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 is behaving in an exemplary manner, but rather we are driving the autonomous new CLA from Mercedes-Benz for three quarters of an hour in the city center of San Francisco. The system is called Drive Assist Pro, will cost an additional charge of around 4,000 dollars 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 according 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. Sensors everywhere: Drive Assist Pro is initially coming to the United States. ManufacturerWhat 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 developed with the support of the chip manufacturer and AI specialist Nvidia, which uses artificial intelligence to simulate all conceivable traffic scenarios in order to make autonomous driving safe. The Drive Assist Pro supports navigation from A to B. The easiest way is to enter the destination in the navigation system and then start the helper with a steering wheel button. From then on he takes command. Because the driver remains responsible, he has to keep his hands on the steering wheel. Of course, without steering, the electronics do this even in sharp or tight corners with a lot of cranking. A capacitive mat in the steering wheel checks whether the driver is following the rules of the game. 27 sensors, including four all-round cameras and another four side cameras as well as twelve ultrasonic sensors and four radar sensors, record the surroundings, in contrast to Level 3 from Mercedes-Benz, even in the rain and at night. The technical underpinnings are a high-performance system whose processor achieves more than 8.3 teraflops and 70 gigabytes of RAM are available. While driving, one detail keeps getting irritating. Now the CLA drives confidently through San Francisco as if controlled by magic. He avoids parked cars or a bush on the road. It changes lanes autonomously, each time a gong sounds. We like to be chauffeured and amazed during this test drive because the driving behavior is so humane and casual. This quickly creates trust in the technology. There is only one irritation: Since the front cameras can see into the intersection sooner and better than the driver or front passenger, it gives the impression that the vehicle is setting off too early. Otherwise, the Mercedes drives like a professional who behaves extremely correctly, although at times it is a bit hesitant, which can be criticized. When a Tesla in front of us in the left lane stops illegally to turn left ignoring the solid line, the CLA doesn’t know what to do for a few seconds. We would have swerved to the right much sooner; the Mercedes was taking too much time for our opinion. The Chinese version allows for higher dynamics, replies an engineer. Tight curves: The CLA makes no mistakes on our test drive. Manufacturer Mercedes-Benz emphasizes the high level of safety 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 weather to protect pedestrians from splashing water. More on the topic If the European regulatory authorities give the green light, Mercedes-Benz would be ready for certification immediately. The advantage of being able to drive stress-free through crowded city centers is immediately apparent after our test lap. By the way, 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.
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