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Cadillac Super Cruise: Review

Cadillac Super Cruise may have been conceived by a couple of GM engineers who were sick and tired of the Sunday drives on I-75 South from northern Michigan heading back to their Metro Detroit homes. It’s a grueling trek, and you’re bound to see the worst out of already bad driving habits, because everybody has to get home. And, guaranteed, somebody’s hung over stepdad spilled the contents of their trailer all over the interstate somewhere between Bay City and Flint, causing a backup all the way to Standish. Guaranteed that there are construction barrels festooning the main artery to and from the Upper Peninsula, because the trip is not to  be without some road work on our abysmal pavement. It all makes the drive up to enjoy the more scenic locations of Pure Michigan almost seem not worth it. But, this time was different, because I was piloting a 2018 Cadillac CT6 3.0TT with Super Cruise technology.

The chore of this Sunday drive home began at Oscoda – a small town on the coast of Lake Huron off highway U.S. 23. I was sleep deprived and sun burnt from a weekend of autocross in a highly prepped STS-class 1988 Honda Civic, and without a warm shower in days. I couldn’t have cared to drive any less, but that didn’t matter. Like the rest of the herd, I too, had to get home. I willed myself back on the road, a trunk packed full of camping gear, a Yeti tumbler full of coffee, and headed south.

GM Super Cruise in the 2018 Cadillac CT6.

The U.S. 23 stretch from Oscoda back to I-75 isn’t a divided multilane highway, nor has it been geofenced. Cadillac Super Cruise only works on freeways with opposing directional lanes clearly divided, so it was around an hour of manual-induced driving before reaching the congested interstate sanctuary. Once on I-75, I first conventionally activated adaptive cruise control in the 2018 CT6. From there comes the option to activate Cadillac Super Cruise. A press of another button engages a blue indicator light at the top of the steering wheel, and a prompt asking me to “center” the vehicle into the lane. When the CT6 was centered to the wishes of the system, the indicator light changed from blue to green, and it was time to take the hands off the wheel. The system works from a full stop to 85 miles per hour, can brake on its own, and will keep the car planted in whatever lane its for as long as desired.

That doesn’t mean I could take a nap, or look at my phone while driving. The lawyers at GM insist that Cadillac Super Cruise pays as much attention to you as it does the road with cabin-facing monitoring systems. Because in case of something, the driver has to be attentive enough to take the wheel in the blink of an eye. It’s perfectly fine reasoning, if you ask us, and demonstrates a layer of effort put into developing this system safely and thoroughly, rather than aggressively. If the system senses that the driver is not paying attention, the steering wheel light will flicker as a warning. If the driver continues to ignore the system will disengage, forcing the driver to pay attention.

It never came to this, but failure to obey the vehicle’s demands enough times will trigger a voice command from the car, which tells the driver to take control of the vehicle immediately. A Driver Information Center message from the instrument panel will then indicate that Super Cruise is locked out until the next ignition cycle – meaning the car will have to be stopped, and turned on again. Beyond this – failure to take over steering will cause the vehicle to slow in the lane and eventually brake to a stop, and an OnStar advisor will be called. The brake lights and hazard warning flashers will come on as the car sits in the middle of the freeway. This sounds like a failsafe for a medical emergency, as it’s hard to imagine somebody deliberately upsetting a vehicle up to this point.

2016 Cadillac CT6 Exterior - GM Authority Garage 03

Nevertheless, letting go of the steering wheel also took its fair share of getting used to, as Super Cruise has its own tactics when it comes to driving. Bends in the road, as you can imagine, trigger some marginal anxiety. One quirk about the system is, despite using LiDar mapping data that’s accurate down to 5 centimeters, the 2018 Cadillac CT6 never seemed to move with a sense of anticipation that there was about to be a bend in the road. Super Cruise seemed to perform very reactionary in these instances, and could be smoother. Road construction zones can also be a little abrupt for system, but we never experienced any sort of failure. Lane changing also requires human steering input, and Super Cruise will reactivate once the driver re-centers the vehicle in the new lane.

After some time, it became easier to recognize the road manners of Cadillac Super Cruise, and that’s when things really began to settle in. Drivers can take in the scenery a bit more, and put more thought into conversations they’re having with passengers, or bluetooth phone calls – something that workaholics are bound to capitalize on. And where the system really shines is in these congested situations exactly like these I-75 South Sunday Shleps, or any rush hour commute, when driving might as well be the most tedious thing on the planet. Cadillac Super Cruise doesn’t really hijack the driving experience as much as it removes the mundane trudges of freeway traffic and congestion while you decompress in the comforts of the CT6. And by 2020, expect more Cadillac products to receive this segment-exclusive system. We also expect some minor improvements and updates along the way, as well

Centering the 2018 Cadillac CT6 was the one aspect we never could one hundred percent figure out. Instead of true center, Super Cruise wanted the car shaded just offset to the right, like how a teenager learns in what Americans consider to be driver’s education class. The quirk about this style is that it never seemed to account for drivers in the adjacent lane to the right that might be shaded a few touches to the left. At times, it can make for an uncomfortable proximity, and that goes double for these scenarios around a sweeping interstate freeway turn. This is when I figured things were best left to my own driving technique, which simply means I get to be in control of a very well behaved large sedan.

Cadillac CT6 Super Cruise Driving Technology

The ride and handling of the 2018 Cadillac CT6 is rather astounding, as vehicles with these dimensions hardly ever drive with such a spring in their step. At nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and lighter still than the smaller Cadillac CTS, the Cadillac CT6 comes out ahead as a champion in the ride and handling department for full size vehicles, while still delivering a ride that could be nearly mistaken for a hovercraft. The vehicle’s bespoke Omega platform is an exercise of what’s possible for full size vehicle dynamics, but at the same time, feels misplaced. It’s misplaced because this is a segment where high speed cornering abilities are not considered to be a high priority from its target market. The Cadillac CT6 had a lot of investment in what customers can not immediately see, nor touch, and instead has a cabin with (some) GM parts-bin components, and black plastic buttons and knobs where they would otherwise be metal or bespoke in other esteemed marques. Yet the trump card for the CT6 is Cadillac Super Cruise, because there is no greater joy to be found for a luxury vehicle owner than to have a standout feature that the other guy doesn’t.


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Former staff.

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Comments

  1. Still better than Canadian “driver education”…Canadian Tire special. lol

    Reply
  2. The system does not just stop if you aren’t paying attention like the writer says. Please check things before u write about it. It will pull over and stop.

    Reply
    1. The system will not pull you over – it merely disengages and alerts you.

      Reply
      1. This was looking to be a nice article, right up to the point you decided to be subjective with your esteemed marques poke. I was even going overlook the unneeded description “and make” of you highly prepped autocross car plug, we should all be so lucky? I guess you would overlook the rough, loud ride of a pick up truck if it has metal buttons and knobs!

        THIRD ALERT
        If the steering wheel light bar flashes red for too long, a voice command will tell you to take control of the vehicle. Take control of the steering immediately; Adaptive Cruise Control and Super Cruise will disengage. A Driver Information Center (DIC) message will indicate that Super Cruise is locked out. Super Cruise cannot be re-engaged until the next ignition cycle. Continued failure to take over steering will cause the vehicle to

        slow in your lane of travel and eventually brake to a stop

        and an OnStar® advisor will be called. The brake lights and hazard warning flashers will come on.

        https://www.cadillac.com/ownership/vehicle-technology/super-cruise

        Reply
        1. fastyle, are you inferring that the interior of a Cadillac flagship sedan should have plasticky touch points like the door-mounted seat adjusters? Or that a CT6 should be compared to a prepped car designed to do one thing?

          Reply
          1. This was not a comparison test or a whole car review was it? It was a “Cadillac Super Cruise: Review” Did you point out any other qualities of this car over the “esteemed marques”?

            Or do you feel it doesn’t have any? Would you have rather driven the “highly prepped autocross car” home?

            You had to steer out of your lane for a poke.

            Reply
            1. Apparently it didn’t come off to you that the Super Cruise system was a welcome feature for a drive home after a long weekend. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Did you want to just read about how perfect the system is?

              Reply
              1. Your poke wasn’t about the Super Cruise system which was the subject of this article. Was the interior of the CT6 not up to your standards?

                Was there ANYTHING about this car that was superior to, or at least better then it’s competition? You didn’t point to any!

                I have never been in one (not my cup of tea) but,
                https://media-dmg.assets-cdk.com/websites/content/4b0a7db79a024639a21fd22f74001d15.jpg
                Looks pretty nice to me!

                Point being, there always seem to be a poke towards GM on this website.

                I’m sure there are others that the same impression as well!

                Reply
                1. The photo doesn’t show the plastic seat adjusters, or the ignition button from the Chevrolet Cruze. This is a Cadillac full size sedan we’re talking about here. You admit that you haven’t been in one – have you been in a comparatively priced Mercedes, or Lexus, or Audi, or BMW? No? Okay.

                  I also don’t think you read the take closely enough.

                  “At nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and lighter still than the smaller Cadillac CTS, the Cadillac CT6 comes out ahead as a champion in the ride and handling department for full size vehicles, while still delivering a ride that could be nearly mistaken for a hovercraft. The vehicle’s bespoke Omega platform is an exercise of what’s possible for full size vehicle dynamics…”

                  “…the trump card for the CT6 is Cadillac Super Cruise, because there is no greater joy to be found for a luxury vehicle owner than to have a standout feature that the other guy doesn’t.”

                  This is also GMAuthority.com Not GMHomerFanBoySite.com.

                  Reply
                  1. There it is, the ugly within! Yea, i’m a GM fan I am.

                    I also don’t think you read the take closely enough. ooh, I read it, I said it looking to be a nice article, right up to the point you decided to be subjective about the car itself. If you want to critique the car do a full review if you haven’t already.

                    “there is no greater joy to be found for a luxury vehicle owner than to have a standout feature that the other guy doesn’t.” By that did you mean the “mixed material architecture”? The first!
                    I’ll take superior engineering with a few borrowed parts over metal pasties any day.

                    Don’t get so worked up, opinions are like a-holes. We all have one and sometimes they stink!

                    “This is also GMAuthority.com” Yea! I know!

                    Last five pages, 14 articles per page.
                    Site #1 Total reader participation 467 minus my 10 posts (just to be fair)
                    Site #2 Total reader participation 70
                    Site #3 Total reader participation 60
                    Care to guess?
                    This site has more responses to articles about other brands also posted on the other sites!

                    Stay classy! …haven’t had use that one in a while!

                    Reply
    2. THIRD ALERT
      If the steering wheel light bar flashes red for too long, a voice command will tell you to take control of the vehicle. Take control of the steering immediately; Adaptive Cruise Control and Super Cruise will disengage. A Driver Information Center (DIC) message will indicate that Super Cruise is locked out. Super Cruise cannot be re-engaged until the next ignition cycle. Continued failure to take over steering will cause the vehicle to slow in your lane of travel and eventually brake to a stop and an OnStar® advisor will be called. The brake lights and hazard warning flashers will come on.

      Reply
      1. I never bothered to aggravate the system to beyond the first warning. That sounds like it was designed for an unconscious driver. Sounds like it also doesn’t “pull over” – but parks itself in the middle of the road.

        Reply
      2. You beat me to the punch Neb, but my punch was a little harder!

        Reply
  3. Everytime I read the word “bespoke” in an article = douche.

    Reply
  4. This is only the beginning! And I cant wait for the advancements to continue. This type of technology will be common place in less then a decade Nd I cant wait!

    I love to drive and I hope I will be able to drive my old truck for years to come, but driving down the freeway during rush hour has turned into a pain in the ass! Or driving down the freeway in the middle of nowhere where driver into is next to nothing.

    One day it will be nice to get into the car select home, work, or a destination and sit back and relax during the drive!

    The people who hate this new technology need to get a life, stop trying to keep technology from moving forward. I love this new direction and you should to because one day we will all have one to enjoy!

    Reply
  5. Hey I have one of the best online game that the people loves to play online just from here play free bejeweled game which you will play online for free without any charges.

    Reply
  6. Buyer Beware!

    Cadillac has issues with the hardware for GPS and you cannot get replacement for months!

    Additionally, OnStar only supports Super Cruise via a special group who only work Monday thru Friday…although most long drives are done on weekend and thus most issues are during this time. You will be on hold with OnStar for very long time, and find you have to call back as they are not able to fill a ticket for the special super cruise team.

    Customer service on both sides GM and OnStar are not equipped to address issues in a timely manner and if you are purchasing specifically for Super Cruise you will be disappointed!

    Reply

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