What is cruise control function? How to use and recommended vehicles

What is cruise control function?

“Cruise control” is a function that maintains a preset speed while driving a car without depressing the accelerator pedal. In recent years, it has been incorporated into many automobiles on the premise of reducing the burden on the driver and assisting functions.

The cruise control installed in conventional cars was a function to keep the set speed constant, and was limited to high-speed driving and when there was a certain inter-vehicle distance.

However, follow-up cruise controls such as Subaru’s “EyeSight”, Toyota’s “Radar Cruise Control”, and Nissan’s “Intelligent Cruise Control” have appeared in recent years.

Equipped with millimeter wave radar and camera sensor

Cruise control is equipped with a sensor called “millimeter-wave radar” that measures the distance, angle, speed, etc. to an object using extremely high-frequency radio waves. to detect.

One of the features of millimeter-wave radar is that it is less susceptible to adverse weather conditions such as dense fog and adverse lighting conditions such as backlight, due to the use of high-frequency radio waves.

In addition, there is a method of recognizing vehicles and obstacles in front by using a “photochemical camera sensor” and digitizing the road conditions obtained from the camera. There are two types: a “stereo camera” with two cameras side by side and a “monocular camera” with only one camera.

The technology used for cruise control introduced above has been adopted for “follow-up cruise control”, and it is currently becoming mainstream as a more accurate “vehicle distance control device” that uses a combination of millimeter-wave radar and a monocular camera.

What is adaptive cruise control (ACC)?

Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is a mechanism that allows the vehicle to drive at a constant speed and adjust the speed while following the vehicle in front.

In addition, ACC is an abbreviation for “adaptive cruise control”, and a system that uses a dedicated sensor and a CPU (computer) installed in the car automatically performs both accelerator and brake operations to support driving. It will be one of the mechanisms to do.

This function can be used together with the “millimeter wave radar” and “camera sensor” introduced above to detect the preceding vehicle and adjust the following distance.

Follow-up cruise control is one of the functions that has been developed for the purpose of reducing the burden on and assisting the driver and is adopted and implemented by many manufacturers.

How to use cruise control

How to use standard cruise control

The operation switch of the normal type cruise control is installed as a lever on the steering surface or on the side of the column. This time, we will introduce how to use it assuming the case of the lever on the side of the column.

Turn on the cruise control main switch next to the lever.
Confirm that the cruise control icon lights up on the display screen (meter part).
If you want to set the speed to 50km/h, lower the lever in the SET direction when the target speed is reached to complete the setting. *Cruise control has a settable speed (e.g. within about 40-100km)
When the setting is completed, loosen the accelerator pedal and check if you can run at a constant speed.

Acceleration/deceleration of speed can be accelerated by raising the lever in the upward direction indicated by RES, and decelerated by lowering it in the downward direction of SET.

To cancel the cruise control function, step on the brake, turn off the main switch, and pull the cancel switch toward you.

How to use follow-up cruise control

In the case of the follow-up type, there are some differences depending on the manufacturer, but the basic operation method is the same. As an example, we will introduce how to use Nissan’s intelligent cruise control.

The operation switch of the follow-up cruise control is mainly installed on the steering wheel surface.

The switches include the main switch that activates the cruise control, a cancel button that stops the function, a button that sets the vehicle speed, and a button that keeps the distance from the vehicle in front.

Turn on the cruise control main switch to activate the function.
If you want to set the speed to 100km/h, accelerate or decelerate to that speed and press the set button to set the cruise control at 100km/h.
In the set state, even if you step on the accelerator and accelerate, it will decelerate and adjust to the set speed, and even if the vehicle in front decelerates or accelerates, it will decelerate or accelerate in the same way, keeping a constant distance between vehicles and the set speed and continuing running. It becomes possible.
If you want to accelerate the speed, you can increase the set speed by pressing the reset button installed above the set button.
Conversely, if you want to slow down, you can adjust by pressing the set button.

If you want to cancel the cruise control function, step on the brake or press the cancel button on the switch.

Scenes where it is convenient to use cruise control

Cruise control is one of the very excellent functions that reduce the burden on the driver and assist in various situations.

We will introduce a convenient scene as a scene where this function can be used effectively.

People who use expressways a lot

Highways are one of the scenes where the cruise control function is greatly demonstrated.

The reason is that there are few stop-and-go traffic lights and stop lines, and depending on traffic conditions, it is possible to keep running at a constant speed.

For those who frequently use the expressway for commuting, business trips, travel, etc., the cruise control function, which maintains a constant speed and eliminates the need to control the accelerator, is a convenient scene that reduces stress and the burden of driving. Isn’t there?

highway traffic jam

Traffic jams are expected in the city center and rush hours when returning home during long vacations, but always keeping a distance from the vehicle in front and controlling the accelerator will put a heavy burden on you both mentally and physically.

Unlike conventional cruise control, if it is a follow-up type, it will adjust the distance from the vehicle in front and decelerate / accelerate, so the burden on the driver will be greatly reduced.

However, the cruise control function is disabled on some vehicles when the set speed drops below 30km/h. We recommend that you purchase a vehicle with a “all speed tracking function”.

Those who drive too fast

On highways and roads with long straight lines, it is easy to drive too fast.

By using the cruise control function even in situations where speed is likely to occur, you can maintain a constant speed and reduce the risk of overspeeding.

In particular, the computer slows down the speed so that it does not exceed the set speed even in situations where the speed naturally increases, such as downhill. I will give it to you.

Toyota	radar cruise control
Nissan	intelligent cruise control
Subaru	Eyesight
Honda	adaptive cruise control
mitsubishi	e-assist
Suzuki	active cruise control
Mercedes-Benz	Distance Pilot Distronic
Volkswagen	adaptive cruise control
BMW	active cruise control
volvo	adaptive cruise control

price	Gasoline X1.5, CVT, 2WD: 1,896,000 yen
cruise control	Radar cruise (with all vehicle speed tracking function)

price	e: HEV BASIC: 1,997,600 yen
cruise control	Adaptive cruise control (with traffic congestion following function)

price	GT: 3,102,000 yen
cruise control	Eyesight X

What is cruise control function? How to use and recommended vehicles | MOBY [モビー]