Assisted driving notes

Every UK E-class comes with a dashcam, blindspot monitoring and Distronic adaptive cruise control as standard, plus mandatory emergency braking, lane keeping assistance and speed limit assist. Those last two work better than most but still get it wrong too often for comfort. They are quite easy to disable: a single tap of the screen or a press of a physical shortcut button and a tap suffice.

On AMG Line Premium and up, you can add the Driving Assistance Package Plus for £1695, which adds active lane following, automatic speed limit adoption and extended automatic restart on motorways.

Our car didn’t have the optional package, but even without, Mercedes’ adaptive cruise control is one of the best, with none of the irksome tendencies of some. It isn’t confused by cars in other lanes, and instead of sticking rigidly to a set following distance, it acts like a real driver when another car cuts in, at which point it gently slows rather than panic brakes.

AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING

 Does the system avoid false activation well? ✓

 Can it be deactivated? ✓

 Does it have pedestrian/cyclist detection? ✓

LANE KEEPING ASSISTANCE

 Is the system tuned to keep the driver engaged at all times? ✓

 Is it adjustable for sensitivity? ✓

 Does it allow you to drive around a pothole/obstacle within your lane easily and without deactivation? ✓

INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL

 Can the system consistently recognise and automatically adopt motorway gantry-signed variable speed limits? ✗

 Does it prevent undertaking? ✗

 Does it have effective audible or visual alerts, or steering intervention, to prevent changing lanes into the path of an overtaking car? ✓