Cruise control, yay or nay?

Stallingrad

Considering retrofitting cruise to the car, reckon I would appreciate it on the longer journeys. What's the verdict from people who have it, do you use it and feel it is worthwhile? Having used it would you do without it?

nemesisdg

It's a "nice to have" and if you do a lot of driving probably a good idea. Apparently it's also more fuel efficient because of the consistency of speed.

Definitely makes driving easier on longer journeys.

MuppetCheck

I personally wouldn't buy a car without it. It's a bonus for the many urban dual carriageways that we have too with low speed limits.

keithclancy

Its better to have an electronic device look after your speed while your actually focusing on the road rather than your speedo.

furtzy

Have had it the last 4 cars and wouldn't be without it....gives the right foot a nice break and is great for fuel economy

Chuck_Norris

Got it retrofitted to the car almost a year ago.

While I don't use it every day, as others have said, it's a gift on long journeys. Particularly on dual carriage ways/ motorways.

If your cars automatic, it would be even more of a gift.

AltAccount

Yay

naughtysmurf

Scared the bejasus out of me when I first turned it on a year ago, didn't like the feeling of not being in full control, but have to say I like it now,

Darwin

Yes definitely makes motorway driving easier, although it does reveal the inconsistencies of other drivers speeding up and slowing down when you are travelling at a fixed speed.

andyseadog

my last car had it and my current one doesn't, its the only accessory i've ever felt like i've missed.

pred racer

I use it a lot more than I thought I would, for all the reasons above.

the_syco

Darwin wrote: »

Yes definitely makes motorway driving easier, although it does reveal the inconsistencies of other drivers speeding up and slowing down when you are travelling at a fixed speed.

Esp when going down a "hill" section of the road!

Alanstrainor

Yup, my current car has it. Don't cover terribly many motorway miles, but when I do it's dead handy!

MrDerp

I use it to rest my foot driving to/from Cork, and if I want to e.g. open a bottle or eat something from my lap (much easier without a tensed leg). It takes some of the tension out of the drive for sure.

I don't like it for long periods though. I've always maintained that if I was ever to fall asleep behind the wheel, that risk would be significantly increased by cruise control.

Also, the inconsistencies in peoples driving speed, mentioned above, make it annoying, and I would always switch it off when overtaking so it really just goes on for those breaks.

Chuck_Norris

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

.......

If your cars automatic, it would be even more of a gift.

Indeed, great combination.

sawfish

Definitely retrofit it.

On long motorway journeys, I would spend so much time looking at the speedometer because its very easy to give your foot a rest by leaning on the accelerator a bit too much.

Cruise control gives your mind, and your foot a rest.

Stallingrad

Pretty conclusive then!

Good to know, thanks folks.

fergiesfolly

Was always sorry I didn't get it when I first bought the car(07 Focus).
Does it cost much to retrofit it?
Does/should it have to be done by a main dealer?

Stallingrad

I'm being quoted €400+ from a main dealer, not sure what Ford would hit you for.

yea or nay

I have it but never use it because I am strange
I should start

bladespin

Do Navan to Cork a good bit, I'm lost without it.

Foxhole Norman

It was like a Godsend for my dad who is doing 60K + a year so I say yay.

Bloodwing

I use it a lot. Cruise control and an automatic rear view mirror are the two gadgets I'll always look for on a new car. It's a bit strange at first when you accelerate or slow down with the touch of a button but u get used to it fairly quickly!

Stallingrad

OSI wrote: »

I've seen a guy that retrofits the OEM VW kits for about €120, not sure if he does other marques.

Can you post the link or PM me? Cheers.

martingriff

I am in my 1st car with cruise control and it is good. As long as you dont let you mind wander. Also its great for those 50KMH & 60KMH stretches of road

listermint

Have it on my M3, its pointless

fletch

I have it and use it nearly every time I drive, even in 50kph/60kph speed limit zones. It's actually great for the slower speed limit areas where it's tough to go so slow.

Duiske

Have it on the C70, but its pretty pointless on my local roads. The times I have had a chance to use it I had the feeling I was not in control. I'd imagine it's great for motorway journeys, and like everything else I guess it just takes time to get used to. So a cautious yay from me.

R.O.R

Had it on my last few cars and very rarely use it. All depends on what type of driving you are doing.

Come in via the M1/M50 in the mornings and the traffic is no where near a steady speed. If you put CC on you end up knocking it off more or less straight away as you'll be approaching a car going slower than you.

Head home on the M2 and it could be used on that stretch, but it's so short that I never bother. Only time I've used it on my current car was the journey down to Cork on a more or less empty motorway - very very handy if you are doing that type of journey frequently.

Now, radar guided cruise control - that's a different matter........fantastic on the couple of cars I've driven with it.

tossy

The last 3 cars have had it (had to get it retrofitted to the latest) it's something i wouldn't be without,not so much for economy but for comfort and keeping me out of trouble

Yakuza

I've had it since 2006 and could never go back on a long term basis. The wife's car doesn't have it but I don't drive it on motorways

mrblack

I got it retrofitted as a means of avoiding speeding/fines and it works a treat and saves a little bit of diesel too. If it you costs <=€200 like my retrofit did then I'd advise you to go ahead. Saves itself if you keep the car for 2/3 more years.

Mrblack

wonski

R.O.R wrote: »

Had it on my last few cars and very rarely use it. All depends on what type of driving you are doing.

Come in via the M1/M50 in the mornings and the traffic is no where near a steady speed. If you put CC on you end up knocking it off more or less straight away as you'll be approaching a car going slower than you.

Head home on the M2 and it could be used on that stretch, but it's so short that I never bother. Only time I've used it on my current car was the journey down to Cork on a more or less empty motorway - very very handy if you are doing that type of journey frequently.

Now, radar guided cruise control - that's a different matter........fantastic on the couple of cars I've driven with it.

Is it the one that keeps distance from cars in front?

Wish i had one as i am heading to Cork airport this evening, and with my powerful 1.4 i have to keep pushing it up and down to keep constant speed... i hope my next one wil have this gadget.

_Kaiser_

Have it in my Passat coupled to a DSG box and I use it daily as I do a lot of motorway/DC driving. Don't think I could go back to a car without it at this stage.

[Off-topic]
Speaking of retro-fitting, I'm in two minds of late of whether to keep the car till it dies (although it's a 06 and running perfectly with a full on-time main dealer history, 223,000 km means I'll get buttons for it if I were to trade in thanks to the Irish obsession with mileage over condition/history ), or keep it and retrofit a few missing bits... steering wheel controls, front fogs, maybe even that sunroof someone posted a week or two back

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to splash out 10 grand upwards on a new car, but I could manage say 10% of that in a pinch to get me over a problem.

Say I decide to keep it and the engine eventually dies. What would a new one cost me? What else is likely to go and cost big money at this stage?

[/Off-topic]

dilallio

Cruise control is great for the most part.

If you're not used to it though, here's one safety tip - don't use it on backroads where there are floods around.

If 2 wheels hit a big flood, the car will initially slow down. The cruise-control will compensate by accelerating, but your 2 wet wheels will aqua-plane, causing a swerve, followed by a brown stain in your underwear.

ShadowHearth

I had Merc with it, but it wasn't that great to use on Irish roads.

Now it is really meh to me. You set it on 120 and you will have muppets doing 100, 110, 105.
I did not enjoyed having my foot all the way down for it too.

I think that is the one extra that I never cared about.

Professey Chin

Love it on the M9. Quiet road so easy to maintain a constant pace but still the odd cop lurking on it

Professey Chin

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I had Merc with it, but it wasn't that great to use on Irish roads.

Now it is really meh to me. You set it on 120 and you will have muppets doing 100, 110, 105.
I did not enjoyed having my foot all the way down for it too.

I think that is the one extra that I never cared about.

Its just a button for my 3 series
Do mercs have it different?

opinion guy

R.O.R wrote: »

Had it on my last few cars and very rarely use it. All depends on what type of driving you are doing.

Come in via the M1/M50 in the mornings and the traffic is no where near a steady speed. If you put CC on you end up knocking it off more or less straight away as you'll be approaching a car going slower than you.

You can incrementally increase and decrease speed on most of them. I often do that with mine - but you have to be thinking ahead for that to be a practical approach

mickdw

Cruise is OK but only worth retro fitting IMO if doing a fair bit of motorway driving. I have it and use it a fair bit. I had a Lexus with radar cruise for a few days and that was fantastic on the motorway. You come up behind some in the overtaking lane, car slows down and keeps distance. As soon as they pull out of the way, car zooms off again.
I don't agree with the idea that cruise control helps fuel consumption unless you really drive like an idiot normally. It has no ability to read the road ahead so really a driver manually controlling speed will beat it.

I mainly use it when travelling along 50kph areas that commonly have AGS speed traps,for example in Cork City coming in past Silver Springs all the way in to the Quays, set the CC to the speed limit and the car in front is generally pulling away, similarly Ringaskiddy village.

Cerco

Have it for about 2 years now and seldom use it. I found I had to keep taking it off to overtake and did not like the loss of control.
I do a good bit of long distance driving too. After reading this thread I will give it a try again. I probably need to learn how to use it properly

Cerco

Cerco wrote: »

.......... I found I had to keep taking it off to overtake and did not like the loss of control.
I do a good bit of long distance driving too. .............

It shouldn't inconvenience you at all, knocks off with a touch of the brake and allows acceleration when at set point to above as per accelerator movement.

illumin

Yeah i have cc too but rarely use it because of people going under the speed limit on motorways. You get tired of turning it on/off so i dont bother anymore. Shame really. That radar CC looks awesome though, i hope my next car has it

bladespin

Cerco wrote: »

Have it for about 2 years now and seldom use it. I found I had to keep taking it off to overtake and did not like the loss of control.
I do a good bit of long distance driving too. After reading this thread I will give it a try again. I probably need to learn how to use it properly

Don't usually have to disengage to overtake, just put your foot down and then lift off and it comes back on (on the vars I've had anyway).

unkel

Have had cruise in most of my cars in the past 12 years. In the greater Dublin area it's pretty useless. That said, on motorways outside of Dublin (that are by and large very quiet) it is great

nemesisdg wrote: »

Apparently it's also more fuel efficient because of the consistency of speed.

It's the opposite! A human driver can save a lot of fuel by driving smoothly. For example, a cruise control wastes energy by braking while going downhill / accelerating heavily when going uphill.

bladespin

unkel wrote: »

It's the opposite! A human driver can save a lot of fuel by driving smoothly. For example, a cruise control wastes energy by braking while going downhill / accelerating heavily when going uphill.

True, try engaging it on an auto leaving a toll booth, hammers the hell out of the car to get back up to motorway speed.

ShadowHearth

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Its just a button for my 3 series
Do mercs have it different?

i presume all manufacturers got their own way. in merc you needed to had it floored all the way and then it would limit you to the speed you set.

i really did not liked it as it felt very unpredictable and unsafe.

Francie Barrett

unkel wrote: »

It's the opposite! A human driver can save a lot of fuel by driving smoothly. For example, a cruise control wastes energy by braking while going downhill / accelerating heavily when going uphill.

Agreed!

When I was going through my eco-driving phase, I found turning off cruise control increased the mpg a bit.

DanWall

Now that they are getting so petty on speeding, it is easy to drift 10 km/h over on manual, and requires constantly checking the speed, If I had one on my car I could have saved a fine and penalty points.

Ardent

bladespin wrote: »

True, try engaging it on an auto leaving a toll booth, hammers the hell out of the car to get back up to motorway speed.

Why on earth would you do this?? I get up to speed gently and then turn on the cruise control.

I couldn't live without cruise control personally, it has transformed motorway driving for me. I feel a lot fresher after a long journey than I did in my last car - I think the constant monitoring of speed is *the* most tiring aspect of long distance driving.