Cruise control yes or no ?

[BoldonLad]

Yes, I use it. I use it much more in mainland Europe on their, generally, quieter, less congested roads, but, I do use it in UK, if circumstances allow.

In UK, I use it most frequently when driving our Motorhome, I set it it to match the speed of the HGVs and cruise along with them..

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It takes the same amount of energy to raise your car up any given hill no matter what speed you drive up the hill.

But it doesn’t take same amount of fuel, aka efficiency

 

[kayakerles]

Thankfully since I live downtown where everything is close, we SOLD our vehicle 6 years ago. We either walk to the stores and everywhere else or ride. (Pre-pandemic) I would ride home from work and pick up groceries on the way home. However, if we were going on a trip and renting a car, yeah, cruise control is so helpful. Keeps us from speeding, and just makes for a less taxing drive... speeding up, slowing down, repeat. Just go a little slower than most moving traffic and let the speedsters pass us by. One day they'll have that on e-bikes! (If they don't already.)

 

[kayakerles]

Yes, except my current car lacks it. Very good for stress free licence preservation on our camera infested roads.

Dang. Yep, camera infested roads on this side of the pond too!

 

[keithmac]

I've used it twice, just to make sure it worked (solo and towing).

Not a fan personally.

 

[kayakerles]

No cruise control or automatic system is as economical as carefully driven manual control as it uses the throttle uphill to maintain constant speed and brakes downhill to maintain constant speed... that uses fuel inefficiently and reduces mpg. On my last two cars I used ordinary and adaptive cruise control from time to time so I know it has a significant effect.

Adaptive cruise control encourages drivers to be less attentive, especially on long, motorway journeys- there have been instances of people falling asleep... though that can happen with manual cars they don't drive as far at a contstant speed before crashing!

I feel the same as you do, Archie, but FWIW, Cars.com shares "A study by Volvo and the National Renewable Fuel Laboratory released in 2019 concluded that adaptive cruise control can increase fuel economy by 5-7% compared to a vehicle being driven manually. Adaptive cruise control not only maintains a steady speed on the highway, it also gradually slows or speeds up a vehicle to maintain a preset distance from vehicles ahead."

That being said, I used to have a Mazda Miata, pop up headlights, great sound system, and a stick for driving FUN. It had cruise too, but who wants to drive a 2-door convertible with a stick using CRUISE control? Maybe on long stretches of highway... maybe, but not me.

 

[Pale Rider]

One benefit of living in the frozen north east is generally quieter roads.

Cruise control is handy for journeys around here, but the further south I get, the less use it gets.

I'm with @CanucksTraveller on adaptive systems.

If someone pulls in front of me I like to use the 'sliding room' before braking - less chance of a rear end collision.

A car that uses the brakes to maintain a decent gap increases accident risk, particularly if the bloke behind hasn't got adaptive which is very likely at present.

Despite being a user of cruise control, I think it can have a soporific effect.

I've seen a couple of death by dangerous lorry driver cases in which the driver hit the vehicle in front at a steady 56mph with no application of the brakes.

It's all but certain the driver has fallen asleep.

 

[Mike_P]

For. Use it a lot even in urban areas on a clear road to keep within speed limits. Had a fright with a work car expecting it to switch off changing gear, as per own car, and it did not.

 

[gbb]

Have it, dont use it. Did for a short while but never got into the habit.
In my experience, it's worse for fuel economy. Example, I have a circa 1 mile incline toward the end of my A1M commute. I feather the throttle, lose a little speed but maintain reasonable economy (my current fuel consumption is always displayed, I drive by it as much as is reasonable. If I maintain speed, my economy plummets Driving with cruise control would almost certainly be less economical in my experience.
By the same token, there have been occasional times when my speed has slipped, I've realised and accelerated to regain...thus using more fuel that I might.
Swings and roundabouts...but I think generally, it's less economical using it.

 

[Cerdic]

Living in the South East, I was never a fan. Roads are too crowded for it to work properly.

However, the advent of adaptive cruise has definitely made it more useful. So I use it more frequently now.

With regards to economy. Over the last two or three years I have had to drive to North Wales several times. A six hundred mile round trip. Experimenting with using and not using cruise has shown cruise control to be more economical by a small but clear margin. I have to agree with the lads from Volvo on that one!

 

[Rusty Nails]

Prior to lockdowns I was driving from South Wales to London frequently, sticking to the speed limits, and I checked my fuel consumption a few times with and without using cruise control.
No discernable difference in fuel economy at all.

 

[Ridgeway]

Certainly use it here on long range business trips, never use it above 180kmh though as there's too much going on. A decent ACC is a pleasure to use (previous cars versions wasn't great but new one is much better) and can really take the strain out of a drive.

 

[slowfen]

Although have cc, don’t use it, didn’t like it. But do use a speed limiter a lot on long journeys etc as it ensures keeping a bit more engagement with driving

 

[figbat]

I'd want one bright enough to pick up the average speed thing, so if I've been delayed in the first bit, it can get a giddy up on through the last bits.

The satnav I use on my bike has a speed camera notification - for average camera zones it tells you when you are entering the zone and also what your average speed has been since you entered. I use my allocated average fully…

 

[ClichéGuevara]

The satnav I use on my bike has a speed camera notification - for average camera zones it tells you when you are entering the zone and also what your average speed has been since you entered. I use my allocated average fully…

That's where my thought came from...my satnav of course, not yours.

I'm no expert, so happy to be corrected, but as I understand it, the danger is, that it's not always the full stretch that's covered, so even though for the full distance you're under the average, it can ping you if your average between the two live cameras is over the limit.