Look back over the life story of the automobile and you’ll find Mercedes-Benz continually leading the way in safety innovation:
Inventing the first crumple zone over 60 years ago. Earning a patent for the air bag. And pioneering a long list of active safety
systems that eventually found their way into most every car, like the Antilock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Program
(ESP
®
) and emergency-sensing Brake Assist. Today, the groundbreaking PRE-SAFE
®
system can actually detect and help prepare
for a collision before it happens. True to its heritage, the 2012 CLS-Class is engineered with visionary safety advances that watch
the road ahead and to your side. Help you to see and be seen. And respond to help make an accident less severe, less damaging,
or even less likely. All cars might do this someday. The protection a CLS-Class offers today could rewrite the story of your own life.
pioneering insight.
protective instinct.
reveal.
Brighter lighting.
The world’s first all-LED active
headlamps, included in the optional Premium 1
Package, generate light that’s even closer to natural
daylight than the standard Bi-Xenon headlamps.
Active Curve Illumination and Adaptive Highbeam
Assist continuously vary the beam pattern of the
LED headlamps to maximize illumination of corners
and straightaways, without creating glare for other
drivers. Bright white LED Daytime Running Lamps
and LED taillamps are also standard.
Night View Assist PLUS with Pedestrian Detection.
This remarkable option projects infrared beams that
are invisible to the human eye and reads them with
a special camera. The system displays a clearer,
supplemental real-time view of the road ahead on the
large central screen in the dash. It can even identify
and point out pedestrians.
5
ATTENTION ASSIST.
By continually monitoring a
variety of driving behaviors, this Mercedes-Benz
innovation can audibly and visually alert the driver
if it detects signs of drowsiness on long trips. More
than 70 variables are measured in the first minutes of
a drive to establish a pattern for the individual driver
and determine the warning thresholds accordingly.
6
prepare.
PRE-SAFE.
A Mercedes-Benz first, PRE-SAFE can
detect instability during certain vehicle maneuvers
that suggest a collision or rollover is imminent.
It can then tighten the front seat belts, adjust
the front passenger seat, and close the windows
and sunroof — all in an effort to better prepare the
occupants in the moments before a collision.
7
Adaptive Brakes.
An integrated system of braking
advances helps to make driving more reassuring and
relaxing in a variety of situations. If the driver lifts
off the accelerator quickly, Predictive Brake Priming
sets the pads closer to the discs for more immediate
response when the driver steps on the brakes. In the
rain, Automatic Brake Drying gently applies the brakes
periodically, to sweep away water buildup on the discs.
During uphill starts, Hill-Start Assist helps prevent
unwanted rollback. And a HOLD feature can make
stop-and-go traffic a little easier.
8
react.
DISTRONIC PLUS.
A Mercedes-Benz innovation that
takes cruise control to a new level of convenience,
this optional system adapts your set cruising speed
in response to traffic ahead — automatically slowing
down until your path is clear again. If traffic stops,
DISTRONIC PLUS can even brake the car to a full halt,
then resume automatically when it clears.
9
PRE-SAFE Brake.
DISTRONIC PLUS also integrates a
system that uses radar-based sensors to help detect
an impending collision with a vehicle ahead. Even if
you’re not using the cruise control, PRE-SAFE Brake
can automatically apply up to 100% of the car’s braking
force to help reduce the severity of impact.
8
Ten air bags.
A suite of 10 standard air bags offers
12-way protection.
10
Driver and new front-passenger
knee air bags augment the dual-stage front air bags.
Pelvic air bags complement the side-impact air bags
for each front seat. And side curtain air bags are
provided at all four seating positions.
Blind Spot Assist and Lane Keeping Assist.
These optional systems can alert the driver to some
unseen vehicles in the adjacent lane,
11
and can warn
the driver of unintended drifting across visible lane
markings.
6
Both systems are also offered with active
technology that can help steer the car back into its
own lane should the driver disregard the alerts.
