when changing lanes, then get Blind Spot Assist. If you're doing a custom build order for your CLA250 or CLA45 then you'll be able to fine tune your order to fit your exact driving characteristics. If you're buying off the lot, then you'll have to settle for the best possible mix of features and functions that are available.

Sure, that's a given. I know my own needs. I don't "struggle" with everyday driving. But you and I know that some features are gimmicky and some are worth their weight in salt. I'm not going to purchase Blind Assist if it has a history of not being trustworthy and is a POS feature. Plus, Blind Assist may be better suited to cars with thick C-pillars where they actually do have a blind spot that is greater than other cars. All signs point towards the CLA having a wicked blind spot. It's C-pillars appear thick and its rear seats seem to hog up a lot of the rear view window.

 

[DavidR]

Not all systems are created equally; however, I've found the MB assistance systems to be the best engineered and produced vs any other car manufacturer out there. Sometimes it's the simple things the car can do itself that make your day.

For whatever it's worth, I recently saw a British TV Auto show that was testing the various accident avoidance systems from several manufacturers. In their test, the MB DISTRONIC system was by far the worst. If I remember correctly, they used an E class. Systems from Volvo and BMW fared much better. They setup cardboard barriers and then intentionally drove the car into the cardboard wall without manually hitting the brake pedal. Every time, the MB system slowed the car substantially but failed to stop in time to prevent blasting though the cardboard. They tested with both stationary walls and slow moving walls (to simulate a slow moving car).

Bottom line: driving assistance = yes, absolute failsafe system = no way!

 

[JoeyO]

Well, Volvo had a famous mishap when showing their brake assist to the world press. In front of hundreds of press people, their system failed and their Volvo crashed into the truck. See here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eChAKm1t3U

Oops!

 

[tavolcom9]

For whatever it's worth, I recently saw a British TV Auto show that was testing the various accident avoidance systems from several manufacturers. In their test, the MB DISTRONIC system was by far the worst. If I remember correctly, they used an E class. Systems from Volvo and BMW fared much better. They setup cardboard barriers and then intentionally drove the car into the cardboard wall without manually hitting the brake pedal. Every time, the MB system slowed the car substantially but failed to stop in time to prevent blasting though the cardboard. They tested with both stationary walls and slow moving walls (to simulate a slow moving car).

Bottom line: driving assistance = yes, absolute failsafe system = no way!

I saw that same thing, I think. They didn't bother telling us the year each particular vehicle's technology was introduced. Also the weight of said vehicles plays into the equation as well. If I saw the same video (s-class vs volvo vs vw) I'm under the impression that was a first gen or second gen distronic being used in the s-class. The other two had a number of years to engineer their own solution and implement better avoidance systems.

All in all I'm sure the 2014 s-class would do better, hopefully!

 

[cisternachyli]

a more accurate description of DISTRONIC PLUS with PRE-SAFE Brake, from a poster over at mbworld.org:

"It will brake fully only .6 seconds before an accident if you DO NOT react to the beeps. The point being that if you want the car to stop and not have an accident, you need to brake as soon as you hear the beeps as it is an indication of an impending accident. My understanding is that MB wanted the driver to have the ability to use speed and steering to avoid the accident if the driver chooses to so that OR apply brakes and the car will modulate the correct amount of braking power.

If you wait until .6 before an accident when the car brakes fully, you are pretty much using pre safe braking as an electronic crumple zone, as you WILL hit the car if it stops very quickly and 40% is not enough

What I find really nice about the system is that if you slam on the brakes when you hear the beeps, the car controls the braking power and might not brake as hard as you apply the brakes but will will apply enough braking power to avoid an accident. This is done to give the idiot following you too closely behind you more time to react. I thought that was particularly smart and thoughtful for your safety and the safety of the person behind you.

 

[ppiano23]

I love the blind spot assist. It is worth the money.

 

[JoeyO]

I love the blind spot assist. It is worth the money.

Cool, thanks Ppiano23. I assume you have it on your Coupe. For $500 it might be worth it for me.

 

[DavidR]

Not sure about the Blind Spot Assist, but I believe that the Rear View Camera on the CLA is a must-have feature given the thick pillar and smallish rear window.