2015/16 Genesis-- Lane Keep Assist & Adaptive Cruise

[ufcpa]

I'm seriously considering purchasing a new 2015 Genesis 3.8 with Tech (or 2016, if they get here soon), and am interested in perspectives on lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control. I commute 100 miles daily, with most of the drive on a major highway without significant traffic.

I test drove the car today and due to heavy traffic and dealership location, wasn't able to get much experience with these features. Additionally, the salesman was very unfamiliar with these features and added little to my knowledge about them.

I also test drove a Tesla Model S today (prior to the Genesis). While admittedly a very different car and 50 percent pricier than the Genesis, I did get a very good feel for the car's "autopilot", which performed exceptionally, and very capable of lane keeping (in the middle of the lane), including around gradual curves, etc. Adaptive cruise as part of the Tesla autopilot functioned during stop and go traffic, with no need for input on accelerator/brakes by me.

I would very much prefer to buy the Genesis due to styling, finish, exceptional value, etc., but I also value the lane keeping/adaptive cruise/autopilot functionality, which seems to be a few steps behind the Tesla. Obviously, you may chalk this up to "getting what you pay for" in this area, but wanted to ask for experiences with the Genesis for long highway and stop and go driving, since I didn't get a great deal of feel for the car in this space during my test drive.

Does anyone in this forum have experience with both the Genesis and the Tesla autopilot? Anyone aware of changes coming to the Genesis in this area in 2016?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[consorziodenver]

I'm seriously considering purchasing a new 2015 Genesis 3.8 with Tech (or 2016, if they get here soon), and am interested in perspectives on lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control. I commute 100 miles daily, with most of the drive on a major highway without significant traffic.

I test drove the car today and due to heavy traffic and dealership location, wasn't able to get much experience with these features. Additionally, the salesman was very unfamiliar with these features and added little to my knowledge about them.

I also test drove a Tesla Model S today (prior to the Genesis). While admittedly a very different car and 50 percent pricier than the Genesis, I did get a very good feel for the car's "autopilot", which performed exceptionally, and very capable of lane keeping (in the middle of the lane), including around gradual curves, etc. Adaptive cruise as part of the Tesla autopilot functioned during stop and go traffic, with no need for input on accelerator/brakes by me.

I would very much prefer to buy the Genesis due to styling, finish, exceptional value, etc., but I also value the lane keeping/adaptive cruise/autopilot functionality, which seems to be a few steps behind the Tesla. Obviously, you may chalk this up to "getting what you pay for" in this area, but wanted to ask for experiences with the Genesis for long highway and stop and go driving, since I didn't get a great deal of feel for the car in this space during my test drive.

Does anyone in this forum have experience with both the Genesis and the Tesla autopilot? Anyone aware of changes coming to the Genesis in this area in 2016?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I can't speak for the Tesla, but I would suggest you do another test drive with the Genesis that will allow you to test these features. I found them to be intuitive during my test drive, and I didn't have a salesperson with me (my whole dang family instead). Using the steering wheel controls, you can flip over to the settings for these and change some parameters. Make sure the button is illuminated for the LKAS.

I found the Smart Cruise to work perfectly, slowing down and speeding up as I expected. I could set the cruise at 65MPH but it will come to a complete stop if traffic slows down. Only the first time did I keep my foot over the brake, not knowing for sure how it would respond. After that, I was more relaxed. LKAS worked well, too. Per some other discussions here, before I took off on the test drive, I switched it to "post departure" (if I recall the name correctly) so it didn't react until the wheel started to cross the line (only kicks in when it's really needed). And it would track gradual curves as well. The haptic worked as advertised, then the wheel corrected the car position on it's own. If I recall, that only works over a certain speed (40MPH?), but the Smart Cruise was fantastic in heavy traffic. All I had to do was steer. If the traffic is light and normal cruise is OK, you can disable smart cruise if you choose. It doesn't take the place of driver awareness, nor should any system, but I find that it responds pretty well to cars moving in and out of your traffic pattern. There are circumstances (like going over a steep rise) when it may "lose" contact with cars ahead momentarily, but that will be true with any smart cruise system.

To me, this tech is as good as other brands, at much less price. My $0.02.

 

[GenesisAWD]

I've only had my Genesis for a month but I absolutely love the adaptive cruise. I have been able to use it once during rush hour stop/go traffic on the interstate and it worked perfectly.

As far as lane keep assist, I'm still undecided on it. It works just as well as advertised, I just don't know yet if I appreciate the "haptic feedback" functionality. Just a personal preference. I have it activated still because I'm still willing to see if I grow into it more but I might disable it too in the future. Either way, as I said it works as advertised.

 

[Aquineas]

I consider LKAS a work in progress. It frequently gets confused by turning lanes, for example, if you're driving down a road and come across a turning lane which turns left, the Genesis will oftentimes tug at the wheel trying to follow the turning lane. There have been other times when the car would vibrate to indicate that I was departing a lane, but didn't actually make the steering correction.

Nevertheless even with those nitpicks, I keep it on for safety reasons; there have definitely been occasions when i was momentarily distracted and the Genesis "set me straight", or so-to-speak.