Adaptive Cruise Control - any good?

Hi everyone,

I've just joined so hello to everyone!

I'm interested to hear of owner's experiences with the adaptive cruise control. Do people find it useful in day-to-day driving, or is it just an impressive gimmick? Some reports have said that the radar isn't effective in rain (which is probably when you need it the most!).

As a parent of a baby and a young child I'm really interested to know if it genuinely makes driving safer.

Many thanks,


Paul

moooose said:

Hi everyone,

I've just joined so hello to everyone!

I'm interested to hear of owner's experiences with the adaptive cruise control. Do people find it useful in day-to-day driving, or is it just an impressive gimmick? Some reports have said that the radar isn't effective in rain (which is probably when you need it the most!).

As a parent of a baby and a young child I'm really interested to know if it genuinely makes driving safer.

Many thanks,


Paul

Click to expand...

Hey welcome...

Adaptive Cruise Control is awesome.. I use it on my 64 mile motorway commute (each way) and its so kewl and relaxing. You need to get used to it too with practice, just like standard cruise control.

Just learn its limitations and you'll be fine... for example, its not keep on low direct sunlight or sudden shadows on a supa bright day, but other than that its great. I am reaqllly please I selected it as an option.

Enjoy.

Neil

I am pretty sure one should not use cruise control in the rain ! Google it for details.

Hi Paul (& welcome),

I'm a big fan of the ACC and despite it not being 'EV specific' I'd say it's my favourite feature of my i3. It's transformed how I drive by so much that I doubt I'll buy another new car without it.

I have it turned on for the majority of my driving. Yes, if you want to enjoy yourself turn it off but for the normal day-to-day stuff, queuing and motorways it makes things so easy. It feels safe too because if you have to look at something away from the direction of travel (such as over your shoulder when joining a busy motorway) you know it'll intervene if traffic in front suddenly slows. I also think it's better than I am at finding that 'glide zone' in the accelerator travel so it smooths out the high speed cruising on busy motorways.

In terms of how intelligent it is I think it's pretty impressive. There are certain things that it just can't 'understand' but you soon learn these and drive accordingly.

I'm sure you'll get replies from owners telling you it doesn't work properly as it drops out a lot (there's a thread on this) but all I can say is that mine hasn't been doing this much at all so it seems that some cars are working better than others (no idea why).

The other downside of course is the fact that you have to upgrade from the standard interior if you want to spec it which is a bit of a rip-off IMO (especially if you don't want the lighter coloured interiors as the leather is the most expensive option).

I did not order it but it does sound good if it is reliable, reason for not ordering really for me is options very costly already and when you get cut up on motorway because of the space in front of you I thought I would not like that if it brakes hard. But I cannot talk from experience so would be good if you could test drive car with it on to see for yourself.

What I don't understand is the difference between cruse control with braking function, which maintains a gap and Traffic Jam Assist which I assume includes the active Cruise control. Is it that the standard CCWBF keeps the distance but if something slows it disengages the cruise whereas the other allows the car to speed up?

Standard CC will brake to get you back to your set speed if you're going down a hill (although with regen I can't imagine a slope steep enough), but it won't maintain the gap. Only ACC will brake to a standstill if the car in front does.

The brochure says
"STANDARD EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Cruise control with braking function-Maintains a pre-selected distance from the car in front, reacts to stationary vehicles and automatically controls the speed through to a standstill."
I have seen the video on the ACC but no feedback to exactly what the standard does and the BMW web does not explain it all, even the App owners manual does not mention cruise control!

Just found this

Dynamic cruise control is an electronic cruise control system with an extra braking function. This also includes the Curve Speed Limiter that reduces the speed in curves for comfortable lateral acceleration. At the end of the curve the car accelerates and resumes the original speed. The driver can change this in increments of 1 or 10 km/h. Acceleration and deceleration in two dynamic settings can be controlled by manipulating the lever on the steering column or the paddle on the steering wheel (Comfort Dynamic system).

This implies it keeps the gap by speeding up as well. Is this true? :roll:

The vehicle will not exceed the original setting, but if it slowed down for something (typically traffic in front), it will accelerate while maintaining a user selectable gap until it reaches the set point, if the car in front eventually exceeds it.

excellent, a simple reactive cruise control, thanks for the feedback. Have you used it, does it work well?

RCZWhite said:

excellent, a simple reactive cruise control, thanks for the feedback. Have you used it, does it work well?

Click to expand...

It works reasonably well for me, but there are times it unexpectedly switches off (trees/shade or something). It wouldn't be an issue except the car then goes into full regen, surprising the person behind...

I have less than 100-miles on mine, I tried it just to see if it worked. I'd need more time to get a valid feel for how it reacts under varying conditions.

Thanks all. I look forward to finding out myself and well pleased its so well specified

RCZWhite said:

The brochure says
"STANDARD EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Cruise control with braking function-Maintains a pre-selected distance from the car in front, reacts to stationary vehicles and automatically controls the speed through to a standstill."
I have seen the video on the ACC but no feedback to exactly what the standard does and the BMW web does not explain it all, even the App owners manual does not mention cruise control!

Click to expand...

If you're in the UK, I know the brochure - I've pointed that mistake out to my dealer. It's definitely wrong, sorry.

Grrr so it just slows down and you have to re initiate the control as if it's a standard Cruise control and you touched a pedal?

I tried it the other night. In never turned off, but there was a point where it was speeding up too fast for my comfort when traffic picked back up. I'm sure it would have been fine, but it was a little startling.

ACC works great in low speed traffic.
Slows down, keeps distance (can be adjusted) accelerates and stop.
When cruse control speed is set and green color on the dash, the car will stop and start by itself.
If you stop to long, it will disingage and go red, just press the gas once to reactivate.

It almost automatic pilot in traffic.
Really cool for slow moving traffic.
Watch my video.
http://youtu.be/KTk6ceKsG1c

Still need to play with it to find the sweet spot on distance setting.

Edman951 said:

ACC works great in low speed traffic.
Slows down, keeps distance (can be adjusted) accelerates and stop.
When cruse control speed is set and green color on the dash, the car will stop and start by itself.
If you stop to long, it will disingage and go red, just press the gas once to reactivate.

It almost automatic pilot in traffic.
Really cool for slow moving traffic.
Watch my video.
http://youtu.be/KTk6ceKsG1c

Still need to play with it to find the sweet spot on distance setting.

Click to expand...

Excellent YouTube demo... thanks ed man. .. when I get mine back from the workshop I hope to do some YouTube ING too.

I thought the active CC might be a bit of a gimmick - but I've got used to it and it certainly reduces driver work-load on long highway journeys.

Only one thing has caught me out so far.

On a fairly narrow two-way road with the CC limit set at 55mph, the car I was locked on to stopped to make a right turn.

My car slowed and stopped perfectly - but, of course, once the car in front had disappeared - it immediately tried to accelerate back to 55 while heading for a very near roundabout junction just ahead.

I now disengage it with a prod of the brake in any potential road hazard situations and take full manual control.