There is no one to be seen on the zebra crossing far and wide. Now we accelerate, but then suddenly a jogger comes running from the right and doesn’t even think about taking a short break. you could see her coming from a distance, and the brakes were braked a second time to give the athlete the right of way. On this day, however, it is not the human being who behaves in an exemplary manner; rather, we are driving the autonomous new CLA from Mercedes-Benz for three quarters of an hour in downtown San Francisco.
The system is called Drive Assist Pro, will cost an additional charge of around $4,000 in the United States when it is finally completed and will probably also come to the EU in 2027. In contrast to previously seen assistants, this one is not only on the highway, but also in the city and on country roads.he drives to Level 2, which means: The driver is responsible; he is not allowed to take his eyes off the road, look at his cell phone or even sleep.
What level 3 brings
Only level 3 brings more freedom because the vehicle manufacturer is liable. But a level 3 system is currently not in sight for stressful inner-city traffic. The S-Class and the EQS from Mercedes-Benz can do this, but only on the highway, only up to 95 km/h and under certain conditions, we reported.
What Mercedes-Benz offers with its Drive Assist Pro is also available in this form for the Chinese market. In the United States and Europe, however, the software is being developed with the support of the chip manufacturer and AI specialist Nvidia, which uses artificial intelligence to simulate all conceivable traffic scenarios in order, above all, to make autonomous driving safe.
Mercedes-Benz emphasizes the high level of security and that the system is constantly improving with updates via mobile communications. If you want, you can intervene manually and, for example, start a little faster than the machine, after which the automatic system takes over again. Or you can be so kind and drive in the middle lane instead of the right lane in rainy whether to protect pedestrians from splashing water.
If European regulators give the green light, Mercedes-Benz would be ready for certification promptly. The advantage of being able to drive stress-free through crowded city centers is immediately apparent after our test lap. Incidentally speaking, the S-Class will lose Level 3 driving after this year’s facelift. The costs and effort are high, and the manufacturer initially wants to develop it further until Level 3 will be offered again in the future. With the facelift, the S-Class initially receives the more modern IT substructure of the CLA.
