BlueCruise rated #1 in Consumer Reports 2023 Driver Assistance Rankings

[Peter P]

Rankings were just released....

Ford’s BlueCruise Ousts GM’s Super Cruise as CR’s Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System

Tesla Autopilot falls to midpack as other high-tech systems improve

https://www.consumerreports.org/car...riving-assistance-systems-review-a2103632203/

January 25, 2023

How We Rated the Systems
The 12 active driving assistance systems we tested were put through their paces around the track at our 327-acre Auto Test Center in Connecticut and on a 50-mile loop on public roads between September and December 2022. Each system was rated for its performance in 40 separate tests, such as steering the car, controlling the speed, and keeping the driver safe and engaged with the act of driving. Additional features such as automatic lane changes or reacting for traffic lights were not evaluated in this test.

 

[F150ROD]

Cue the CR hate

I truly have been pleased with Blue Cruise, there are still issues like disengaging when you are at the far right lane and you just passed a freeway entrance, or the phantom speed increase, but other than that the system has been great.

 

[HarryBakshi]

Consumer Reports ranked Ford Blue Cruise as the best advanced driver-assistance systems on the market and placing it much ahead of Tesla Autopilot

Tesla's Autopilot is falling behind as other software catches up (msn.com)


Tesla's Autopilot is falling behind as other software catches up | Business Insider India

 

[greenne]

Cue hate from the Tesla fanboy club in 3...2....1

 

[F150ROD]

The first excuse will be: or wasn’t Enhanced AP or FSD.

The second: you can’t compared a standard feature to an option feature

CR used EAP but just called it AP.

 

[queuewho]

No excuses from me, enhanced autopilot in my 2018 model 3 was crap for all 4 years I had it. It would slam on the brakes any time a nearby car touched a white line, it would slam on the brakes at tunnels, it would slam on the brakes for seemingly zero reason what so ever. No updates changed a single thing about it. Service center did diagnostics and said everything checked out.

I used BlueCruise off and on down 95 a few days ago. I couldn't be more impressed with the performance of it.

 

[viennaxmas]

Now CR just needs to fix the "reliability" rating (well, Ford needs to fix that)

 

[Alan168]

To: F150ROD and others that experience phantom speed changes on Bluecruise. I have been startled by this several times, and after just completing a 100 mile trip, I may have a clue as to why.

I experienced 4 sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise - some changes increased my speed and some decreased my speed. I eventually noticed the speed changes occurred after I went by a a speed limit sign that was different than my set speed. For example, I was doing about 59mph in a 55 mph zone and went into an area where the posted speed limit changed to 50 mph. My Lightning suddenly slowed to 54mph, surprising me and the car behind me. Please note I have my speed alert set 4 mph above the posted speed limit.

So, my theory is that Bluecruise is somehow looking at the speed limit signs and deciding on its own to change the vehicle speed (up or down) to bring it within the speed alert setting. If this is true, it's a BIG problem, as in my case, I was almost rear-ended by the car behind me because my Lightning suddenly slowed down.

Has anyone else found a correlation between speed limit signs and sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise? If this turns out to be the connection, than Ford should change the software. It's dangerous for a vehicle to suddenly speed up or slow down without the driver's direct input. No way I want my vehicle doing any speed other than my set speed!

I don't drive my truck very often in the winter but I'm going to try and test this theory in the next couple of weeks.

 

[F150ROD]

To: F150ROD and others that experience phantom speed changes on Bluecruise. I have been startled by this several times, and after just completing a 100 mile trip, I may have a clue as to why.

I experienced 4 sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise - some changes increased my speed and some decreased my speed. I eventually noticed the speed changes occurred after I went by a a speed limit sign that was different than my set speed. For example, I was doing about 59mph in a 55 mph zone and went into an area where the posted speed limit changed to 50 mph. My Lightning suddenly slowed to 54mph, surprising me and the car behind me. Please note I have my speed alert set 4 mph above the posted speed limit.

So, my theory is that Bluecruise is somehow looking at the speed limit signs and deciding on its own to change the vehicle speed (up or down) to bring it within the speed alert setting. If this is true, it's a BIG problem, as in my case, I was almost rear-ended by the car behind me because my Lightning suddenly slowed down.

Has anyone else found a correlation between speed limit signs and sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise? If this turns out to be the connection, than Ford should change the software. It's dangerous for a vehicle to suddenly speed up or slow down without the driver's direct input. No way I want my vehicle doing any speed other than my set speed!

I don't drive my truck very often in the winter but I'm going to try and test this theory in the next couple of weeks.

Not for me, never had it slow down it has always sped up in the same sections on a daily basis. Posted speed limits range from 65-70. I am set on 70 for my 75 mile commute. The Phantom acceleration happens in 3 different sections, one speeds up to 75, the other 85 and one to 90 mph. I know when it’s going to happen so I am ready every single time.

The good thing is that because it is holding its speed based on the car in front it does not lunge forward, unless there is no car in front.

 

[Blainestang]

No excuses from me, enhanced autopilot in my 2018 model 3 was crap for all 4 years I had it. It would slam on the brakes any time a nearby car touched a white line, it would slam on the brakes at tunnels, it would slam on the brakes for seemingly zero reason what so ever. No updates changed a single thing about it. Service center did diagnostics and said everything checked out.

I used BlueCruise off and on down 95 a few days ago. I couldn't be more impressed with the performance of it.

Personally, I had some phantom braking at times with my 2018 Model 3, but overall, it was surprisingly good. I did a 100-mile trip with zero disengagements that drove me from one highway, took an exit to merge onto a different interstate, exited that interstate and drove me all the way to the entrance of my hotel in ~2019.

Blue Cruise may be better now overall, I don't know. I haven't driven the latest versions of each.

My comment about the whole rating system would be that if I'm buying it for me or my wife to drive, the only score that matters to me is "Capabilities and Performance". The rest carries near-zero weight because I'm going to pay attention, and I know when the system can be enabled (at least with Tesla because the answer is "almost always"), the Tesla system is exceedingly easy to use, and the chances of us becoming unresponsive suddenly is insanely low.

So, the rating system is sort of looking at it from a "what would be nice to have if we were just giving these out to everyone" rather than from a "what things does the actual buyer likely care about".

 

[Tony Burgh]

To: F150ROD and others that experience phantom speed changes on Bluecruise. I have been startled by this several times, and after just completing a 100 mile trip, I may have a clue as to why.

I experienced 4 sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise - some changes increased my speed and some decreased my speed. I eventually noticed the speed changes occurred after I went by a a speed limit sign that was different than my set speed. For example, I was doing about 59mph in a 55 mph zone and went into an area where the posted speed limit changed to 50 mph. My Lightning suddenly slowed to 54mph, surprising me and the car behind me. Please note I have my speed alert set 4 mph above the posted speed limit.

So, my theory is that Bluecruise is somehow looking at the speed limit signs and deciding on its own to change the vehicle speed (up or down) to bring it within the speed alert setting. If this is true, it's a BIG problem, as in my case, I was almost rear-ended by the car behind me because my Lightning suddenly slowed down.

Has anyone else found a correlation between speed limit signs and sudden speed changes while on Bluecruise? If this turns out to be the connection, than Ford should change the software. It's dangerous for a vehicle to suddenly speed up or slow down without the driver's direct input. No way I want my vehicle doing any speed other than my set speed!

I don't drive my truck very often in the winter but I'm going to try and test this theory in the next couple of weeks.

From user manual
1. BlueCruise only activates when all of the following occur:
• BlueCruise is enabled in your information and entertainment screen. See BlueCruise Settings (page 290).
• Adaptive cruise control is on.
2. Intelligent adaptive cruise control combines speed sign recognition and navigation map data with adaptive cruise control to adjust the cruise set speed to the speed limit detected by the speed sign recognition system. As the system detects new speed signs, the set speed updates.

 

[queuewho]

Personally, I had some phantom braking at times with my 2018 Model 3, but overall, it was surprisingly good.

When it didn't phantom brake it worked well. I couldn't trust it though.

Also, ford handles certain things just...better. When there's an on-ramp and the right side line disappears, Tesla always assumed we suddenly had a huge lane and we need to be in the center of it. Ford on the other hand, continues following the line it still has on the left, you know, like a person would.

 

[KennyB123]

You can absolutely disable the speed changing feature. The first time my truck lowered speed on me in a surprising manner, I knew I had to disable "speed sign recognition."

Now, the truck still sees speed signs and posts the speed in the bottom right corner of your front display, it just won't alter the speed you have your cruise control set at. Bluecruise still works perfectly.

 

[Rbert]

I agree, my speed changes whenever I pass a speed limit sign that increases or decreases the speed. The change in speed is the speed alert I set. Two problems I see are 1. unexpected changes that can be sudden, say from 55 to 35 or 35 to 55 and two it sometimes reads an exit speed limit sign and does unexpected changes on the highway, kind of like the Tesla fantom breaking.

 

[Blainestang]

When it didn't phantom brake it worked well. I couldn't trust it though.

Also, ford handles certain things just...better. When there's an on-ramp and the right side line disappears, Tesla always assumed we suddenly had a huge lane and we need to be in the center of it. Ford on the other hand, continues following the line it still has on the left, you know, like a person would.

I've heard people complain that Blue Cruise does the same thing, but maybe I misunderstood. I definitely experienced that with Autopilot.

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