A friend of mine is buying a new car and believes cruise control is a most desirable extra.
My experience of these devices is limited. SWMBO had an Automatic Talbot Alpine years ago and the cruise control was dreadful. It accelerated and decelerated noticeably when engaged and this surging motion made it completely unacceptable. I had it on a Merc, again a long while ago, and the surging was noticeable on this as well.
I can see it being useful on, say, deserted freeways in Mid West USA but I can't see any chance of using it on our crowded roads.
Are modern systems better? and any views on it's usefulness?
C
|
I inherited my Mum's 1981 Merc 280CE auto which was fitted with cruise control. I found it faultless in operation, no surging at all, and very easy and intuitive to use. You could even accelerate or decelerate using the column stalk, maybe all systems do this, I don't know.
Having said all that, it was no bl**dy use to me whatsoever; busy roads and unpredictable drivers making it more of a novelty that a driving aid.
Darcy.
Sudden prayers make God jump.
|
I have a 90*s M-B with cruise control.My findings are exactly the same as Darcy.British roads have become too crowded to optimise use of this facility but it performs faultlessly on the rare occasions it is put to use.I wish the same could be said of
the rest of the electronics on my model
Simon T.
|
On my Zafira Elegance the CC works smoothly and has no surging instinct.
You can accelerate via the throttle pedal and once you lift, the speed returns to that set on the CC. You can also speed up on the CC by holding down the ON button. Acceleration is more pronounced than if you were using the throttle pedal but nothing unexpected.
Are they any use? I find, even on motorways with people constantly switching lanes etc that it is difficult to keep the CC on for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Its good when you can use it but a pain when you have to keep switching it off and on again.
|
|
|
|
|
Contrary to everyone else, I have found it very useful. For instance, when it becomes too hazardous to creep at, say more, than 60% of the natural cruising speed suggested by vehicle and road conditions; it does diminish the extreme irritation.
|
|
|
I share Tomo's view entirely. In March this year I bought my first car having cruise control. It's brilliant, for two reasons. (1) subject to conditions (see later) you can relax when driving through speed restrictions, without having to concentrate on the speedo / Gatso; and (2) it's very relaxing, esp on long (say 400 miles) motorway hauls, when your right ankle would otherwise ache and one (who? me?) might be tempted to slip the left foot across to the accelerator to give the right ankle a rest...
I found it so good that I've just had Cruise control fitted retrospectively to my motorcaravan - which mainly does long motorway hauls.
The limitation is of course traffic density. In cities it's not going to be of much use; on motorways it can be thwarted by the traffic - though one can always set it at the trucks' speed of about 56mph-60mph and slot in - when it's fine even in quite heavy traffic.
I'd certainly regard it as almost essential for a future purchase. I suppose they once had the same debate about synchromesh, heaters, and power brakes ....
Regards to all.
|
absolutely agree....had cruise for last eight years and use it every day..and not much motorway driving....particularly helpful if like me you have a back problem when it allows you to fidget safely while maintaining constant speed.....also definitely makes me drive more slowly on dual carriageways and motorways as keeps to fixed 77mph!..surging only a problem at the top of hills when it seems to want to send you into the sky...best to turn off just before reaching crests and then switch on again immediately after ...
christoph
|
|
That is interesting about the surging. My last hobby car, 1985 Celica Supra, had none of these problems as long as you left it in drive. Only, if you tried it in 2 - never mind why! - you got an energetic imitation of a kangaroo!
|
My Accord has cruise control, and as my journey in to work is mostly motorways, I find it very useful. Once set, I try and leave it, so I find I'm looking further ahead, and planning what I need to do earlier than I used to. In my mind, that can only be a good thing.
Andy
|
|
|
|
Cruise is on current Vectra and essentially its faultless, the only surging is if you are daft enough to set it at 30.. as an experiment you understand. Even then it cycles 29-31 fairly slowly so its not too bad.
Probably only use it for those really early starts/late finishes when the m'way is empty, and its doubly good in the early hours for roadworks limited to 40/50.
If it was not fitted as std would not pay to have it included though if only driving were daytime UK, really comes into use on continent.
The new Primera has one of those keep your distance to the car in front jobbies, laser controlled? Apparently if you are daft enough to leave it switched on as you drive into mist it thinks the vehicle in front has accelerated away and goes into pursuit mode. Frankly not keen :=(
|
The new Primera has one of those keep your distance to the car in front jobbies, laser controlled?
Seen on another forum:
A high-tech cruise control feature has been getting Dutch drivers in trouble with the police.
The Nissan Primera's intelligent cruise control, which stops cars getting too close to the vehicle in front, interferes with a certain type of speed gun in Holland.
Three motorists have been given tickets for having the feature on their cars, because Dutch police thought they were illegal scrambling devices.
But a spokesman for Nissan UK said the instances were isolated, and none had been reported outside Holland.
|
|
|
|
I have had cruise control on most of my cars over the last ten years & am a supporter of them. When I got my latest car (Saab 9-5) which didn't have one, I found that I was concentrating on the speedometer more than the road on the first long motorway trip we did, trying to keep within the motorway limits. I subsequently had it retrofitted.
I use it often in the UK and on long continental trips, and I disagree with the school of thought that has been expressed by Paul Ripley in the Telegraph that it dumbs down the driving - to my mind, anything that releases you to concentrate on the real world (other cars) rather than arbitrary speed limits is all to the good.
Like all things, it has to be applied with intelligence - e.g., I always switch off on long sweeping motorway bends, even if no traffic, rather than just resetting to a lower speed. In these circumstances, the delicate balance of speed required for full control of the car can only be achieved by use of the right foot. I never use in town.
As they often say with respect to diet - everything in moderation!
|
|
|
My advice is to buy a car with a properly weighted throttle pedal. The Germans are good at this. Then you can 'rest' your foot on the accelerator in any position. The pedal on my wife's MX5 was underweighted so ankle ache sets in after a while. You can also drive more economically without it. Using anticipation to drive on the motorway with minimum throttle is safe, economical and relieves some of the boredom.
When you need to react in an emergency situation I think it is a potential hazard - mentally there is one extra conscious/subconscious consideration, and your feet will probably be in the wrong place. Even a quarter second extra is 30 feet on the motorway. I've only ever used it in the US and not much then.
|
I have it on my Carlton Diplomat and I find it very useful. Another factor not mentioned here in its favour is fuel economy. Running my Carlton on a shoestring it always pleases me to see it creep up to 35mpg doing 80mph on cruise.
I don't think it is at all dangerous, and you can easily control your speed with it. Want to go faster? Hold the accelerate button. Slow down? Cancel it and re-engage at desired speed. I drive like this all day when on major roads.
Its use is limited on the busy M25 but up here in Lancs it can be used on the motorways regularly.
|
I would have to go with Darcy. I have had cruise control on every car I have owned for the last 10 years. Faultless in operation but completely useless in the congested traffic condition that exist in the South of England.
Obviously concieved for long US highways, might be of some use in the Scottish Highlands but thats about it. If it comes as standard fine but do not pay for it.
|
We've had a few Mercs lately a hire cars thro work. These not only had the cruise control, but also an adjustable speed limiter. This can be very useful in built-up areas where such a car can easily get you a ticket.
S3
|
My recent experiences with cruise control are limited to the Avantime, the report on which is coming hopefully over the weekend.
The most useful feature of the Renault CC is the speed limiter - a choice moment for me was entering a village in Corsica and having all the cars approaching me flash their lights, a sure sign of a police speed trap. So I set the limiter to 50kph and drove on safe in the knowledge that I couldn't break the limit. However, the idiot in an A3 behind me was either driving so close that he didn't see the approaching cars flash or didn't care.
Eventually he floored it, went shooting past me and disappeared around a corner. Unfortunately for him there was a speed trap and I cruised past as he was explaining himself to the local constabulary.
Given that there's so many speed cameras around now, I spend almost as much time watching my speed as the road. I loved the limiter as it allowed me to drive with my concentration where it should be.
Lee
...Loves Driving, Hates Garages
|
So how do these speed limiters work then?
Do they get over-ridden with a "kick-down", or do you have to make a specific seperate effort to switch them off in an emergency?
|
|
In the Merc they are over-ridden by the kick-down.
|
Bogush - different types have different approaches.
In my old Chev, the control could be set at a speed, and when acceleration was needed (ie overtaking) then the speed would return to the previous limit once you lifted the trotter!
Touching the brake would disengage the control, but again, it could be returned back up to the previous speed by holding the lever down for about 3 seconds after removing foot from the brake.
I believe that it is a legal requirement here to have this 'emergency stop capablity' as a feature of speed controllers.
I suspect one of the other foreign corrspondents (ie Randolph Lee or Growler) would have something to add - after all, speed control seems to have been very much a US standard feature for years, from what I've seen.
|
Ian,
Two different things;
Cruise Control to try and maintain you at a set speed. Overridden by accelerator and cancelled by brakes.
Speed limiter (as per my rental Merc) set to a speed, will not allow car to accelerate past that speed unless the autobox kick-down is used. No control over minimum speed.
|
Aaah, ok.
>>will not allow car to accelerate past that speed unless the >>autobox kick-down is used.
That could get a bit hairy if, for example, an inexperienced driver was attempting to overtake...
What sort of speed does it limit you to?
|
>>What sort of speed does it limit you to?
Whatever you set it to.
If you floor it, then it will accelerate. But its really for gentle use; going through a 40mph dual carriageway for example, where you don`t want your speed to creep up.
|
Also useful, a speed warning, preset by the driver to any speed, and gives an audible/visual warning if that speed is exceeded.
Available on GM Holden Commodores in Oz and I found it very useful to avoid building up speed on open roads or set to lower levels for urban areas.
Also used at night to keep speed down in case of collision with Kangaroos!
Havent seen this device on a UK car yet.
Ian L.
|
Also used at night to keep speed down in case of collision with Kangaroos! Havent seen this device on a UK car yet.
haven't seen many Kangaroos in the UK either!
Old Beemers (Old 3 series) used to have it as a feature of the dash trip metre/computer
|
|
I saw a TV ad which mentioned limiters the other day (during GP?) - think it was the new Laguna
|
Funny you should mention that, a news item in the Torygraph a few weeks ago mentioned a police investigation and subsequent holdup on the M40 in Oxfordshire due to what turned out to be a dead roo
on the motorway!
Mainly deer near here....a little more intelligent that most roos but just as much damage if you hit one.
Ian L.
|
|
In the Avantime (a manual) it would beep and not allow you to exceed the speed limit if you tried, but if you buried your foot in the carpet (I guess comparable to kick down) it eventually would stop interfering and take off like a scalded cat.
Lee
...Loves Driving, Hates Garages
|
|
|
|
|
