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Active Cruise Control Works Well - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test
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Active Cruise Control Works Well - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test
Not every active cruise control system works the same. Some are jumpy, while others are more subtle. The setup in our 2014 Jeep Cherokee is one of the better systems I've driven.
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That good to hear about an Active Cruise system actually working well and is useful. Does it work at all speeds? Can you use it heavy traffic or is it for light traffic only?
Thank god I don't live anywhere I would need to use something like active cruise control - but really...you find it easier to dick around with these buttons on the steering wheel than just using your foot on the accelerator pedal to maintain your distance? I mean, that's what you're doing there in the driver's seat behind the wheel - driving the car...right? Right?
Sometimes when a gap opens up in traffic, you need to close that distance quickly because you can see that someone else is going to cut in front of you, and sometimes you don't need to, because there isn't. And you can see that and figure it out, because you're the driver. No system is going to do that for you. But wait...if we tie the adaptive cruise system to the adjacent lane-monitoring system, then it CAN maybe tell if there is another driver going to cut in, and THEN it CAN make the adaptive cruise speed up faster. So let's see...the algorithm for that would be...
Oh, dear. Go code something that will actually make a difference in the world.
I have an M56 and I rarely use it on the interstate because it's not aggressive enough for me, it allows too much space between my car and the car in front of me. Also, if I'm cruising in the right lane and I need to pass a car, I have to get in the left lane way early or it will slow down because of the car in front of me.
Where I do find it useful is on rural two lane roads where you can't pass. You can follow a car for a long time without ever adjusting your speed and it leaves a nice safe distance behind that car.
I am always amazed to hear people criticize adaptive cruise control. First of all, nothing prevents the driver from pressing down on the gas to avoid some of these issues; the ACC won't try to slow the car if you are manually applying the throttle. And the driver can override the ACC at any time. Criticizing ACC for not tailgating and for allowing enough room for another car to squeeze in front of you is just as silly as saying a pickup is a poor vehicle because it doesn't handle like a sports car or criticizing the sports car because it can't haul sheets of plywood. ACC is not designed to complement aggressive cut and thrust driving, nor should it be.
We had an early laser ACC on our dearly departed Toyota Sienna and it made highway trips significantly less tiring. Less tiring = safer. I'd arrive at our destination far less fatigued than used to be the case. Was it perfect? No. The cruise was far too aggressive in accelerating, but this was not due to its "Adaptive" feature, as the standard CC behaved the same when you'd hit the "Resume" button. I learned that if I was manually applying the gas that the ACC, even activated, would let me get back to speed as I preferred and would take the lead after I let off the gas.
I drove a Cherokee like your long termer and was amazed at how smooth the ACC worked, and could slow the vehicle to a crawl and then a stop. It's even better than the ACC in my brother's Infiniti QX56. I loved the Cherokee's tech package features, my only gripe being the lane keeping assist, which for some reason would disable itself after beeping and pushing me back into my lane, requiring constant resets.
As far as ACC, if you don't want it, don't order it. But give the carping a rest. It sounds all too much like all those experts back in the '80s who wrote endlessly complaining about airbags and anti-lock brakes.