[pamiboy]

Originally Posted by KRN

If driving comfort is high on your priority an automatic car may be a more important consideration than cruise control.

I have a Honda City SV CVT which has a cruise control. A big bonus of using cruise control is a phenomenal increase in mileage as the car maintains a constant speed.

I definitely agree with the first paragraph. An automatic car will be more comfortable to drive than a manual with cruise control. Cruise control is only useful in long straight empty highways which is very unlike Indian roads.
I disagree somewhat with the second paragraph. A cruise control if used in hilly roads will actually cause more trouble and waste fuel as it constantly tries to maintain the same speed regardless of the incline. A normal car would gradually decrease speed as it climbs an incline and maintain the same gear for a longer period. I have tried this several times and found out the hard way that cruise control was not suited for curvy and hilly roads.

[printh]

If one has an automatic transmission fitted car and gets out to highways often, then CC is a valuable feature. I have missed that feature many a time here in NH 45 & 47. I feel so difficult to keep my foot in a particular aching position to keep the needle at 100 Kmph.

[sgiitk]

I invariably use Cruise Control on the Yamuna Expressway, the only place I can though.

[Holyghost]

I too use cruise control a lot on NH7 Bangalore - Kanyakumari stretch. Infact I cannot think of driving a car without cruise control on this highway. Over the years, I have found that 80-90 is the sweet spot for cruise on these highways. With most trucks keeping speeds above 60, you do not have to use your pedals and instead you can use the speed + - switches on the steering to slow down or overtake.

But the if you intend to use cruise for speeds above 100, it becomes very annoying. Every few KMs, you will encouter a truck or a slow moving vehicle blocking your lane and you will have to apply brakes to slow down.

Another thing I noticed is that I reach my destination (750 kms) almost at the same time when I use cruise at 90kmph or when I drive without cruise at 100 - 120. In both cases, the avg speed on the MID will show 65-70 kmph at the end of the trip. Timings do change when I drive the car to its limits.

[vin_b]

Cruise control is a desirable feature to have especially on long drives on good highways to relax your legs for couple of minutes every now and then. Unlike other countries we need to be very attentive here while using, as the traffic and crossings are highly unpredictable.

[razorBlades]

Thanks for all your inputs, but I am looking for a SUV (no mahindra or tata) in the range of 20 lakhs with CC. Need the experts advice.

[pamiboy]

Originally Posted by razorBlades

Thanks for all your inputs, but I am looking for a SUV (no mahindra or tata) in the range of 20 lakhs with CC. Need the experts advice.

I don't think this is an appropriate thread to post this question. May be you can create your own new thread for car buying advice and you will get more valuable information. I thought this thread was devoted to cruise control, or may be I'm wrong.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by KRN

I have a Honda City SV CVT which has a cruise control. A big bonus of using cruise control is a phenomenal increase in mileage as the car maintains a constant speed.

Thanks KRN.

I had the same mileage experience on my Aspire - constant speed = amazing mileage. You are now making me rue my decision of skipping the city due to its inability to handle bad roads with aplomb.

Does anyone know if cruise control can be retrofitted in the Ford Aspire?

[blackwasp]

Gone are the days of taking days to reach your destination. Even with a moderate to heavy traffic one can easily maintain an average speed of 70-75 kmph without over-speeding. Just last weekend, got a chance to drive my uncles Honda City diesel. It had cruse control. I had kept it engaged most of the times on the highway at 80 km/h. Only had to disengage while overtaking and incase of traffic. It was a very stress-free journey considering we did over 1000 km in 48 hr.

I'm planning to retrofit cruise control to my Punto from the Linea. A couple of Abarth owners are in touch with the person who had done it on his car.

[Gannu_1]

During a Chennai - Coimbatore drive with 3 well-built adults onboard and some luggage, managed to extract a good fuel economy and average speed. Cruise control speed set to 110 kmph.









Can't deny that cruise control does help in 4/6 laned roads. Love the convenience of resting my right foot on the 4/6 laned highways.

[dre@ms]

I regret not buying the higher variant with CC. It gets boring and monotonous when driving on a straight road with no traffic/humans/animals but your right leg stationed on the pedal doing the duty.

[clevermax]

Quick answer - Oh yes, we need it for sure!

I was very much doubtful about the need of CC in Indian conditions before owning a car with Cruise Control. I was under the impression that it might be of use only when you're cruising down an empty highway enjoying the view of a distant horizon where the evening sun is setting and all - ideal world conditions, you know.

However, ever since I started driving my new car, I find myself engaging CC whenever I can, be it even a 200 meter stretch where I can go at say 60kmph. Heck, I even turn on CC at 35kmph after exiting the gate of our residential community, while going through a smaller road which merges with a wider road in 400 meters.

My observation is, CC wins over manual throttle in giving you a better FE. This is applicable to most of the terrains where you don't have steep inclines / hilly terrain.

It is so easy to set/increase/decrease/resume CC with the button on the steering wheel, so why not just use it! I've noticed that some people have a fear of engaging CC just the same way they fear engaging the 6th gear. They enter a state of nervousness throughout the top gear usage or CC usage. I tell them that 6th gear is not for end-of-world scenarios and CC can be used even from 30 or 40 kmph. In mine it can be engaged from 30 kmph.

One of my friends never use 6th gear on his daily commute, even when it involves some highway stretches. He uses it only during 'long' drives. Same case with Cruise Control as well.

Those with CC should get rid of the mental block from using it for shorter drives, it is not just meant for long drives alone.

[jhaji]

I really miss cruise control on my car and looks like I will have to do without it on my next car as well. I can't find this feature on any petrol car that I like otherwise under 10 lakhs.

I missed it most in situations where I have already driven a few hundred kilometers and then enter a road like Yamuna expressway. I could set the cruise control and relax my right leg, if only I could.

[Jeroen]

I am a big fan of cruise control, albeit these days my driving is mostly back in Europe and the USA. We just got a Ford Focus, fitted with an autobox (DSG or whatever Ford calls it). It comes with a very long list of option including adaptive cruise control. I have used it before on several rental cars. But I have just done the first 1000km in this little car. I love the adaptive cruise control, its very accurate in how it keeps the distance, accelerates and brakes automatically. You can set the distant or rather time between yourself and the car in front. That in itself is speed dependent.

Not sure how effective adaptive cruise control would be in India, because it does depend on everybody keeping to its lane. It wont accelerate past a car, unless its really in the adjacent lane.

Jeroen

[for_cars1]

Looks like there are quite a number of folks actively using the cruise control feature and also enjoying the same

Using the cruise control feature over an extend period makes users get used to the comfort and convenience factor. After all it eliminates the tedious task of the need to keep the right foot constantly glued to the accelerator. Also it brings relief to the foot muscles around the heel area especially over long drives of extended duration. After getting used to this comfort zone, going back to conventional foot on accelerator mode will surely feel inconvenient and a step backward.

I have been using a cruise control equipped car for the last 4 years and made a conscious decision of using it very sparingly for the following reasons:

1. Our road conditions are constantly changing with a high degree of unpredictability which doesn't warrant the use of cruise control.
Even on our 4/6 laned roads, there is always a constant need to modulate the speed in response to these varying conditions: from animals/people criss crossing the road, sudden intersections and vehicles barging in, reckless overtaking from all directions and sudden lane changes, vehicles stopping in the middle of the highway suddently for no apparent reason, unmarked speed breakers, undulations on the road, the list goes on.

Our road conditions are still a far cry from systematically planned and consistent road conditions with more disciplined traffic enforcement in the "developed" countries where use of cruise control is a logical fit.

2. In the manual mode (foot on pedal), the very act of taking the foot off the accelerator sets in engine braking which is crucial in an emergency situation because the vehicle has already started to slow down between the time the foot moved from the accelerator to the brake pedal.
The same advantage of effective use of engine braking is lost in the CC mode. The vehicle continues to move at the same speed until the foot depresses the brake in an emergency manoeuvre when every millisecond and timely reduction in speed may count and make a difference.

3. There have been numerous studies of the effect of using cruise control and it is an established fact that using cruise control delays the reaction time of the human feet in reaching for the brakes during an emergency manoeuvre. The movement of an already engaged foot from the accelerator to the brake is significantly faster than the act of lifting a relaxed foot off the floor and reaching for the brake pedal. This could make a critical difference between safety and peril in an emergency braking scenario. (link to one of the sources)

4. From the efficiency perspective, cruise control brings in an increased consistency of getting good fuel efficiency on plain stretches. On ups and downs, cruise control is rather inefficient. From my personal experience, using manual mode of modulating the accelerator is more efficient compared to cruise control, especially on stretches involving inclines and declines.

Although cruise control brings significant relief to the foot muscles, it has its share of perils and tends to be unsafe given our road conditions and should be used with caution only on remote 4/6 laned highways where we can sense better predictability and constant conditions.

Originally Posted by clevermax

One of my friends never use 6th gear on his daily commute, even when it involves some highway stretches. He uses it only during 'long' drives.

Although the vehicle's high torque may allow the use of the 6th gear at lower speeds without jerks, it is always better to engage the 6th gear only when the speeds can be sustained above 65 to 70 kmph. Using the 6th gear at speeds less than 60kmph will result in premature wear of the the clutch.