Standard cruise control

[TDinDC]

I find this feature downright dangerous and is reliant on signage (and mapping) being 100% correct. Too many times will the car see a temporary speed limit and comply accordingly and then not see the restriction end, or the wrong speed is registered and you experience heavy deceleration, not the fault of the tech per se but can catch you by surprise when you least expect it IMHO.

Agree 100%. I hated all of the aids for this reason at the beginning until I found out how to disable it.

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[Hanny]

Although standard cruise does have its limitations ……

 

[whan]

Think almost everyone can agree that that ACC is very nice to have in stop and go type traffic and generally works well in those circumstances. I agree that in more typical highway driving scenarios, there are limitations in terms of potentially inviting people to cut in, or ending up just following slower vehicles in the middle lane. But that just means that it’s not really a set it and forget it sort of tool.

I don’t find managing ACC any more effort than traditional CC. Using traditional CC, you also have to actively manage engagement/disengagement, most likely on an even more frequent basis. For ACC, I’ll sometimes also add accelerator pedal to close gaps a bit to deter people cutting in, and I will change lanes while keeping ACC active to pass cars going significantly slower than my set speed (the Taycan speeds up quite quickly to the set speed)

Really IMO it’s about learning to drive with the system as an aid. In stop-and-go or two-lane roads, it can pretty much be used as set and forget since there’s no ability to pass or anyone to cut in. In busier traffic at close to highway speeds, you just have to actively manage your gaps and pass when needed, but that’s something you’d do anyways regardless of if you have ACC.

In lighter traffic at highway speeds, you can often rely on it for decent periods at a time. If traffic in the middle lane is mostly moving at your desired speed (say 75 in a 65), you can just set it there and ride it out, even if someone is going say a few mph lower (say at 73), and pass occasionally when needed when you come up on someone going significantly slower (say at 70). Again, if you were running standard CC, you’d still have to be taking action/control whenever you come up on someone slower. ACC at least gives you the option of you not intervening if you come up on someone going slightly slower than you, and instead just matching their speed.

 

[Hanny]

In all seriousness- I use the Tesla Auto Pilot a lot and have spec’d as much on my Taycan build as possible to replicate. It is a user defined requirement and thus good for and not so for others.

 

[f1eng]

Using traditional CC, you also have to actively manage engagement/disengagement, most likely on an even more frequent basis.

I agree one has to manage normal CC too but IME I have to manage the adaptive one every time I approach a slower vehicle whereas with normal only if the overtaking lane slows below my cruising speed. The peloton in the middle lane varies in speed more than I will tolerate and is, in any case, contrary to the rules of the UK motorway driving and super irritating to me.

In fact I have to set and reset ACC so often on a long journey I stopped bothering to switch it on at all in my last car, whereas with normal CC I will go many miles without touching anything but steering and indicating change of lane.

 

[Scandinavian]

In fact I have to set and reset ACC so often on a long journey I stopped bothering to switch it on at all in my last car, whereas with normal CC I will go many miles without touching anything but steering and indicating change of lane.

Why do you need to switch it off and back on? I only have to switch it back on if I have used the brake pedal on motorway trips. If I need to speed up in order to change lanes I leave it set and push the throttle.

 

[f1eng]

Why do you need to switch it off and back on? I only have to switch it back on if I have used the brake pedal on motorway trips. If I need to speed up in order to change lanes I leave it set and push the throttle.

I can accelerate but it slows prematurely so often it usually has started to slow before I realise I need to
I can drive round the problem but I usually just leave it off now whereas standard CC I just leave on all the time and change lanes as needed, only needing to cancel it if the overtaking lane is slow.

I see quite a lot of people like it but I still don’t and doing a longer journey in a car with it while my Taycan is broken just confirmed how delighted I am not to have got ACC on the Taycan.

 

[Scandinavian]

Trying to understand what it is that you dislike with ACC.

I pretty well stick to the rules so what irritates me about adaptive CC, and others using it, is that there I am, driving down the motorway at 70mph + tax on the inside lane, I approach a slower truck and a LONG way before I get to it my car starts to slow down so I either cancel CC, and then as I get nearer to the truck check the middle lane for traffic, indicate, move out, overtake and move back or I have to move into the middle lane a long way before having seen the truck way ahead and knowing my car will slow if I don't.

So is the issue here that the slower truck will trigger the slowing down of your car too early. You will be able to see when the car truck enters the zone in the display and you can set the distance to a minimum. Is the issue that you need to pull out so much earlier than you are used to? I find it is a learning curve to indicate and move out earlier in these cases and the Taycan will keep a very steady pace.

If there is a peloton of other cars ignoring the rules in the middle lane all on adaptive cruise they are usually all so close together I either can't pull out, and have to slow down, or pull into a small gap, shocking a driver who may not be paying much attention to driving.

Not sure what you mean that the cars ignoring the rules in the middle lane?? Do you mean they should overtake in the outside lane? But if they already go at speed limit + they would be over speeding, no? Are they going faster than you are or not. If they are faster on ACC and you want to pull out, you have the same problem in manual mode or normal CC as well. Not a fault of ACC?

The other irritating thing has often been finding a string of slowish cars in the centre lane, pulling into the outside lane to continue at my steady speed only to have the whole peloton speed up again leaving me either stuck with the string of cars on the other side this time or having to considerably exceed the speed limit tax...

Again you would have this problem with normal CC or even in manual mode! Still can not see what ACC does wrong here.

And just to be clear I do NOT use the automatic speed adjustments in InnoDrive. I agree with others that the phantom braking and unreliable speed limit via camera or database is directly dangerous.

I have used ACC on motorways and also normal main roads for more than 40k km (used 75-80%) and not had a single issue after switching off the automatic speed adjustment.

In fact the other day my son was impressed on the roads to Silverstone when the car automatically slowed down before entering a round about steering around it and picking up speed again. That certainly would not happen with normal CC in other cars. It probably entered the roundabout much more cautiously than he would have don in full manual, but still.

 

[Gru]

Trying to understand what it is that you dislike with ACC.

So is the issue here that the slower truck will trigger the slowing down of your car too early. You will be able to see when the car truck enters the zone in the display and you can set the distance to a minimum. Is the issue that you need to pull out so much earlier than you are used to? I find it is a learning curve to indicate and move out earlier in these cases and the Taycan will keep a very steady pace.

I quite often drive at night on highways (so not much traffic) and find ACC very useful.

My only concern is indeed the trucks. I have thee feeling that when ACC notices a truck (ie big signature ?), it slows down too early. When it's a slow car (ie small signature ?) it slows down as it should, later.

I understand it is (should be) related to the difference of speed with the other vehicle, and can't be sure that the delta(speed) is the same in the above, but I have the feeling that a big signature is first interpreted as a sudden obstacle that appears and the car slows down a lot to avoid an imminent (?) collision.

 

[Scandinavian]

I can accelerate but it slows prematurely so often it usually has started to slow before I realise I need to
I can drive round the problem but I usually just leave it off now whereas standard CC I just leave on all the time and change lanes as needed, only needing to cancel it if the overtaking lane is slow.

I see quite a lot of people like it but I still don’t and doing a longer journey in a car with it while my Taycan is broken just confirmed how delighted I am not to have got ACC on the Taycan.

I guess this is the way you are used to it and the way you prefer it. That is ok but I feel a normal CC would mean much more engage / disengage.
Problem is it slows down too early for you then. I guess I have become used to this and adjusted my driving style to earlier pull out.

I might have misread some of your comments but I understood that your Taycan does not have ACC. You only had it in a test Taycan, is that correct?

 

[f1eng]

Is the issue that you need to pull out so much earlier than you are used to?

Principally yes, causing pointless inconvenience to others.

I just find it much less convenient for driving at my own pace and stopped using CC at all on the last car that had it.

I only found it useful in traffic jams but I do my best to avoid traffic jams so if things go properly this benefit is rarely used.

 

[Scandinavian]

I quite often drive at night on highways (so not much traffic) and find ACC very useful.

My only concern is indeed the trucks. I have thee feeling that when ACC notices a truck (ie big signature ?), it slows down too early. When it's a slow car (ie small signature ?) it slows down as it should, later.

I understand it is (should be) related to the difference of speed with the other vehicle, and can't be sure that the delta(speed) is the same in the above, but I have the feeling that a big signature is first interpreted as a sudden obstacle that appears and the car slows down a lot to avoid an imminent (?) collision.

I have noticed the same that size seem to matter! In this case!
But as I said I think I have become used to it and take action earlier in those cases. And big trucks normally are lit up like Christmas trees so easy to recognise.

 

[f1eng]

I might have misread some of your comments but I understood that your Taycan does not have ACC. You only had it in a test Taycan, is that correct?

My Taycan doesn’t have ACC, correct.

When I was going through the options I was delighted to find I didn’t have to have it, most cars fit it as standard nowadays.

Our most recent Prius had it as standard and I hated it, much, much less convenient than the standard cruise I have had for the last 30 years or so IMO.

 

[McgR]

I hate to use the brakes. In normal driving I lift off early, but now with the Taycan I prefer coast and use the regen braking if needed.
I prefer coasting.
On the motorway I try to travel at a steady speed. That is why I hate adaptive on my car or any other.

The laws here are different than the US states I have driven in, and most motorways have 3 lanes.
The rule is to travel in the leftmost lane unless overtaking (we drive on the left). If approaching a slower vehicle, such as a truck, speed limited to 60mph here, you indicate, pull out into the middle lane, overtake then move back into the inside lane.

If there is more traffic the middle lane may have slower traffic too, so use the third lane.

Those are the rules, though loads of drivers don't follow them.

It is illegal to "undertake". ie overtake somebody in the middle or outer lane in an inner lane.

I pretty well stick to the rules so what irritates me about adaptive CC, and others using it, is that there I am, driving down the motorway at 70mph + tax on the inside lane, I approach a slower truck and a LONG way before I get to it my car starts to slow down so I either cancel CC, and then as I get nearer to the truck check the middle lane for traffic, indicate, move out, overtake and move back or I have to move into the middle lane a long way before having seen the truck way ahead and knowing my car will slow if I don't.

If there is a peloton of other cars ignoring the rules in the middle lane all on adaptive cruise they are usually all so close together I either can't pull out, and have to slow down, or pull into a small gap, shocking a driver who may not be paying much attention to driving.

The other irritating thing has often been finding a string of slowish cars in the centre lane, pulling into the outside lane to continue at my steady speed only to have the whole peloton speed up again leaving me either stuck with the string of cars on the other side this time or having to considerably exceed the speed limit tax...

It is cr*p IMO and getting worse as more cars are fitted with it and more drivers switch their brain into neutral and just sit in a peloton not paying much attention.

I didn't select adaptive CC on my Taycan so travelling at a steady speed in it works fine unless the peloton of central lane hoggers is encountered.

On the highway in Belgium ACC is not performing well. Distance is to big an people start to over and overtake. I don’t think that the middle lane situation you described is with ACC driving. It leaves a safe distance which is more that most drivers do naturally.

on single lane roads or 3 lane not to busy it works well.

I think for drive economics it is better like you say to travel with a constant speed on normal cc.

 

[Gru]

I dream of a HUD that will display a small arrow on top of each vehicle with their current speed and time to contact ...

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