Adaptive Cruise Control.....Yay or Nay?

[Trippi]

That makes me feel really old. I remember when cruise control, intermittent wipers, and power windows were options for higher trim levels.

Long gone are the days where you had to walk around and unlock all the doors or pull over if you needed to roll up your windows if it started raining.

I also remember when the high beam switch was a button on the floor you pushed with your left foot.

Side mirror on the passenger side used to be a fancy upgrade. LOL!

 

[Le_Slacker]

Side mirror on the passenger side used to be a fancy upgrade. LOL!

Something else I remember from our used car days!
Not all cars had mirrors on the passenger side!

And those gas caps behind the licence plate!

 

[Neurobit]

Oh you’re missing it....


..... you just don’t know it yet.

^^^ This ^^^

 

[Rebelguy2020]

I made sure my Rebel had the ACC, it is one of the most useful features of the technology group for me, I had ACC on my 2014, 2017 and 2019 Cherokee Trailhawks and got hooked on it. I was not sure to trust ithe ACC at first, I kept my foot above the brake pedal when approaching a slower vehicle but I am now on my fourth vehicle with it, it never, I mean never failed once. It is the safest way to drive in ACC, it will stop you from rear ending the car in front of you if you happen too get distracted.
Many trips to Florida, 7500km with ACC on 90% of the time.
My wife is on the total opposite of me, she will never use cruise control, same stubbornness as her mom, hard to understand but I do love her.

 

[SpeedyV]

Not a fan. I think it actually hurts gas mileage. Not a knock on the ACC in the Ram specifically, just ACC in general as a concept. The computer/sensors don't take into account traffic AHEAD of the vehicle you are following, nor does it react to things like brake lights. Just feel I can drive more gently and efficiently myself than the computer. Suppose you are set to cruise at 75 and you are coming up on a vehicle going 65, or better yet a vehicle going 70 that you can see is approaching another vehicle going 60, or a line of vehicles that just lit up their brake lights. I can anticipate this stuff way ahead of when the computer would react to the vehicle ahead, and can just coast up to the vehicle and be at the set distance I like to maintain between vehicles, with no brakes, no sudden deceleration, just a slight easing off the gas 100 yards ahead of time. My 2 cents.

Some new systems (not in the Ram) "see" two (or more) cars ahead, which is much more "human-like" (and pretty awesome, actually). I agree that more typical ACC systems (Ram included) will hurt gas mileage in heavy traffic by driving "less smart" than the rare driver that is actually paying attention. That said, I stand by my "I use it every time" adage. In fact, I am so OCD that I've gotten adept at hitting the "cancel" button with my right thumb when I see opportunities to coast—like your example—and then I simply "resume" when there is room to do so. I'll get in a rhythm where I rarely need to use the pedals.

 

[Neurobit]

Some new systems (not in the Ram) "see" two (or more) cars ahead, which is much more "human-like" (and pretty awesome, actually). I agree that more typical ACC systems (Ram included) will hurt gas mileage in heavy traffic by driving "less smart" than the rare driver that is actually paying attention. That said, I stand by my "I use it every time" adage. In fact, I am so OCD that I've gotten adept at hitting the "cancel" button with my right thumb when I see opportunities to coast—like your example—and then I simply "resume" when there is room to do so. I'll get in a rhythm where I rarely need to use the pedals.

LOL. I do the exact same thing.

 

[arptsprt]

I have ACC on my new Rebel and my wife’s Ford. I really like it and use it all the time.

The slow down speed up thing in heavier traffic can be somewhat annoying but on long highway/interstate trips outside the heavy city traffic, if you have situational awareness and are paying attention to traffic flow in front and behind you, it’s easy to proactively “play” lane changes and avoid it.

I also realized a benefit I hadn’t thought of before. My last trip to the big city was very, very foggy, especially on the interstate segment of the drive. Like less than 1/4 mile visibility. I get nervous in those kind of driving conditions because people drive too fast. How many news stories have we seen about major multi-car pile ups in these conditions? The radar sensor on the ACC did a great job of picking up the vehicles in front of me I could barely or not see to help me maintain a proper safe distance. Still worry about the idiot behind me not paying attention but at least in front the ACC provided an extra level of safety if things came to a quick halt.


2020 Ram Rebel - Granite Crystal Metallic
Level 2 and Rebel Equipment Groups
5.7L Hemi (non-eTorque)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Neurobit]

I have ACC on my new Rebel and my wife’s Ford. I really like it and use it all the time.

The slow down speed up thing in heavier traffic can be somewhat annoying but on long highway/interstate trips outside the heavy city traffic, if you have situational awareness and are paying attention to traffic flow in front and behind you, it’s easy to proactively “play” lane changes and avoid it.

I also realized a benefit I hadn’t thought of before. My last trip to the big city was very, very foggy, especially on the interstate segment of the drive. Like less than 1/4 mile visibility. I get nervous in those kind of driving conditions because people drive too fast. How many news stories have we seen about major multi-car pile ups in these conditions? The radar sensor on the ACC did a great job of picking up the vehicles in front of me I could barely or not see to help me maintain a proper safe distance. Still worry about the idiot behind me not paying attention but at least in front the ACC provided an extra level of safety if things came to a quick halt.


2020 Ram Rebel - Granite Crystal Metallic
Level 2 and Rebel Equipment Groups
5.7L Hemi (non-eTorque)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

True. I always use it in similar conditions. Works great.

 

[Netmaster]

ACC is one of the main reasons I traded in my 2019 Laramie for a 2020 Limited, that and the 360 camera.

My wife got a 2020 Grand Cherokee that had it and it made me want to take her vehicle on long trips because of it.

I love it, makes me a much more patient driver. Works great.

 

[Rebelguy2020]

I’ve gotten so good at driving with the ACC, in multi lane traffic I usually like to keep the furthest distance, but sometimes cars cut in front of me and my truck applies the brakes to maintain the distance, instead of cancelling the ACC to avoid braking, I quickly set the distance to the closest position and it avoids the brake application, I hate applying the brakes on highway speeds unless it is necessary.
I usually hit cancel if I am going downhill because the truck will downshift then apply the brakes to keep it from over speeding my set speed, then I hit resume when my truck slows down to my set speed.

 

[MilehighRam]

I'm considering ordering adaptive cruise control for a new Laramie. Does it work well? Any issues to be aware of?

Thanks.

Works great for me. Only wish that it decreased speed a little slower when someone pulls in front of you.

 

[dannymcd]

Not a fan. I think it actually hurts gas mileage. Not a knock on the ACC in the Ram specifically, just ACC in general as a concept. The computer/sensors don't take into account traffic AHEAD of the vehicle you are following, nor does it react to things like brake lights. Just feel I can drive more gently and efficiently myself than the computer. Suppose you are set to cruise at 75 and you are coming up on a vehicle going 65, or better yet a vehicle going 70 that you can see is approaching another vehicle going 60, or a line of vehicles that just lit up their brake lights. I can anticipate this stuff way ahead of when the computer would react to the vehicle ahead, and can just coast up to the vehicle and be at the set distance I like to maintain between vehicles, with no brakes, no sudden deceleration, just a slight easing off the gas 100 yards ahead of time. My 2 cents.

I AM a fan, but I do agree that you can get better mileage using the old brain and right foot in start/stop rush hour traffic, but you're talking about hypermiling techniques that our bodies are much better at calculating. If you us ACC with minimal distance on a long drive without bumper to bumper traffic, just running around the speed limit and troll a Semi it suddenly becomes pretty darn close to the old brain and right foot because in that instance you can't really see what's going on head of the semi, sure you can coast and use that little bit of a gap to suck out the last bit of mileage vs. a computer that knows that's not safe to do, and will not break that rule, but really it's a small trade off for the reduced stress you put on your brain traveling long distances that way, of course I put 400mi/day a time or two every week and get around 26mpg setting it and forgetting it following a semi running around 70mph.

 

[Mrdlbrowntx]

I'm a fan of this option. There are pros and cons of every option on every vehicle and there are situations where I won't use this option. There is one situation that I will for sure use it every time and that is on foggy days. If you are out driving on a very foggy day this feature can literally save your life and the lives others, I think it already has saved my life. Even though your visibility can be severely hampered by the fog, this feature still works very effectively and will see that vehicle that you can't see and get you slowed down before you rear end someone.

 

[nburd]

My last 2013 Chrysler 300 S had it and it worked perfectly . Zero issues in 6 years. I think its a no brainer and makes travel a little safer. But at $4K, I would say no.

 

[c3k]

No way am I interested for the $4,000 tag associated with it.

I'm interested in a Level 1 package. Adding the $1,700 "Advanced Safety Group" (not much I'm interested in there, except the camera and possibly active cruise control), forces me to change from the $1800 Level 1 up to the $4000 Level 2. That's $1,700 for the ASG and $2,200 for the Level 1 -> Level 2 difference: $3,900 total.

Not a fan of that type of "packaging".

I'm out.

 

[Funkanella]

I love it and it makes long road trips so much easier.

 

[Trippi]

No way am I interested for the $4,000 tag associated with it.

I'm interested in a Level 1 package. Adding the $1,700 "Advanced Safety Group" (not much I'm interested in there, except the camera and possibly active cruise control), forces me to change from the $1800 Level 1 up to the $4000 Level 2. That's $1,700 for the ASG and $2,200 for the Level 1 -> Level 2 difference: $3,900 total.

Not a fan of that type of "packaging".

I'm out.

agreed - level 2 was all about safety features I would not use. I still know how to drive, and want to drive.

 

[Bigtone]

I'm a fan of this option. There are pros and cons of every option on every vehicle and there are situations where I won't use this option. There is one situation that I will for sure use it every time and that is on foggy days. If you are out driving on a very foggy day this feature can literally save your life and the lives others, I think it already has saved my life. Even though your visibility can be severely hampered by the fog, this feature still works very effectively and will see that vehicle that you can't see and get you slowed down before you rear end someone.

True, but the forward collision does the same thing, and it works all the time, if you truck is equipped with it.

 

[Le_Slacker]

No way am I interested for the $4,000 tag associated with it.

I'm interested in a Level 1 package. Adding the $1,700 "Advanced Safety Group" (not much I'm interested in there, except the camera and possibly active cruise control), forces me to change from the $1800 Level 1 up to the $4000 Level 2. That's $1,700 for the ASG and $2,200 for the Level 1 -> Level 2 difference: $3,900 total.

Not a fan of that type of "packaging".

I'm out.

In the end you haggle down the pricing anyways, and you end up far below sticker

 

[c3k]

In the end you haggle down the pricing anyways, and you end up far below sticker

Yeah, but if I start $4,000 lower, my final haggle will be that much lower, too.

(If it were just a few hundred bucks and sold as a standalone, I'd do it. I won't do Level 2 (too many issues with touch-screens in past cars). So, it's out, for me.)