Love this car!

 

Nice, "Car is still a virgin".

 

gotta love that 600hl gauge

 

Yes, I lucked out! Funny, but a few weeks after purchase, one with less than 3k miles popped up, but this was a 2012 that while priced competitively (for the features, age and mileage) was unequivocally outside my price range.


Thank you! It is pretty cool. What I am most amazed by is the display of the radar cruise status. This being my first car with radar cruise, it is all new to me, but I imagine some of what I am seeing has existed for a long time (Soldier76, please educate me!).

Beyond the actual functionality (e.g., it is amazing how the car brakes by itself on the highway and how distance is ultimately maintained), it shows the back of an LS (with distinctive features) with another car in front (when one is in "the zone"). When the car has to brake significantly, two red brake lights come on in the back of the LS on the cluster. This specific feature has to be what I am a sucker for the most...

 

My 2011 Hyundai genesis 4.6 had laser cruise and fell in love with the feature ever since. I vowed that my next vehicle that I plan on keeping has to have this feature or I'll look elsewhere till I find it. It'll prolly take some time trusting it but play with IT a bit and you'll eventually fall in love too. You get to adjust the distance you are from the car in front of you, and if you decide to switch lanes without doing a thing IT automatically pics up the speed of the next vehicle in that lane. When the vehicle in front slow down your car will slow down as well.����

 

I swear it felt as close to "auto pilot" as I've ever experienced! Very cool.

Since you have prior experience with this feature, I would be very curious to hear your thoughts on the system on the LS and how it compares.

 

I still have my 2001 LS but, that is one feature I have been dying for. I cant wait to get my next LS and trust me, if it does not have that feature, I will walk away from it.

 

That seems to be a common sentiment around here, and I think I've joined that club!

 

Don't be in such a hurry. It only works when you don't really need it, and doesn't work when you do. The system's shortest following distance is so long that cars keep cutting in front of you. Then it slows down even more to re-establish the gap, and new cars keep cutting in and so on and so on. Meanwhile the poor SOB behind you is just getting madder and madder that you keep slowing down and letting people in. I once let the system do its thing for an hour traveling east and I ended up 5 miles WEST of where I started!

 

williakz, at slower speeds yes the shortest distance does seem to allow people to cut in front. However at 75-85 MPH cruising it's perfect, and even the manual said it's not meant for heavy traffic. I find radar/laser cruise invaluable.

You know this was available on a 2001 LS430 ultra? I think Mercedes first had this in their S class, but I'm not sure when.

 

Nope, disagree with "perfect." Even in light traffic at speed - where arguably the need for radar cruise is obviated by definition - the effect of DRCC is to put you well behind and at the same speed of the slowpoke you really want to get around. Since the system automatically slows and spaces you, you give up the "pressure" of closely following the slowpoke (NOT TAILGATING!) that generally causes him to wake-up and move back into the right lane (where he belongs!).

Compare to "regular" cruise at same setpoint under same conditions. Your car would come up quickly to closely behind (NOT TAILGATING!) the slowpoke where you would temporarily drop cruise either by braking or cancel button. He would be alerted to your presence in no uncertain terms (your car fills his rearview mirror). Just as important, your relatively rapid closing of the gap between the two of you indicates your desire to travel at a higher speed than he wants to go. These two aspects produce the "pressure" (NOT TAILGATING!) needed to get the slowpoke to 1) notice you and 2) move out of your way. Note that both are blunted by DRCC due to its relatively large gap and its gradual slowing. These result in less "pressure" is applied to the slowpoke. DRCC is happy to follow the slowpoke at some distance, and the slowpoke is usually perfectly happy to leave you there indefinitely.

By the way, I encourage anyone who wants to see the downsides of radar cruise in action to watch YouTube videos of the system in action under various conditions in various makes and models of vehicles. You'll see both the lane-jumping (going backwards) phenomenon as well as the follow-the-slowpoke problem I just described.

 

Please please please post pics of your interior. Your profile description says it is a two tone color: cashmere/black. This seems to be a rare and beautiful combination.

 

Williakz, I think the real problem is people don't allow you maintain proper distance. I learned a while ago that you should be 3 seconds behind the car in front if you. Any closer and you cannot respond quick enough if they suddenly brake hard. I find the radar cruise feature awesome. Yes, people cut in on me, but the feature allows me to maintain proper space without thinking about it. Hence, my safety while driving is more important than the person behind me. Just my 2 cents on this topic.
To comment on the OP, I wish I had the 600. I do have a loaded 460L. So, I'm not sure if there is much difference. But, for my next car, I plan to find out.
Thanks.

 

I'm still getting used to the radar cruise feature, but I tend to agree with you. Williakz's points are valid scenarios, but I do believe they have more to do with other people's poor driving habits than with the system itself.

I just got back from an 80-mile drive, and in the medium and short distance settings, there was only one person who jumped in front of me, and the car reacted fairly smoothly. The first time I used it, there was even more traffic, and I left it in the long distance setting. Again, only one person cut me off, and it wasn't even because of distance; it was a bone-headed move on his part.

pmiller, that sounds like a plan! On day 1 (brand new), I am not sure the difference is worth the $$$. Coming from a 460L, I can definitely see some differences, some of which you would see (power and power delivery) and others that are new to me but wouldn't be to you (like radar cruise). Then there are some of the other items like the leather dash, etc., which are a very nice touch. You will find out

 

I promise I will take better ones, but here are a few phone pics. This was the one thing that made me comfortable with the light interior. The entire dash is black as are the lower half and some of the upper half of the doors. It appears to be a 600h only feature, but I've never gotten confirmation, plus I've seen this same interior in a 600h without the black.