Mercedes Drive Pilot becomes the first Level 3 drive assistance in the US
Mercedes announced its Level 3 drive assistance called Drive Pilot earlier this year and even takes legal responsibility if you crash with Drive Pilot active in Germany. And in May, the service was fully operational in Germany and now the company is bringing Drive Pilot to the US as well.
But just like in Germany, some conditions apply. Drive Pilot in the US will debut in California and Nevada and in addition to the highways, the drive assistance will be available in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento, San Diego and Las Vegas.
The first EQS and S-Class models equipped with Drive Pilot will arrive by the end of this year, with more to come in early 2024. Customers will be able to purchase Drive Pilot only with the top vehicle configurations. The subscription service will cost $2,500 for the first year but more details and pricing options will be available at a later date.
Since Drive Pilot a subscription-based service, customers will be able to opt-out if they move to a state where Drive Pilot is still unavailable.
Despite the conditional implementation of the Drive Pilot, it still puts Mercedes ahead of Tesla in this regard. Tesla's current Autopilot system is only Level 2, while the Full-Self Driving, which is still in beta, is rated at Level 2+, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
Level 3 means that the system in place is fully in control of the vehicle and would require drivers to take control only when needed. Certain other conditions also apply. For instance, Drive Pilot can only work at speeds up to 40 mph, but Mercedes is ready to up the limit to {{70 mp}} once regulatory bodies allow.
Still, Mercedes says when Drive Pilot is active, drivers can enjoy YouTube videos or even play mini-games.
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