Steady driving vs Cruise control

SquabzZz

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Hey people I'm pretty sure that my steady driving on the motorway can achieve better mpg results than cruise control (at the same speed).. Or is that not even possible ?

I find when I have cruise control active I'm constntly slowing the car down and speeding back up but when i have control of the throttle I anticipate the road better


What's everyone else's view as this is my first merc and first car with cruise control
 

EmilysDad

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Hey people I'm pretty sure that my steady driving on the motorway can achieve better mpg results than cruise control (at the same speed).. Or is that not even possible ?

I find when I have cruise control active I'm constntly slowing the car down and speeding back up but when i have control of the throttle I anticipate the road better


What's everyone else's view as this is my first merc and first car with cruise control

Just anticipate a little earlier & move lanes so you can leave cruise engaged. But you'e correct, a right foot tends to be more economical than cruise, but it's hard work without it once you're used to it. ;)
 

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Yes better without CC, you are on a motor way with a incline ahead, you can speed up a little to stop the car from changing down, you get over the crest and you can back off as the car will free wheel down the other side. You can see a hold up a mile down the road, you can back off,CC cannot, or in other words, you can see the situation ahead,CC cannot;)
 

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I tend to use cruise a fair bit, provided the road is reasonably clear and not too busy. When it is in use, I normally knock it out using the stock if I need to slow, and rarely with the brakes. My view is that if you find that you are knocking it out with the brakes, that is too late and you've probably 'wasted' a bit of fuel; its all down to anticipation!

As for 'steady' speed driving, there has been a lot of debate.....CC will try to maintain the set speed no matter what, even if it means a down change and in that scenario, it will use more fuel than if you are content to allow the car to find its own speed at a given throttle opening. So, if 70 is set on the level, you might only get 65 on an uphill m/w stretch, but 75 on a downhill stretch, unless you hold it at 70 in which case you will save fuel.....hopefully!

I've never tried any experimentation - too many variables on the road these days to get any meaningfull results, but what I can say is that I can see between 48 and 54MPG driving around 70 on my motorway trips south.

There might be others who have opinions on this, probably disagreeing with mine!


Ernie
 

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Yed you can get better fuel economy without using cruise control, however I see the wear and tear on my right leg to be more important that the slight difference between using cruise and not.

As per above anticipation makes a huge difference, you can knock the stalk away to take cruise off, you can also tap it down and knock off speed in 1mph increments.

If it was all about fuel economy we'd be driving CDI Smart cars everywhere...
 

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Don't forget about the speed limiter as well (push the cruise control stalk in to change the mode from CC to limit - at least that's how it works on mine).

Not only does it serve as a handy "license retention device" around town but it means on long motorway journeys I can maintain control of the throttle but once up to speed I can sink my foot to the floor and maintain speed (similar to cruise control, be careful not to kick-down as that de-activates the limiter and you'll get a bit of a shock :D).

I did use cruise control last night on a 2 hour journey back from London but I wasn't particularly comfortable with it.
 
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SquabzZz

SquabzZz

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I do like the device but I think without it I get better mpg
 

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You can get better mpg without it. But I wouldn't be without it...saves leg ache.
It also allows more time to concentrate on other aspects of driving rather than speed maintenance...I try to see how far I can travel without having to cancel it...it can be fun...and keeps you on your toes.
 

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You can get better mpg without it. But I wouldn't be without it...saves leg ache.
It also allows more time to concentrate on other aspects of driving rather than speed maintenance...I try to see how far I can travel without having to cancel it...it can be fun...and keeps you on your toes.

My eyes are getting so bad now I use the distronic all the time, I can read my own number plate from 60ft but not anyone else's
 

EmilysDad

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.....

I did use cruise control last night on a 2 hour journey back from London but I wasn't particularly comfortable with it.

I drove to Edinburgh & back yesterday, 3hr 45 each way. I rarely touched the throttle when on the motorway, set to an indicated [STRIKE]80[/STRIKE] 70 mph and even saw 30mpg! :cool: :cool:
 

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Try the speed tronic. It allows you to set a maximum speed (70mph tends to work well) and you can vary the speed upto the set speed as appropriate and move the pedal and your leg without exceeding the set speed. Kick down disables it and if your legs have to go somewhere they might as well as go on the pedals.
 

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I never understand people who have cruise and don't use it!

I use it everywhere -

30 Limit - protects your licence, and if you need to cancel it a tiny touch on the brakes does it - plus it allows me to cover the brake - if a kiddie stepped out in the road the 1/2 a second that saves me might be the difference between hitting the child and stopping in time (or at least only be doing 2 or 3 mph instead of 20)

50 / 60 roads - perfectly good for cruise....

Motorways - perfect.

Rules for cruise for me are - keep plenty of gap to car in front and read the road ahead and its a godsend
 
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SquabzZz

SquabzZz

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I do like using it don't get me wrong but I'm just trying to work out if its more economical than my right foot under the same speeds !!

As of I see traffic ahead and slow down using cruise control then pick up the speed it drops gear to reach the speed Ect but if I was controlling the throttle I would slowly accelerate to my desired speed
 

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And the next time you buy a car, make sure it has distronic :D:D
 

Remenham

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In parts of Oxford there is now a general 20 mph limit. Quite amusing occasionally to set cruise to 20 mph and get buses, taxis etc stacking behind you.
 

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In parts of Oxford there is now a general 20 mph limit. Quite amusing occasionally to set cruise to 20 mph and get buses, taxis etc stacking behind you.

That happens to me when going through Axminster :D:D
 

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None of my 3 cars will allow CC to work, below 30mph. There again, there's nowhere here where 20mph cruising is possible, nor desired :p

Yes 15mph is a far safer speed :D
 

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