Static vs Adaptive Cruise Control: What's the Difference?

Discussion
1

So when using cruise control, there are two modes to follow the car in front: adaptive and static. I’ve tried both, but I can’t really notice a difference. What mode do you use and why?

2

They’re the same if there’s no car in front. Adaptive cruise control will slow down to match the speed of the car ahead and speed up again when the way is clear.

3

Maria said:
They’re the same if there’s no car in front. Adaptive cruise control will slow down to match the speed of the car ahead and speed up again when the way is clear.

No, both options will slow you down and speed up. I’m talking about the distance option to the car in front, not the cruise control itself.

4

@Christopher
Ah, so you mean the following distance setting? I’m not sure what you mean by ‘static’ and ‘adaptive’ in that case. Following distance just adjusts how closely you follow the car in front.

5

I’m not sure why anyone would use static when adaptive is available. Switching to adaptive from an older car without it was a huge difference. Adaptive handles stop-and-go traffic really well.

6

Mark said:
I’m not sure why anyone would use static when adaptive is available. Switching to adaptive from an older car without it was a huge difference. Adaptive handles stop-and-go traffic really well.

That’s true, but adaptive cruise control can struggle in hilly areas. I was fine in Chicago, but when I took a trip out of town, the system didn’t see a car at the top of a hill. I had to slam on the brakes because the car sped up, thinking the way was clear.

7

@Howard
Fair point, but static cruise control would have done the same thing in that situation.

8

Mark said:
I’m not sure why anyone would use static when adaptive is available. Switching to adaptive from an older car without it was a huge difference. Adaptive handles stop-and-go traffic really well.

I’m not even sure how to turn on ‘static’ cruise control…

9

I didn’t know there was a static option. How do you activate it?

10

martin said:
I didn’t know there was a static option. How do you activate it?

You can switch it by pressing and holding the button to set the distance between you and the car ahead. You’ll see a notification on the dashboard when it switches, and the color will change from white to blue.