The blind spot monitoring is also very nice as it only gives visual and audio signals vs. taking action.
The "leaving the lane" function is about useless.
Traction control can be useful under the right conditions but should require user action to turn it on vs. being always on unless the user turns it off.
I hate having "turn the engine off at a stop" function and the fact that it has to be manually turned off after each start - at least the button is readily accessible and it is punched every time I start up.
I also hate the "stability control" which can hit an individual tire's brake to get you out of some problems - if it kicks in while one is going over gravel/sand etc., and or on the brink of a drop off (that the car is blissfully unaware of) it can lead to disaster by screwing the pooch with a driver's attempts to maintain control under a dicey condition - only way to turn mine off is to enter the menu available from the steering wheel and disable the ESP option - it automatically enables at the next start.
Under specific conditions, some of the "enhancements" can be very useful, but under the wrong conditions, they can cause more harm than good.
I totally agree with your comments about the stop-start feature, traction control, and ESP, but I believe you’re up against government regulations which mandate that they be “on” by default.
Yes, the stop-start thing is EXTREMELY annoying. I suspect that is factored into the determination of city mileage, and as such, you can be sure the EPA is behind the inability to turn the damn thing off permanently.
Such hatred...
What, you couldn't get a VW diesel?
Thanks for posting that... I thought about a Merc.. For those features... It would have to be flawless and amazing to pry that much money from me because it is the top end of my budget... Maybe even plus.