VW DSG Adaptive cruise control
Discussion
It’s nearly time to swap my lease car for something new. I really want something with adaptive cruise control as I drive the M4 everyday from Windsor to London and its average speed cameras the whole way (50/60/40). I just want to be able to sit in a lane and let the car do the work.
I’m looking at a Golf Mk7.5 1.5 TSI EVO 150 with DSG box. Apparently these will even bring the car to a complete stop and work in stop start traffic. Obviously you still need to have your wits about you.
Was wondering if anyone had any experience of using adaptive cruise in a VW and is it any good or a bit of a gimmick?
I’m looking at a Golf Mk7.5 1.5 TSI EVO 150 with DSG box. Apparently these will even bring the car to a complete stop and work in stop start traffic. Obviously you still need to have your wits about you.
Was wondering if anyone had any experience of using adaptive cruise in a VW and is it any good or a bit of a gimmick?
I have it on my Passat GTE. I find it works pretty well. Not perfectly but as well as I think it can. I would not we have adaptive cruise but not lane-tracking/lane departure warning or anything like that.
Good:
Maintains distance to traffic in front reliably
Will stop the car reliably (but I always hover over the brake in those situations)
Easy to use
Bad:
Can get confused by traffic in other lanes. Imagine a single lane road with a right-turn lane that appears for a right turn. Car ahead moves into the right turn lane as it slows. System will generally slow the car (quite harshly if it has to) despite the car actually being in another lane
I have never had the car move off on it's own. I think because it wants to allow more distance to the car in front before it moves.
It can be slow to react to speed up (but not slow down). If the car in front is going to turn left and starts to slow it will slow down behind it as expected but there is a noticeable delay in the system speeding back up once the car in front has completed it's left turn and left the road.
Good:
Maintains distance to traffic in front reliably
Will stop the car reliably (but I always hover over the brake in those situations)
Easy to use
Bad:
Can get confused by traffic in other lanes. Imagine a single lane road with a right-turn lane that appears for a right turn. Car ahead moves into the right turn lane as it slows. System will generally slow the car (quite harshly if it has to) despite the car actually being in another lane
I have never had the car move off on it's own. I think because it wants to allow more distance to the car in front before it moves.
It can be slow to react to speed up (but not slow down). If the car in front is going to turn left and starts to slow it will slow down behind it as expected but there is a noticeable delay in the system speeding back up once the car in front has completed it's left turn and left the road.
Buzypea said:
It’s nearly time to swap my lease car for something new. I really want something with adaptive cruise control as I drive the M4 everyday from Windsor to London and its average speed cameras the whole way (50/60/40). I just want to be able to sit in a lane and let the car do the work.
I’m looking at a Golf Mk7.5 1.5 TSI EVO 150 with DSG box. Apparently these will even bring the car to a complete stop and work in stop start traffic. Obviously you still need to have your wits about you.
Was wondering if anyone had any experience of using adaptive cruise in a VW and is it any good or a bit of a gimmick?
Used it on a DSG Passat 190TDI. Works perfectly. I’m looking at a Golf Mk7.5 1.5 TSI EVO 150 with DSG box. Apparently these will even bring the car to a complete stop and work in stop start traffic. Obviously you still need to have your wits about you.
Was wondering if anyone had any experience of using adaptive cruise in a VW and is it any good or a bit of a gimmick?
It's very good IMHO.
I use it a lot in day-to-day driving. You do have to prod the throttle to get moving again in stop-start traffic.
My only previous experience of radar cruise was in a Jaguar XF and I hated it (it didn't seem to be able to cope with going round corners or passing cars in other lanes).
The VW system is great except in the sharpest of corners.
Paradoxically I don't use it on motorways/DCs as it leaves an enormous gap between me and the car in front even on a close follow setting, which means I am forever being pulled out on if I use it, so there I use the speed limiter instead, but on single carriageway roads or the rare occasions I am stuck in traffic it is great. At a stroke it reduces the stress of being stuck behind someone slow.
I use it a lot in day-to-day driving. You do have to prod the throttle to get moving again in stop-start traffic.
My only previous experience of radar cruise was in a Jaguar XF and I hated it (it didn't seem to be able to cope with going round corners or passing cars in other lanes).
The VW system is great except in the sharpest of corners.
Paradoxically I don't use it on motorways/DCs as it leaves an enormous gap between me and the car in front even on a close follow setting, which means I am forever being pulled out on if I use it, so there I use the speed limiter instead, but on single carriageway roads or the rare occasions I am stuck in traffic it is great. At a stroke it reduces the stress of being stuck behind someone slow.
robbieduncan said:
I have never had the car move off on it's own. I think because it wants to allow more distance to the car in front before it moves.
It can be slow to react to speed up (but not slow down).
It will move off on its own if it's within 3 seconds of stopping. I wish it was longer, but there we go.It can be slow to react to speed up (but not slow down).
robbieduncan said:
If the car in front is going to turn left and starts to slow it will slow down behind it as expected but there is a noticeable delay in the system speeding back up once the car in front has completed it's left turn and left the road.
Depending on whether you are in Eco/Sport/Normal/Comfort, the ACC behaves differently in this regard, but it's not that noticable.Have it on a manual golf gti.
The big downside(?) at motorway speed is that I find myself slowing down to 60-65 behind stuff, and just not bothering to overtake, whereas normally I'd sit at 75 and pass stuff as I caught up to it. That's totally my failing though rather than the system.
I find it more useful in slower traffic (30/40mph roads), but I don't miss it when I drive the other car which only has regular cruise control.
The big downside(?) at motorway speed is that I find myself slowing down to 60-65 behind stuff, and just not bothering to overtake, whereas normally I'd sit at 75 and pass stuff as I caught up to it. That's totally my failing though rather than the system.
I find it more useful in slower traffic (30/40mph roads), but I don't miss it when I drive the other car which only has regular cruise control.
sxmwht said:
It will move off on its own if it's within 3 seconds of stopping. I wish it was longer, but there we go.
That will be it. I see the "ACC Ready" indicator when it stops but I've never been lucky enough to only be stopped for 3 seconds.I do think it's a good system and I use it all the time: even at 30mph around town.
It's excellent. Put the gearbox in eco, set the following distance as appropriate and it's amazing.
People who don't like it in my experience haven't done the above.
Only thing to be aware of is it can't see things it hasn't seen move, so if you come around a blind corner to a queue, you need to do the braking.
People who don't like it in my experience haven't done the above.
Only thing to be aware of is it can't see things it hasn't seen move, so if you come around a blind corner to a queue, you need to do the braking.
I love it and would not be without it (had it on last four cars) and current VW Arteon has it. One neat trick it does (but strangely my Audi A4 with the same/similar system, albeit a cost extra, did not do it) is when the car comes to a complete halt and start/stop function is active, the engine turns off but will then turn itself on again as soon as the ACC sensor senses the car in front move away. Very clever system and works great with Lane Assist too.
pherlopolus said:
Yup will slow to standstill, but can't see stationary objects (it says)
I just want autonomous driving now. It is such a chore steering when the car does everything else.
Lane assist does that. Coupled with ACC it is brilliant. I had both on my R and it makes distance driving a breeze. I just want autonomous driving now. It is such a chore steering when the car does everything else.
Not driven it myself but had it demo'd in a friend's Passat.
Works well most of the time but wakes you up with odd things like:
Car in front moves out to overtake, Passat sped up to close the new gap in front. I wouldn't do that myself.
Also: Move left into junction deceleration lane, it accelerated due to no car in front. I wouldn't do that myself.
Works well most of the time but wakes you up with odd things like:
Car in front moves out to overtake, Passat sped up to close the new gap in front. I wouldn't do that myself.
Also: Move left into junction deceleration lane, it accelerated due to no car in front. I wouldn't do that myself.
Johnnytheboy said:
Learned something today! 
Yeah, it's good, as tapping the throttle can sometimes cause a bit of a lurch, and sometimes not do anything, depending on what mood the car is in. Be prepared to have to press the button a couple of times, though. There are obviously some criteria that I'm not aware of as to whether it moves off or not.
I highly rate it. After having it on my wife’s Mk7.5 GTI, it has become a must have option. It appears to be a bit smarter than the equivalent on my BMW F30, that we bought after the GTI.
It’s was so impressive that we insisted it was fitted with the lane assist on my parents TRoc. They said it would be a waste of money.... after the first long trip ,even my technophobe mother loved it and was comfortable using it all the time. They would not go back.
My wife loves it too, as it’s ,is a second pair of eyes, and she can be extra vigilant.
Only remember it is a driving assistant. There can be situations that can confuse it, so make sure you are still paying attention.
One funny instance we had was when we were in a traffic queue, which was slowly moving. With the car on ACC it was doing a great job of keeping a safe distance from the car above. As it happened there was a right angled bend, which unfortunately someone in a large vehicle had gone straight on at the bend, taking the hedge with it. Behind the missing hedge there was large open field that was a couple feet below the level of the road.
Our car thought that the gap in the hedge and the open field was in fact the road, which had suddenly lost all the traffic, so shot off like a scalded cat. Obviously I just put on the brakes, and brought the car to a rather quick stop to the bemusement to my wife.
It’s was so impressive that we insisted it was fitted with the lane assist on my parents TRoc. They said it would be a waste of money.... after the first long trip ,even my technophobe mother loved it and was comfortable using it all the time. They would not go back.
My wife loves it too, as it’s ,is a second pair of eyes, and she can be extra vigilant.
Only remember it is a driving assistant. There can be situations that can confuse it, so make sure you are still paying attention.
One funny instance we had was when we were in a traffic queue, which was slowly moving. With the car on ACC it was doing a great job of keeping a safe distance from the car above. As it happened there was a right angled bend, which unfortunately someone in a large vehicle had gone straight on at the bend, taking the hedge with it. Behind the missing hedge there was large open field that was a couple feet below the level of the road.
Our car thought that the gap in the hedge and the open field was in fact the road, which had suddenly lost all the traffic, so shot off like a scalded cat. Obviously I just put on the brakes, and brought the car to a rather quick stop to the bemusement to my wife.
Tom - I really did not like the Audi Lane Assist set up on my A4. It was operated by two cameras, roughly where you would expect fog lights to be. You could set it up for 'early' and 'late' intervention and I suspect yours on the A5 is the same. Mine would never really hold its position central in the lane for very long. After 15 seconds it called for 'take over steering' in the DIS and if you don't do anything within about five seconds it just switched off with no further warning. The system would also randomly lose data and switch off without warning and I found it rather dangerous to be honest.
The VW Arteon system on the other hand does not have dual cameras ( I think its just one on top of the windscreen), doesn't have set up modes, but basically just works. It also gives you two 15 second intervals and if you don't take over after the second one it will give you brake tap to 'wake you up'. Its altogether a much better system compared with my 2018 A4 and ironically was standard spec as opposed to the expensive option required by Audi. It also lacked the front sensing re-start I mentioned earlier. Surprising really as you would think a VW and Audi system would be virtually identical.
The VW Arteon system on the other hand does not have dual cameras ( I think its just one on top of the windscreen), doesn't have set up modes, but basically just works. It also gives you two 15 second intervals and if you don't take over after the second one it will give you brake tap to 'wake you up'. Its altogether a much better system compared with my 2018 A4 and ironically was standard spec as opposed to the expensive option required by Audi. It also lacked the front sensing re-start I mentioned earlier. Surprising really as you would think a VW and Audi system would be virtually identical.
To be honest I don't use the lane assist, but I think because that option is on my car, it also has the blind spot lights on the inside of the wing mirrors which is really useful. I believe mine has the central camera behind the rear view mirror as it had to be recalibrated when I had a new windscreen.
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