Suburb/City driving how useful are lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control?

[jrhodes87]

So I do a max of about 3 miles of driving every day going to work and then to the gym. Never really get over 40mph when driving.

I am currently looking at a 2016 Genesis, rwd, base model does not come with the adaptive cc nor the lane keep assist, this car is right now on the the lot for 27k, 14k miles and certified pre owned so the Hyundai warranty is still in place. I test drove it today, the car is amazing. I've been driving a 2006 hyundai sonata for the past 10 years so you can imagine how nice this thing felt to me.

My question is those who have those driving adaptation features would they be even necessary with the current conditions I drive in?

 

[dougmcp]

I doubt you would ever use them, they are primarily for highway use and even then when it's not congested.

 

[jrhodes87]

thanks !

 

[lobsenza]

So I do a max of about 3 miles of driving every day going to work and then to the gym. Never really get over 40mph when driving.

I am currently looking at a 2016 Genesis, rwd, base model does not come with the adaptive cc nor the lane keep assist, this car is right now on the the lot for 27k, 14k miles and certified pre owned so the Hyundai warranty is still in place. I test drove it today, the car is amazing. I've been driving a 2006 hyundai sonata for the past 10 years so you can imagine how nice this thing felt to me.

My question is those who have those driving adaptation features would they be even necessary with the current conditions I drive in?

I think the safety items included in the tech package are very important. They are now required for an IIHS top safety pick plus rating.

 

[jrhodes87]

ok sure I get that, but my question was how much would I utilize them with what my current driving scenario is.

 

[dougmcp]

I think the safety items included in the tech package are very important. They are now required for an IIHS top safety pick plus rating.

For 3 miles of driving and only 40 mph I'm not sure what safety items are on the tech package that are not on the base unit. I have lane keep, adaptive cruise and auto leveling headlights with turning as well but IMHO I don't see where these would be of any value to the OP.

 

[kn5owa]

I am surprised that a 2016 Genesis does not have ACC or the lane assist. feature

But - not to worry- I haven't used the lane keeper in 2 years of driving - this is one of those features in the testing stage as far as I'm concerned - probably more dangerous than actually safe.

And, as for ACC, my car defaults to that mode - and I actually wish it defaulted to normal CC as it is a hassle to change over. I prefer conventional CC.

I keep my Sonata for city driving.

 

[Midnightsun]

I own 2 vehicles with LKA. Never use it. Actually not true, used it once when I was so tired I figured it was a good idea to turn it on. I would call it an annoying feature and I am sure most will agree. It is amazing how gullible we are when the word safety is mentioned. Although it is touted as a safety feature it really opens the door to cell phone use and texting or anything else that distracts as now the car will stay between the lines even if the driver is not paying attention like he should. I do however find the smart cruise rather handy but wish I could diminish the shortest distance and get it to accelerate a little quicker when things clear or pick up in front.

 

[PMCErnie]

If I drove only 3 miles every day I wouldn't bother getting a radio. Wheels might be questionable too.

 

[StarPower]

The other consideration is if there's an insurance discount for the added safety features. You could get a quote from your insurance company for both a base model and one with the Tech package, then see how many years of ownership it would take for the lower insurance premium to make up the difference in the cost of the car. If you plan to keep the car for longer than this time, it might be beneficial to pay more for a car with these features even if you don't plan to use them.

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[Seejay]

All that stuff makes you lazy. I have gotten dangerous in my wife's car because the side rear-view mirrors don't flash orange when a car is in my blind spot. The more you use a back up camera, the more terrible your back up skills will become in a car without one. LKA is definitely for texters. Don't get me started.

I suppose it's moot with autonomous cars looming on the horizon.

 

[kn5owa]

This is a truly refreshing thread - when these cars first came out with all the whizbang gadgets - it was heresy to question their utility. With experience, people have matured a lot.

 

[jrhodes87]

If I drove only 3 miles every day I wouldn't bother getting a radio. Wheels might be questionable too.

Haha, I just moved the area, it's very very busy traffic during rush hours and riding a bike would be unrealistic, even if it is 3 miles. I'd feel quite unsafe.

The other consideration is if there's an insurance discount for the added safety features. You could get a quote from your insurance company for both a base model and one with the Tech package, then see how many years of ownership it would take for the lower insurance premium to make up the difference in the cost of the car. If you plan to keep the car for longer than this time, it might be beneficial to pay more for a car with these features even if you don't plan to use them.

Yes this was something I was going to ask when I contact my insurance agent.

This is a truly refreshing thread - when these cars first came out with all the whizbang gadgets - it was heresy to question their utility. With experience, people have matured a lot.

Yes I can definitely understand the buzz around new safety technology, but eventually the real world application will always rise to the surface.

 

[MikeyTG]

Lane keep assist and lane departure warning only activate above about 38mph. Adaptive cruise control will work down to lower speeds, I think the minimum set speed is 25mph. It seems like both of are not very useful in your situation.

You did not mention Automatic Emergency Braking, which comes along with the package. That should be useful all of the time. If it can bail you out of that one $50k moment of inattention it's worth it's weight in gold!

 

[Midnightsun]

Lane keep assist and lane departure warning only activate above about 38mph. Adaptive cruise control will work down to lower speeds, I think the minimum set speed is 25mph. It seems like both of are not very useful in your situation.

You did not mention Automatic Emergency Braking, which comes along with the package. That should be useful all of the time. If it can bail you out of that one $50k moment of inattention it's worth it's weight in gold!

Unless they downgraded the G80, adaptive cruise works right down to a full stop and then resumes. They call it start/stop technology for a reason. http://www.motortrend.com/news/class-exclusive-smart-cruise-control-with-startstop-technology/

 

[dougmcp]

At 3 miles and not over 40mph, at an average of 20mph that's a whole 10 minutes behind the wheel. With that drive time a person would never know if the heater even worked and by the time you danced through all the options on the DIS it would be time to shut it off. I'd be more concerned with carbon build up than cruise control. Perish the thought but if there ever was an ideal application for an electric or hybrid car, this is it.

 

[Seejay]

At 3 miles and not over 40mph, at an average of 20mph that's a whole 10 minutes behind the wheel. With that drive time a person would never know if the heater even worked and by the time you danced through all the options on the DIS it would be time to shut it off. I'd be more concerned with carbon build up than cruise control. Perish the thought but if there ever was an ideal application for an electric or hybrid car, this is it.

A co-worker has a Tesla S with a similar daily drive, and he is able to keep it charged with a 120 VAC home system. He was talking about upgrading it to 240 VAC, so he could drive around Houston more extensively.

 

[jrhodes87]

Well I just bought the car tonight, 28k out the door! It was the cheapest certified pre owned in the country, guy came in an hour after I got there to buy it! beat him to it, super psyched. Had no idea that the base models had the light emblem feature on the rearview mirrors! SO badass, i'm stoked! cheers guys

 

[digmyGenesis]

Lane keep assist and lane departure warning only activate above about 38mph. Adaptive cruise control will work down to lower speeds, I think the minimum set speed is 25mph. It seems like both of are not very useful in your situation.

You did not mention Automatic Emergency Braking, which comes along with the package. That should be useful all of the time. If it can bail you out of that one $50k moment of inattention it's worth it's weight in gold!

I find Adaptive cruise control is very useful when I am in a traffic jam / slow traffic on free way. You are moving like 10 to 20 km/h. It follows the car in front of you.

 

[CarlitoGR]

The adaptive cruise is awesome, especially in areas that get congested very quickly. The lane keep assist, is a bit annoying. Now I understand the reasoning behind it, but the intervention is abrupt at time and I have had moments when the car tries to steer sharply because of breaks in road markings. It's not something to rely on and it I was to let someone use my car, I'd turn it off. But to be honest, you wouldn't miss it. Adaptive cruise however...