[AnAvgJoe]

Voted for useless, which it has been for me.


The problems with cruise control (in my limited experience)

1) Adaptive cruise control remains illegal in India (radar systems are illegal here. I could be wrong, please feel free to correct me).

2) One tap on the brake pedal and cruise control disengages (at least on my car), that happens every 2 minutes ( exaggeration i know..probably) on our highways due to
- animals and human beings run across the road at any point
- other vehicles (especially buses) decide to abruptly stop or turn without indication
- overcrowding on our roads

3) Resetting cruise control is also not easy (finding a stretch of road to maintain a constant speed, as i fiddle with the cruise control stalk).


However, i can understand it being effective on desolate stretches of highway in certain parts of the country. I sadly have never had the opportunity to drive on those kind of roads.

[Manas]

Voted for useful.
I have experienced lower fatigue from using ACC in my Vento - even in daily commutes. The ACC on the VW Vento allows for 1km/h incremenet & reduction on the fly - via switches on the stalk - while being in the ACC mode without disengaging.

On long drives, this allows me the luxury of a few minutes of right leg being quickly stretched / foot rotated before any exhaustion sets in.
99% of my daily commmutes are in Gurugram - and I use the underpasses on Golf Course Road to and from office.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by RaghavEvoX

Voted for useless.

Like this, there are many gimmicky features in modern day cars which are of not much use in my opinion.
- Push Button Start
- Auto Headlamp
- Auto Wipers
- All those Chrome add-ons, etc.

OT again -

Interesting view though - I find precisely these features to be pretty useful (except the chrome of course). I don't have to take my hands of the wheel at all.

[anandharamanp]

Voted useless considering India road conditions and using cruise control makes me feel drowsy in absence of right pedal movement.

Personally i feel it contributes to delay in reacting time for any sudden interventions on the road.

[gasinveins]

Originally Posted by Manas

Voted for useful.
I have experienced lower fatigue from using ACC in my Vento - even in daily commutes. The ACC on the VW Vento allows for 1km/h incremenet & reduction on the fly - via switches on the stalk - while being in the ACC mode without disengaging.

Correct me if I am wrong. I don't think Vento has Adaptive cruise control. It's just normal cruise control.

[deepakc]

Voted for useful. I use cruise control all the time when driving in India. Especially on most highways, I find it very useful. Granted, you will be fiddling with it a lot considering the stop-go situations even on highways. But it has a big impact on my fuel efficiency, and it eases up my right leg from having to constantly press the accelerator.

I also feel it brings a sense of calmness to my driving when I try to drive at constant speeds using the cruise control over having to accelerate/decelerate all the time.

[H Karter]

Voted useless.

I have a different perspective.
Of late Cruise Control is made available in mainstream cars. Initially it was in only high end luxury cars which had lower running, well maintained or abandoned early.

When the mainstream cars equipped with CC are going to age with some non-enthusiast/third-fourth owner/ill maintainer, surely its going to malfunction in our environment.

There are lot videos out there showing stuck CC and ultimately causing a crash.
The results are surely going be catastrophic for other road users also.

[chandu]

Voted Useful, although I think it is extremely useful.

I have used it extensively in both India and the US in cars of all sizes. Over here I have had it in my Fortuner and now in my Volvo V90CC.

I would not buy a car without cruise control. I know many people say that it cannot be used in India, but, I can say from personal experience, that it is extremely useful on good highways. I have used it in AP, Telangana, Karnataka and in Tamil Nadu on long drives. The standard CC on the Fortuner was good but the radar based adaptive cruise control with Pilot assist is just fantastic. The last time I did the Hyderabad-Bangalore run, I can honestly say that the CC with Pilot assist was on more then 50% of the time.

Cheers...

[Kannan]

I believe it's useful.

In highways, I always stick with the middle or outer lane. Only when the need for overtaking or a heavy truck chugs along the middle lane, I switch to the outer lane.

In most cases, in TN, all the trucks use the high-speed inner lane, so there is no point in using it.

Since I prefer to drive during weekdays, I find most of the roads mostly empty in the early morning, so I noticed most of the time, I maintain a constant 70 to 90kmph.

Still, I wish adaptive cruise control with auto breaking becomes a norm.

[bj96]

Voted useful. Before X3, none of my cars, Safari, Brio or WagonR had cruise control. However, Fat Boy has cruise control (OEM add-on, same as Softail Heritage Classic).

I have extensively used Fat Boy cruise control in my cross country runs, particularly stretches between Lucknow to Darbhanga and Kharagpur to Vizag with sparse highway traffic. In those stretches, I have noticed, if you do 100-120 km/h practically you are (among) the fastest moving vehicle(s) and after overtaking you can cruise effortlessly leaving them behind. Long hours in saddle brings different level of fatigue and with one hand and legs free, I could switch between different postures and stretch my legs, causing less demand on body and lesser tiring it was.

I have done only one outstation ride in X3 to Mumbai and used CC briefly on the Express Way. Despite usual traffic, it was quite comfortable. Just a tiny bit of steering correction and a little press on B pedal was all it needed to weave past other cars. My thoughts about cruise control have changed completely after actually using it on highways. It is a recommended feature in my book.

-BJ

[deoelect]

Voted useful. I absolutely love it!

Not relevant in the context of Indian roads but here in Australia where speed limits are strictly enforced and driving conditions are much better, it is a boon. My car has the 'adaptive' cruise control where it reacts as per the vehicle speed in front of you. Makes the drive much more relaxed.

[G V Krishna]

Useful: Yes

Am I missing it in my car: Yes

One DIY I'm planing from a very long time is to add Cruise Control to Swift Dzire AMT (2017 Preface-lift model). I miss this feature because frequent drives on Hyderabad ORR (on which Speed Limit is strictly enforced) make you go mad without a Cruise Control.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

Personally i feel it contributes to delay in reacting time for any sudden interventions on the road.

I am curious to understand more on this. Where is this delay caused? From the driver perceiving an emergency situation? Will the driver take extra time to brake when the car is in cruise? Do you think the cruise control will not cut off when you brake?

[asethi]

Originally Posted by GTO

In India however, the above-mentioned conditions are a dream. To begin with, you'll spot an idiot every 200 meters. I've tried cruise control in India and found that one needs to intervene way too often = cars cutting you, the biker doing 30 kmph in the fast lane, no concept of "right of way" at junctions, unmarked speed-breakers and what not.

Agree but it also depends on the roads. Cruising in India isn't like US but it's something which gives you time to rest your right foot briefly during the long drives.

Some NH stretches like the Bangalore-Kanyakumari NH allow you to do consistent speeds for most part of the journey after Salem or even Bangalore-Hyderabad or Bangalore-Chennai NHs. I really miss cruise control on these stretches. Here down south especially in TN, the traffic density on highways is much less compared to say MH and roads are superb!

It's not possible to do it endlessly, but even if it relieves you for 10-15 mins between tolls, it's good IMO.

[Viraj.515]

Voted for useful.

I only use car for my highway drives. I find myself multiple times cruising at constant speeds and I feel that Ford should’ve offered cruise control and an armrest at least on the top-end Freestyle Titanium Plus considering its cruising capabilities.