My experience adding ALK via FoD + driving impressions using ALK

[Hirschaj]

TL;DR - great experience except for the website portion.

This morning I decided to try out ALK. My car was plugged in at home when I started the process. I tried to add ALK monthly subscription via website on my phone browser but it was giving an error that it could not be added to my shopping cart. I assume this is related to using a mobile browser so I jump on my laptop and get the same error a few time. I decide to give it one last shot and magically it gets added to my cart and I check out with no further issues. I immediately receive an email telling me how to get the update on my car so I head out to the garage (where I have poor cell coverage). I unplug the car as instructed in the email, turn it on and immediately see that the feature is available to install. Following the instructions in the email I turn off the car, verify in the goodbye screen that the feature will be installed (nothing to do, just looked at the message), and locked the car. I returned the car about 1 hour later and the installation had completed and ALK was available as a new feature.

This was a great overall experience. I wasn't sure what to expect and as it turned out, trying to get the subscription added to my shopping cart on the web browser was the hardest part. I'm looking forward to testing out the feature later today as I drive between Austin and Waco.

Some impressions from my drive on I-35 today.

• I spent most of my time in the far left lane with ACC set to 88 MPH
• ALK was better than I expected at staying in my lane on curves
• ALK tended to stay slightly farther to the right side of the lane than I normally would. This would be fine in the far right lane though.
• The nags about keeping my hands on the wheel (even though they already were) were annoying at first. To fix this I made sure I slightly steered the car the whole time and the nags stopped.
• Even though I was slightly steering I still felt like I was doing MUCH less Than normal and was not fatigued at all when I arrived at my destination
• It didn’t feel like the car was bouncing between lane markers at all
• ALK lost the left lane markers when I would drive on an overpass
• When ALK would disengage for some reason (happened a couple of times in 1.5 hours) it would do so silently but the white warning message in the left tube was very noticeable since I was slightly still driving. It would be nice to get an audio prompt similar to the croaking frog noise when LKA warns about getting too close to a lane marker.
• The cars driving assistance systems handled the heavy, fast flowing traffic great

Overall I think the combination of ALK and ACC is great for a road trip and I will definitely use it again when I head out into west Texas in a month or two.

 

[TXAG]

Glad the installation was as easy as you described. I think you'll like it, but you may have second thoughts about keeping it after a few months if you don't do too much highway driving. ALK will complain if you have to dodge a pothole, and if you don't jiggle the steering wheel every now and then (30 seconds?) a steering wheel will show up on the dashboard (and the head-up display, if you have it) reminding you to do so.

I frequently drive from the Phoenix area to Las Vegas. The interstates and most of the highways are fine, but there are approximately 30 miles of old road where I end up driving with my passenger-side wheels on the side stripe because if I drove where I'm supposed to drive all four tires will be thrashed with ruts and patches. There's not much civilizaton out there and I don't want to be stranded with an unrepairable flat. I turn my ALK off but keep ACC on for those stretches of road.

Drive safely and enjoy your trip!

 

[Hirschaj]

Some impressions from my drive on I-35 today.

• I spent most of my time in the far left lane with ACC set to 88 MPH
• ALK was better than I expected at staying in my lane on curves
• ALK tended to stay slightly farther to the right side of the lane than I normally would. This would be fine in the far right lane though.
• The nags about keeping my hands on the wheel (even though they already were) were annoying at first. To fix this I made sure I slightly steered the car the whole time and the nags stopped.
• Even though I was slightly steering I still felt like I was doing MUCH less Than normal and was not fatigued at all when I arrived at my destination
• It didn’t feel like the car was bouncing between lane markers at all
• ALK lost the left lane markers when I would drive on an overpass
• When ALK would disengage for some reason (happened a couple of times in 1.5 hours) it would do so silently but the white warning message in the left tube was very noticeable since I was slightly still driving. It would be nice to get an audio prompt similar to the croaking frog noise when LKA warns about getting too close to a lane marker.
• The cars driving assistance systems handled the heavy, fast flowing traffic great

Overall I think the combination of ALK and ACC is great for a road trip and I will definitely use it again when I head out into west Texas in a month or two.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Great review, @Hirschaj, I am looking forward to it. I drove a 4S with this feature and when it was on the nagging was uncomfortable, so I did not give it much chance. I will sure try it out more when I get my own. TYD = April 24 delivery, so far.

 

[Hirschaj]

One more thing I forgot to add. The HUD is also really nice for knowing if ALK is active or not. The steering wheel icon turns green when ALK is active and turns grey when it deactivates.

 

[bsclywilly]

If you’re lucky, after the 3 month trial, the buggy website/backend forgets you subscribed and you get to keep the option for free. Hope no one from Porsche is reading this…

 

[Ross]

Love the review. My experience too.
I particularly like the contradiction with your tag line ‘Drive it like you stole it’

I downloaded Innodrive and ALK for the free 3/12 trial. Cancelled Innodrive as never used it. Too intrusive for me.
The combo of ACC + ALK is pure gold.
So smooth. No bouncing off the white lines like with LKA.

I also am not being charged the monthly after the free trial! It’s been 4 months since free trial finished.

If I had known this I wd have kept Innodrive to experiment more.

I am going to download Comfort Access for 3/12 free and see if the same thing happens.

The HUD is nice but gives you a bulbous dash.

(But to be fair I find this less of an eyesore than the pointless Sports Chrono Clock.
I like the software of Sports Chrono. The hardware spoils the dash and the smart steering wheel upgrade)

I find the multiple configurable screens give you enough info. I start L hand screen on Tyre Pressure and turn to Driver Assist if using ACC ALK.

 

[Hirschaj]

I particularly like the contradiction with your tag line ‘Drive it like you stole it’

Haha, yes I need to update that tag line to end with… “unless my wife is in the car with me”

 

[Hirschaj]

The HUD is nice but gives you a bulbous dash.

(But to be fair I find this less of an eyesore than the pointless Sports Chrono Clock.

I understand your point about the HUD but I don’t think it looks bad at all, just different.

I’m not a fan of the sports chrono clock either but all of this is completely subjective. I’m sure other folks love the look of their clock.

 

[twporscheguy]

Does the car need to be built with a specific option in order to subscribe for ALK?

 

[guess2098]

ALK is good especially during traffic. Inno I tried it once and unsubscribe it.

 

[nischalr]

Does the car need to be built with a specific option in order to subscribe for ALK?

I'm pretty sure you need ACC already fitted on the car.

 

[submatrix]

I'm pretty sure you need ACC already fitted on the car.

This is correct.

 

[Ross]

Yes, you need ACC
Factory fit Innodrive includes ALK and ACC in 1 package.
You can spec ACC separately but ALK is only available separately as a FOD.
Innodrive via FOD also requires ACC but does not include ALK and has slightly less functionality than factory Innodrive due to a couple less sensors.

 

[Emokeff88]

I attempted to start the 3 month trial and then I saw the note below that ALK is "temporarily" unavailable for MY2022. It's literally been stuck for a month saying getting ready to install on the app. I contacted Porsche and they said they deleted it for me but there's no change. I'm not sure what to do at this point.