Adaptive cruise...

[Uther]

My new car has it, I've only ever had normal cruise control before, so it's a bit different!
Anyone use it a lot or is it in the 'gimmick' pile?

 

[Shadowness]

I find even normal cruise control is a rarity these days, unless driving on a motorway at very early or late hours of the day (when there's very little traffic).

Obviously adaptive changes that slightly, but I still prefer to use my foot.

 

[Ev0]

Not a gimmick, makes cruise far more usable.

 

[Supernova]

I find even normal cruise control is a rarity these days, unless driving on a motorway at very early or late hours of the day (when there's very little traffic).

Obviously adaptive changes that slightly, but I still prefer to use my foot.

Adaptive cruise changes it completely! It exists for that exact use case. It makes cruise work in the scenarios where cruise doesn't work. It cuts the fatigue on long days on busy motorways by a very significant amount. I did 9 hours in a Velar in a single very busy day in the UK. It felt like I'd driven 3 hours in a normal car.

And on the complete opposite end of the spectrum I drove a Morgan Plus 4 for 9 hours in a single day and it nearly killed me Epic car though.

 

[iamdjdz]

I had it in a VW passat and whilst it was useful I found that either it would slow down before I'd want to or speed up too quick into gaps or be very late on brakes. It basically never felt right.

Rented a Volvo XC60 in Sweden and it was totally different, did exactly what I expected and made the long drive we had much more relaxed. So I guess it depends on the car or how its implemented.

Personally I find a limiter far more useful than cruise control.

 

[hugobosslives]

Adaptive cruise changes it completely! It exists for that exact use case. It makes cruise work in the scenarios where cruise doesn't work. It cuts the fatigue on long days on busy motorways by a very significant amount. I did 9 hours in a Velar in a single very busy day in the UK. It felt like I'd driven 3 hours in a normal car.

And on the complete opposite end of the spectrum I drove a Morgan Plus 4 for 9 hours in a single day and it nearly killed me Epic car though.

See these comments a lot and they baffle me. I drive quite a few cars with and without the various cruise controls and this doesn't seem to contribute to tiredness at all. How tired does your foot get?!

The only thing that does seem to make a difference to me personally is the seat and the road noise you get. I find more premium cars have better sound proofing and this seems to make me feel better though may just be placebo!

Back to the original question. Try it out for a couple weeks and see what you think. Most people like it.

 

[xs2man]

I like it.

I seem to often get it in hire cars, and its implementation does change between cars slightly. Some cars it can take you to a complete stop, and start again, like in my new Caravelle. But other cars will disengage once stopped. So not so good in stop start traffic for example.

Overall I like it, and would spec it as an option if necessary. But I do regular dual carriageway / motorway driving. So it is genuinely useful. I do find even on the closest setting it brakes a touch early though. Id usually like to get a little closer before pulling out to overtake.

 

[Uther]

Yep, so far I've used it once, for the grand total of about 4 miles! It's a VW but does have a button to change the distance from the car in front before it reacts so will see how it goes. I can imagine it being useful and annoying in equal measure.

 

[chorse]

I use autopilot to drive 300 motorway miles fairly regularly. Honestly don’t think I could do it without tacc.

 

[andy_mk3]

I have it on my A6 it's a dream! You have to get used to it and learn how it reacts to things. I could never go back to not having it though. Regular cruise control is almost impossible to use half the time these days as it's impossible to stay at a steady speed for long.

 

[PiKe]

I don't understand people who say they can't use standard cruise, I always use it on the motorway, as long as you're aware of your surroundings there is rarely a time where you need to completely disengage it, I can drive for hours just slightly adjusting speed on the steering wheel.

 

[chorse]

I don't understand people who say they can't use standard cruise, I always use it on the motorway, as long as you're aware of your surroundings there is rarely a time where you need to completely disengage it, I can drive for hours just slightly adjusting speed on the steering wheel.

have you tried tacc with a half decent lane keeping aid?

it’s one of those things that you don’t realise you need until you have it. Mainly for me, because you arrive half as tired.

I drive a lot for fun too. For motorway is not that place.

 

[mccarf]

I found it better when the motorway was heavy with traffic. It was very annoying when it was more free flowing because it would react to the car in front to early, even though I had it on the shortest distance.

 

[andy_mk3]

I found it better when the motorway was heavy with traffic. It was very annoying when it was more free flowing because it would react to the car in front to early, even though I had it on the shortest distance.

I find the bigger distance works better. It allows it more time to match the speed of the traffic before having to brake than if it was a lot closer.

 

[Conscript]

We've just got it on our new car. It takes a little getting used to, but it's much better than manual cruise in traffic.

 

[chrismscotland]

I had this on a Volvo S60 a few years back, it was brilliant - really miss it now!

 

[lordrobs]

I had it in a VW passat and whilst it was useful I found that either it would slow down before I'd want to or speed up too quick into gaps or be very late on brakes. It basically never felt right.

Rented a Volvo XC60 in Sweden and it was totally different, did exactly what I expected and made the long drive we had much more relaxed. So I guess it depends on the car or how its implemented.

Personally I find a limiter far more useful than cruise control.

I find the same thing in my Leon. Sometimes it leaves massive gaps which people naturally pull into then the car goes into "OMFG CAR!!" mode and stabs the brakes even though there is little or no closing speed to them. Even with the shortest follow setting you have to pull out to overtake VERY early otherwise the car will start to drop speed and match the car in front. It also occasionally will over react when approaching a car that is pulling off at a slip road or a truck nearing your lane again stabbing the brakes. Final complaint is that it won't ever undertake someone which makes it useless in 50 mph road works where you are meant to stay in lane if someone is sat in lane 2/3 doing 40.

It does have its uses though, sometimes its handy to just lock on to the car in front and let it do its thing. If I could choose to swap between regular and adaptive cruise it would be perfect.

 

[Supernova]

See these comments a lot and they baffle me. I drive quite a few cars with and without the various cruise controls and this doesn't seem to contribute to tiredness at all. How tired does your foot get?!

The only thing that does seem to make a difference to me personally is the seat and the road noise you get. I find more premium cars have better sound proofing and this seems to make me feel better though may just be placebo!

Back to the original question. Try it out for a couple weeks and see what you think. Most people like it.

Mental fatigue, not foot fatigue!

 

[Supernova]

I don't understand people who say they can't use standard cruise, I always use it on the motorway, as long as you're aware of your surroundings there is rarely a time where you need to completely disengage it, I can drive for hours just slightly adjusting speed on the steering wheel.

That doesn’t work on the motorways around Birmingham and London...

 

[andy_mk3]

Final complaint is that it won't ever undertake someone which makes it useless in 50 mph road works where you are meant to stay in lane if someone is sat in lane 2/3 doing 40.

Tap the accelerator pedal it should then undertake. It does on my A6 at least.