cruise-control?????

[trem1]

my new car has cruise apparently but ive only ever driven a car once with cruise can any of you lot with it tell me the best way to use it
the pro's and con's of it
does it help the fuel consumption
or hinder it (doubtful) but you never know

let me know your experiences with it good or bad

many thanks guys

[mjb]

I've always found cruise control lowers fuel economy slightly due to the fact they don't seem able to regulate speed as well as a steady foot; the ones I've used seem to go slightly over the speed you set, then gradually slow down, then speed back up fairly quickly and so on, and of course accelerating is Bad from an economy perspective. The effect is much more pronounced going uphill (such as the M40 heading south of Oxford) I found

[GeordieBoy]

mine has cruise control, it can only be activated over 30mph in 4th or 5th gear. Its usefull on motorways, just press it whatever speed you wanna do and take ur foot off the accelerator and relax. I think it does use a little more fuel maybe 1-3mpg over a long run. But thats prob cos it keeps you at the set speed even going up hills.

[DaiRees]

Cruise is awesome, just the other day I drove from the Severn Bridge junction of the M49 all the way to J25 of the M5 without touching a pedal. It's soooo much more relaxing. The biggest benefit I find is that it takes away the need to keep one eye on the speedo, you can concentrate on what's going on outside. It also removes the tendency to creep your speed up on a long trip (come on, we've all set off at 70 and arrived at 85!!).

I personally thought it improved economy but I've never experimented, too damn lazy to drive anywhere without using it

[jameslxdt]

i found i get better mpg using the cruise control, and as dairees said it makes the drive so much more relaxing, but also makes it more tempting to fall asleep at the wheel

[mjb]

I personally thought it improved economy but I've never experimented, too damn lazy to drive anywhere without using it

Depends how you drive without it

When I'm on the motorway to/from work I sit myself behind trucks. They're sitting on their limiters so are staying roughly the same speed, and when you've sat behind one for a while you'll find your own speed becomes rock steady. It's much more economical than driving the 'normal' way as speeds tend to vary quite a bit that way. Often idiots cause people to slam their brakes on then for half mile back people are doing 50-70-50-70-50-70-80-60... whereas I'm just sitting there cruising past with the trucks having not altered my speed at all Most days I rarely need to come off the accelerator or press the brake pedal at all unless there's a proper jam, and it's 100 motorway miles a day

It's how I get 38mpg from my turbo *smug*

[Juzza]

It's also very useful in road works with 40 or 50 mph limits where there are loads of speed cameras - set it to the limit and you know you're safe. Also you can use it in 30's and 40's if there's a police car behind you.....

[crainneag]

Yeah, I use it as Juzza does, although you gotta watch if you are going downhill as cc relies on engine braking to slow down and if the slope is steep enouigh you will accelerate; guess where the blue meanies like to stand with their portable radar units?

[ThePrisoner]

The cruise control on exec is spot on! It regulates the speed and sticks to what I set it to. I use it all the time on my way to work, and it is so relaxing.

I always use the trip computer when using cruise control and the MPG stays roughly the same, the only downside is the speed staying the same when going uo a steep hill makes the mpg a lot lower, especialy if you dont change gear.

A great tool, in my opinion.

Pris.