[Closed] Adaptive cruise control

Yes. It's not really necessary but another one of those things that reduce the stress of long drives.  Love it

It’s bloody great.

So does it work like i think it will,  speeding the car up and slowing it down (within a certain range?)

Yes, it maintains the distance from the car in front.

First time I've had it recently.  Like it a lot.

You specify a distance on my karoq.

I do wonder if my brake lights are coming on when it slows down?

Yes it keep the distance with VW you set that distance.

I'm getting it on the next car

Love it, but it's a bit slow witted when people change lanes into the one you're in.

Use it most on country A roads when in a bit of a queue. Pick distance, set to 60 or so, let it do its stuff.

On motorways I tend to use it in roadworks, or uber quiet stretches. I imagine with dsg or auto it'd be awesome.

Next gen stuff will be betterer.

My latest car is the first one with it, and I drove out of the dealership and straight home to read the manual..

And turned the thing off.

Then because I’m an inquisitive type I played around with it, mine you can set at 250mtrs max which is helluva distance really.. that’s quite some tech to see that far ahead.. as I found out.. so now it’s set at 80mtrs which is just enough for cars to pull in between me and the car if front. I can set it manually by driving at a distance and then tapping the lever forward and that’s it.. it’ll drive all day at that distance.

And now I use it a lot.. especially as I drive like a grandad in the slow lane, so I set it so I’m about 4-5 cars behind a truck and relax a bit.

My initial scepticism came because I just didn’t trust it, but I’ve done about 8k Miles with it now and it’s pretty darn good.

Worth upgrading to if you have the option.

I had it on a MK7 Golf when they first came out as I was doing a lot of motorway miles and it made a huge difference for me in the slow road works etc where you can set a distance from the vehicle in front and not worry so much about watching the speedo.

It’s better with DSG than manual

We have it on some of the newer buses now, it’s really good.

the only (slight) criticism I could level at it, is that (this really only applies to buses) if you are doing 60 ish, you catch a truck up, which will only be doing 56mph, it slows you down, but not by much, and it does it so smoothly that you may not notice it happening.

I’m told that it will cut in and brake if necessary, but it’s never happened to me.

overall, I’m a big sceptic wrt ‘safety’ gizmos, but i have to say, it’s brilliant.

Game changer. I had it in my GTD and I used it all the time.... even on twisty roads if I was behind someone. Mine was a manual so still had to change gear, but it switched itself off below 15 mph. If you have a dsg then it will stop you and the start you off also.

on my new car it was an option, so I specced it. Cant imagine driving without it now.

A mate has it on his new 2.0 VW Caddy with DSG and it’s bloody brilliant, I’ve looked to see if it’s possible to retrofit it to my 2013 caddy highline with its basic cruise control but I really want a DSG equipped Caddy in viper green paint so I’d better sell a kidney

Used it on a hire car for the first time today. Really liked it and will try and get it on my next car.

Like it on our crv. But it can be a bit harsh on deceleration. Can’t just eas off. It has to SLOW. But I’m a fan. In a roadworks it’s great. Mine has three distance settings. Middle is best for most conditions.

I have used it and find it brilliant, I set it at 70 on a dual carriageway and it kept me safe distance from car in front and brought me down to a standstill at the trafficlight controlled roundabout, then accelerated smoothly back to 70. The only thing that confused it was the signs on a smaller roundabout!!

VW one is good, (Passat dsg) quite intuitive once you get used to it and start to trust it. I like that it starts to speed up to your set speed when you indicate right to overtake a slower car.

DSG Passat with ACC here. Best feature of the car IMHO, and I’d not have another car without it. Some good points about it being slower to react than you are - car indicating into your lane for example, and you know you’ll have to slow, so I just knock the ACC off and let the car coast for a few hundred metres, before hitting resume again. With a DSG it will control speed fully, with the exception of pulling away from a standstill - get up to 5mph and the car takes over.

I’ve done three hour motorway journeys without touching the throttle or brakes before - quite unnerving to start with!

I've had it for a few years on my V70. You can specify how many seconds of gap to whatever's in front and it'll also auto queue to save rolling into the scenery when it gets slow.

On mine, rather than decelerate on throttle, it brakes though gently. I used it all the time until recently when I needed pads and discs all round at 60k miles.

It's really useful on longer journeys or in heavy traffic. I intervene a bit more now when I use it so it's not constantly on the brakes.

Another double thumbs up from me, it’s brilliant. As others have said with the DSG gearbox it’s almost like it drives itself on the motorway. Although the first time you let it take you from speed to a stop/crawl scares the living bejeezes out of you!

RM.

Have it on my Superb with a DSG box & lane assist. Also a fan, as a big commuter.

It's v good. The odd press on the throttle to over-ride occasionally makes it smoother on the motorway. eg you're in middle lane (not a hogger honest!) and slower car starts to pull in a safe distance in front but you know the CC will brake. Car passing you in outside lane so you need to pause for a couple of seconds before indicating and pulling out to overtake. So throttle press to maintain speed (and close gap slightly), pull out and off throttle for CC to resume at previous speed.

The get home from Yorkshire with as-few-a-touches-of-peddles game, makes 180 miles go quicker.

Have it on my Superb, it's OK on the motorway until people cut into the gap, then it becomes annoying. On A roads I just don't feel in control enough.

I use it in the Passat when my right foot is getting tired in motorway traffic jams; with DSG the car will just follow the car in front. If you stop, you've got to get it going again and if somebody cuts in you sometimes have to brake as the radar doesn't see more than straight ahead. It's not quite as good as a human because it doesn't see two or three cars ahead so tends to react a bit late but digitally connected cars will sort that out (same as the new digital trains they've announced today) and it won't be long before all vehicles are platooning on smart motorways. This slightly cheesy video explains how this already works for long-distance trucking in the USA: https://peloton-tech.com/

So does anyone know if it's actually braking? I.e my lights are coming on?

Work's Passat has it, I never bother with it, tried it a couple of times and just never felt it was solving any sort of problem, but then I never use standard cruise control either, my van doesn't have it.

Biggest gripe for me was it felt too much like 'autopilot', not just that I didn't feel fully in control but mainly that I could feel my concentration slipping when it was on.

So does anyone know if it’s actually braking? I.e my lights are coming on?

Yep - if it's braking then the brake lights come on.

RM.

Biggest gripe for me was it felt too much like ‘autopilot’, not just that I didn’t feel fully in control but mainly that I could feel my concentration slipping when it was on.

My new (to me) car has lane assist (but not ACC). That freaks me out in a similar way. You have to actively engage it i.e. when you start the engine it is off irrespective of when what state you left it in. I just struggle to imagine the internal conversation that would lead to you engaging it...."ok, I'm on the motorway doing 70 but I'm really tired so I better put it on unless I nod off and am unable to do this perfectly simple act of keeping the car between the lane lines". It's when I'm on a totally empty bit of road and have to change lanes for some reason (one of those bit of motorway where you have to be in a specific lane to stay on the motorway) and I don't indicate and it fights back and tries to stop you changing lane.

I love it. Most of my motorway miles are M25 (or the odd bit of M40 / M4 at busy times) so traffic is never going at 70. Just set the max speed and it maintains the distance you set. None of the "oh sh!t, way too close" moments. Traffic slows, you do to. Eases up, it gets back up to speed if there's space.

Just got a newer Golf and the ACC now seems aware of cars in the lanes either side - it won't undertake if a car in the lane to the right is going slower than you.

I don't find it reduces my concentration - it just frees up some brain cycles to get a better awareness of of what's going on around you. Can look further down the road and check mirrors more.

Friend loves it (new Golf) but has narrowly avoid a collision or two when he forgets his other car doesn't have it, just old school cruise.

That's more an indictment on him rather than the car.

Have it on my V60 (automatic gearbox).  Simply bloody brilliant.  It's got its problems (won't spot stationary traffic, limited braking force) but the benefits totally outweigh them.  You're still driving, but you can shift your attention much further down the road making for a smoother and safer journey.

On medium-busy motorways you can do a whole journey without touching the pedals, even with traffic jams, although on a quiet road at night you're better reverting to standard cruise control otherwise it'll jump on the brakes if you come up behind someone pootling along at 40mph.

Depending on the car / instrument layout you get a good overview.  My V60 shows you when it's tracking a car and displays their speed so you can judge your overtaking very easily.  If you do get stuck behind someone, flicking the indication on will cause the car to accelerate towards the one in front to make it easier to pull out.

Won't have another car without it (newer Volvos do the steering for you too).  But must emphasise that all this stuff is a driver aid and you need to be very aware of what it's doing, and intervening if necessary.

I like it but it does get confused by snow......

I don’t find it reduces my concentration – it just frees up some brain cycles to get a better awareness of of what’s going on around you. Can look further down the road and check mirrors more.

This. I’ve used it on occasions, when I’ve picked up a car with it fitted, but never really got totally integrated with it, just down to driving so many cars, most without it, some with, and those slightly different versions, and when you drive three different cars a day, you don’t get a chance to really explore all the toys.

I don’t do enough personal miles to be that fussed about having a car with it fitted, and cost would dictate what my next car is, not whether it’s got ACC.

On my GTI, Wouldn't buy a car without it now I use it all the time. It's is quite literally a life saver the brakes kick in quicker  than i can react if my foots not covering the pedal.

It’s when I’m on a totally empty bit of road and have to change lanes for some reason (one of those bit of motorway where you have to be in a specific lane to stay on the motorway) and I don’t indicate and it fights back and tries to stop you changing lane.

I've got that - one of those things that made me go "cool!" when I discovered it but I don't find it that useful. I do turn it on when I hop onto a motorway or dual carriageway more as an extra safety net than anything else - most usefully, I find it encourages me to indicate every lane change, and I'd be quite happy if more people had it for that reason alone!

ACC, by the way, I'd be well up for - cruise control has made long journeys so much easier, ACC must be another step forward.

Thought I'd hate it.

Thought I'd hate normal CC.

Happily wrong on both counts. 🙂

You can't fault it's application, it is very good...the down side with any forward radar controlled gizmo such as adaptive cruise control and lane control is that the vehicle tracking for all four wheels must be spot-on.

Make sure you don't hit any big pot holes as you won't be able to get the radar and wheel alignment done at your local Quick-Fit, and you can't guarantee your main dealer will have the necessary kit to do the job either. There is every chance your car will be sent to a central service agent to get sorted.

And the cost to realign four wheels and a forward looking radar...in the region of £600 to £800 pounds.

I have it on my Volvo V40. The adaptive cruise control (with Auto gearbox) is one of the best features introduced in recent years. I think the Volvo application is one of the best on the market as it uses radar AND cameras and also lasers for pedestrian detection, all in all very clever. Some other systems (eg BMW i3) are just camera based and therefore not as accurate at judging distance and relative speed.

The only problem I have with it is that if I move into the slow lane from behind a car in the middle lane because the slow lane is clear then I end up accelerating up to the set speed. This can mean you end up undertaking middle lane hoggers if you are not careful.

As everyone has said it's freaking awesome. Mates are always impressed.

With DSG box it does everything, in traffic jams it's excellent. I use it on pretty much every road it's that clever to read the road and obstacles etc that well.

It's also fun scaring passengers when something brakes relatively hard infront and you take no action knowing the system will do it's thing.

Won't ever have at least one of our cars without it now.

This can mean you end up undertaking middle lane hoggers if you are not careful.

That's the only time they get the message to move back over.

With DSG box it does everything

This is what impresses me most with the Mrs's golf. Maintains time separation from car in front, then braking to a halt with no input. When traffic sets off again, it requests a quick dab of accelerator to confirm it should follow, then accelerates through the gears within the set time separation and max speed constraints. It's great.

As mentioned before, my car has the rubber band CVT gearbox (with paddles and override) and honestly when in Cruise it’s like floating on some magic carpet ride.

As these systems become cheaper, it’s well worth paying for them if they are upgrades IMO. Obviously work best with autos, but still very effective in manuals.