[xway]

Apologies but I do not understand the question or the purpose here.

We have normal cruise controls mostly, some advanced vehicles also come with adaptive cruise control, which is more flexible and requires less intervention, so things will be vastly different in both scenarios.

Also, I set the Cruise control, then may slow down while navigating some crowds or diversions, but once crossed resume it again. In between I increase / decrease the speeds too.

Not meaning to offend but trying to understand if I am missing something.

What is the use case of measuring distance without touching or re-engaging the cruise control ? Doesn't it sound like how far did you go without braking ?

I hope i discover or learn something here.

[sharc_biker]

The year 2013 was the first time we had an AT car at home with Cruise Control as an option.

I remember engaging it on the Bangalore - Hyderabad NH then. But had to keep braking and resuming every few kms. Even on regular NHs, it has always been more comfortable to drive without cruise control. The feature was more of an optional ‘fancy’ one for me.

But ever since the opening of the Bangalore - Mysore expressway and the strict AI speed cameras all along the way, it’s nearly impossible to manage without cruise control if you want to travel at the speed limit without risking fines. So much so that a friend who frequents the expressway is planning to upgrade his AT car only due to the lack of the cruise control feature.

I usually set the speed at 103-106 kmph depending on the car to ensure the radar detected speed is around 99 kmph. Throughout the entire 117 km stretch, i usually only have to brake and resume only once or twice tops except slowing down at toll booths.

I have experimented cruise control with different speeds. 85-90 kmph is superb in terms of fuel efficiency.

At ~100 kmph radar/actual speed, my Octavia VRS 245, a 2 litre high horsepower turbo petrol which gives 6-7 km/litre in the city gives a fuel efficiency of 18.50 km/litre consistently.

With the advent of expressways in the country and stricter speed limit enforcement, cruise control will become an indispensable feature like it is in western countries. More so if minimum speed limits are also introduced in the future.

[satyabrata.dash]

I try to make use of cruise control even on slow highway speeds, like 50 Kmph. If its an expressway, I fix the speed at 119 Kmph(which is actually 114 Kmph) to make sure it doesn't beep.

Here are the longest stretches I can remember.

1. Samruddhi Expressway (Aurangabad - Wardha) - In multiple instances, I have used cruise control without having to stop or slow down for over 200 Kms. Even today there is no reason to stop on this expressway.
2. Delhi - Mumbai Expressway (Sohna - Lalsot) - During the initial days after this whole stretch was opened till Lalsot, Drove for about 150 kms in a stretch. Might have done this atleast twice. Now that the rest stops are open, I stop atleast once midway.
3. Delhi - Mumbai Expressway (Morak - Ratlam) - I came back via this route only a week back and it was pretty empty except a few motorcyclists coming wrong side. I must have driven 100 Kms on cruise control until a pack of dog was waiting to chase us. We had to come to a dead stop(there was no one behind us till eternity) and ask them to stay safe, and not come on this expressway.

[s2K_scorpioN]

My observations regarding fuel efficiency wrt transmissions:

1. CVT - mileage is lower with cruise on
2. Hybrid - vehicle mileage is lower on cruise
3. TC - mileage is much better with cruise
4. DCT/DSG - noticeable improvement in milage with cruise
5. Manual - highly specific to driving style

These are my personal experiences, I'd love to hear from the rest of you.

[GeeTee TSI]

Excellent thread.

My recent and personal best has been Trivandrum - Kanyakumari - Bangalore (Bommanahalli) on a tankful in my Octavia 2.0 TSI with 95% of the latter part on cruise control
.

I always adjust the set speed so as to stick to the median speed of traffic (even using it at lower speeds like 50 kmph). An especially satisfying accomplishment was using cruise control in the up hill section between Krishnagiri and Hosur.

I think cruise control is key to addressing multiple challenges, as per my personal experience

• Safety - it prevents the temptation to press the A pedal till the gap upfront is closed
• Efficiency - the FE figures with prolonged use of cruise control pastes a wide grin (and elicits astonishment from others)
• Progress - a direct correlation between average speeds and FE exists if cruise control is used judiciously

[07CR]

On Samruddhi Mahamarg, I used adaptive cruise of my Seltos for nearly 400 kms, without even touching the brake pedal. Infact with LKA and LFA on, I barely needed to touch even the steering (though always aware of the fact that the ADAS should not be relied upon 100%).

And this happened both side of my journey (2 different days) so nearly 800 kms!

[geekyengineer]

Originally Posted by 07CR

On Samruddhi Mahamarg, I used adaptive cruise of my Seltos for nearly 400 kms, without even touching the brake pedal. Infact with LKA and LFA on, I barely needed to touch even the steering (though always aware of the fact that the ADAS should not be relied upon 100%).

And this happened both side of my journey (2 different days) so nearly 800 kms!

Similar experience here, when Samruddhi was opened from the Bharvir entry, I used Cruise control on XUV 500 W10 AT both ways for almost 1200kms+ trip for 95% plus of the time.

[autobahnjpr]

Newer expressways give you the opportunity to use features like cruise control almost all the time. I use it heavily during my frequent noida-jaipur commute via the NE4 (DME). Once you merge to NE4 from faridabad link road, the cruise control is set till the dausa exit. If I bread due to traffic, once it clears up, I just pull the reset lever and the cruise is back on. It is a great boon on such wonderful expressways. I think I would have used it for appx. 60-80 at on stretch many times.

I have also used it quite frequently on Yamuna expressway and Agra Lucknow expressway. Once you get used to it, the switch to cruise almost mechanical as you will detest keeping the accelerator pedal pressed manually.

Just make sure, you are careful with it when there is traffic around. Do not rely too much on either adaptive feature or your calculations and move out of cruise control and switch back to manual mode till you have clear stretch where you can engage it again. Cruise makes one relaxed and with tunnel vision makes one feel little drowsy. Be aware when it happens and then take manual control to ensure you are always alert and relaxed while driving.

[narayans80]

I was first introduced to Cruise Control in the 2010 Corolla VL-AT. Since then, the next 2 cars were all Cruise Control equipped.

The longest stretch with cruise without a downshift has to be around 200 odd km from some BPCL petrol station to Shirdi on Samruddhi Mahamarg. Till Aurangabad it was set to 116 and reduced to 105 on Aurangabad-Shirdi stretch as traffic increased.

Before that, the longest stretch without a downshift was 78 km Hyderabad ORR from Chottupal to Patancheru at 98 kph.

The best candidates for CC usage on a little more extended scale are:

• Nagpur-Betul
• Godhra-Dahod-Indore
• Tumkur bypass-Chitradurga
• Chitradurga-Hospet-Bijapur-Solapur-Beed-Aurangabad
• Kamareddy-Nirmal-Adilabad
• Nellore-Ongole
• Sam-Longewala-Tanot-Jaisalmer (this has got to be the unique 2-lane road when you can engage cruise)
• Veppur-Samayapuram
• Kavalkinaru-Tirunelveli-Tirumangalam
• Samayanallur-Dindigul-Karur-Namakkal
• Trichy-Madurai
• Baroda-Ahmedabad
• Jaipur-Bundi-Kota-Aklera

Out of this Nagpur-Betul, Tumkur-Chitradurga, parts of Chitradurga-Hospet-Bijapur-Solapur-Beed-Aurangabad and Sam-Longewala-Tanot-Jaisalmer are the only places where I have been able to set CC at 100. Otherwise its mostly 80-90. Usually would cruise 5-10 kph slower than what I would normally do modulating A-pedal to factor the additional reaction time.

The most unlikely stretch I've used CC is MC Road where I had set to 60 kph on a very short stretch.

The biggest advantage I see that your right leg gets some rest, even if it means 2-5 minutes. This helps in long haul drive days (700-1200 km/day).

There is no FE advantage unless you drive like a maniac without CC. You can get better FE with A-pedal modulation. On cruise, the rpm will vary according to the subtle changes in gradient, which cannot be perceived with the naked eye. Also there are subconscious decelerations that the driver does, which the CC will not.

You have to be lot more alert on CC factoring all the peripheral traffic. Hence the reasoning to cruise slower.

On stretches where you would go much faster, but there are speed limits. It is very useful. Thrissur-Palakkad-Walayar, Hyderabad ORR in 100 kph days, NICE with 80 are good examples

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Only on Hyderabad Outer Ring Road and everytime I use this road. You can switch it on as soon as you are on the expressway and only switch it off once you are on the exit ramp. Except ORR, there is no opportunity to use cruise control in Telangana. I can easily live without Cruise Control in India.

This is so true. There are absolutely no other roads that allow cruise control like ORR in Telangana.

I usually set the speed at 110 to 115kmph and glide away. The longest I went was from Airport exit till gowrelly exit and that's a good 30 to 40 minutes of uninterrupted cruise control.

Lately I've been noticing increased traffic and I'm having to disengage cruise control quite often. Many slow moving cars stay in the 120kph lane and yet are only doing about 80 or 90. It is quite infuriating. Why don't they use the full speed limit. If we have 120kmph of bandwidth, we should set our cruise control a few kmph lower to allow for any speedo errors or road inconsistencies.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Originally Posted by s2K_scorpioN

My observations regarding fuel efficiency wrt transmissions:

1. CVT - mileage is lower with cruise on
2. Hybrid - vehicle mileage is lower on cruise
3. TC - mileage is much better with cruise
4. DCT/DSG - noticeable improvement in milage with cruise
5. Manual - highly specific to driving style

These are my personal experiences, I'd love to hear from the rest of you.

Yep this seems to be true! My Magnite CVT returns poorer full economy when in cruise control. I think it is to do with the ECU trying to keep the exact speed we've set and using up braking (does cruise control system use brakes?), during downhill where you'd normally just use engine braking. Since it can't anticipate road conditions, it has to rely on immediate inputs to its sensors and that's an inefficient approach to eke out more fuel economy. To get best mileage, we often have to vary our throttle input a lot depending on road conditions. And cruise control system can't do that.

[KiloAlpha]

I have used cruise control in my car for precisely 0km! And yes, my car has cruise control.
I just feel that highway conditions in India are far too unpredictable to use cruise control. The feeling of not being in full control of my car when things go south - which can happen at any time - keeps me from setting cruise control.

[Porschefire]

Great thread, Raghu!

I've used cruise control on my Ford Fiesta for max 2-3 times in the past 10 years, one of which was on the Airport Road towards Devanahalli. As it is not adaptive, I remember elevating my senses and paying extra attention on the road to slow down/brake as my mind was constantly telling me that the car will not slow down! This actually made me tired during the drive so, I found it counter productive in my use case. I haven't driven a car with Adaptive Cruise Control and(or) ADAS in India yet so, I cannot comment on how effective it is to make your drive peaceful and enjoyable.

In the Western countries though, it is a definite boon. I drive an EV now and cruise control definitely helps in maximising the range although, the drive can get boring sometimes (especially on the Autobahns).

[anuragsingh]

Used cruise control for more than 500 km on the Samruddhi expressway, had to break just for fuel stops. New access-controlled expressways make it possible to use cruise control without much worry.

[Centodieci]

Cruise Control is a boon for solo drivers like me when travelling long distances on highway. I frequently use it when the roads are empty and I have clear visibility of what's ahead. The longest I have used it would be around 250 kms although I had to keep disengaging and re-engaing as my car doesn't have adaptive control. I will mark this as an essential feature in my next purchase.