How could the Superb Wagon be better?

[K1W1]

- slowing down, speeding up, overtaking etc.

I use the cruise control all the time on the Monash, East Link or the Eastern Freeway but not during peak periods. During the middle of the day or weekends I can often drive from Springvale Road to the 80 zone on the Monash entirely on the cruise control then reset to 80 to go through the tunnel although I rarely get all the way through without braking. If you are in a situation when traffic conditions dictate that you need to slow down, speed up or overtake then obviously a cruise control is not suitable but if you are only doing those things because it's your driving style then using the cruise control will probably have a noticable benefit on you fuel consumption and will actually make driving less stressful as you aren't treating the road as a race track full of chicanes.

[Swuzzlebubble]

They could combine the “adaptive cruise control”, “blind spot info system”, "lane departure monitor", “park assist” (i.e. steering wheel control) and GPS map data into a system that just drives the car on its own. Volvo are probably on it as we speak.

[bobski]

doing those things because it's your driving style then using the cruise control will probably have a noticable benefit on you fuel consumption and will actually make driving less stressful as you aren't treating the road as a race track full of chicanes.

I don't necessarily agree with the argument that it makes you less attentive. I don't set cruise and forget it. I use it to keep a constant, smooth speed.

On a freeway if its medium to light, I drive more using the cruise buttons up/down to adjust my speed in increments of 1-2km/h - call me a member of the playstation generation But I do it to keep speed with the people in front of me, and I do it to keep my driving smooth. If I jam on the brakes, people behind me jam on their's and so on. Just because I'm operating some buttons instead of a pedal, doesn't mean I'm not going to react when someone else does something stupid. My right foot is on the accelerator, and its right next to the brake - if I need either - its just a twitch of the toe...

For me, adaptive cruise is a great idea (if it does what it says on the box ).