Super Cruise No Longer Best Active Driving Assistance System, Says Consumer Reports
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GM’s Super Cruise lost its number-one rating among active driving assistance systems, Consumer Reports said in a late-January report.
Ford’s BlueCruise is now the best such system on the market according to CR. Super Cruise now takes second place in Consumer Reports rankings, though it still places “way above the competition” compared to other systems tested.
The General’s semi-autonomous Super Cruise system enables the driver to go mostly hands-free during long intervals of highway driving. When navigating the freeway semi-autonomously, Super Cruise uses cameras, LiDAR mapping, GPS information and radar sensors to automatically steer and brake. While Super Cruise is good at highway navigation, one of its weaknesses is that it can’t be used off-highway.
Since driver attention must be maintained for safety, Super Cruise monitors the person sitting behind the wheel with a cabin-facing camera. Using the latter to watch the driver’s direction of gaze outperforms several competing systems’ reliance on the driver occasionally touching the steering wheel. Since it is easy to touch the wheel without looking at the road, Super Cruise’s camera-based system measures driver attention.
If the driver’s attention wanders, Super Cruise uses audible and visual warnings to get them back on task. If this fails, the system slows the car and eventually stops it. Covering the cabin-facing camera prevents Super Cruise from engaging at all.
The robust driver monitoring built into Super Cruise was the biggest factor putting it in first place in Consumer Reports’ January 2022 rankings. CR deemed the cabin-facing camera’s attention monitoring, and disengagement of semi-autonomous driving if the camera is covered, effective in keeping driver attention properly on traffic.
Super Cruise has won plaudits from several publications and organizations other than Consumer Reports. The American Automobile Association commended the Super Cruise driver monitoring system, again based on its driver attention monitoring. Popular Science named Super Cruise as one of its 100 greatest innovations of 2022 for similar reasons.
Ford BlueCruise edged out Super Cruise as Consumer Reports‘ top choice this year despite these strengths. BlueCruise scans the driver’s eyes with an infrared camera to accurately measure attention in all lighting conditions. Ford’s system uses audible chimes and visual cues to warn of inattention and generally works similarly to Super Cruise in this regard.
Where BlueCruise outshines Super Cruise, according to CR, is in collaborative driving. This feature enables the driver to briefly take over steering, “for example, if you need to swerve out of the lane to avoid a pothole or give some berth to a cyclist” in CR‘s words, without disengaging BlueCruise semi-autonomous driving. BlueCruise takes over again without needing to be re-engaged once the driver stops steering.
By contrast, Super Cruise completely disengages if the driver actively steers for even a second. Superior ease of use provided by BlueCruise’s collaborative driving was one of the factors putting it ahead of Super Cruise in Consumer Reports‘ latest evaluation. Another major point in BlueCruise’s favor, the publication says, is that it “can be used even when you’re not driving on the highway, while Super Cruise cannot.”
GM first deployed Super Cruise in the Cadillac CT6. Since then, the automaker has expanded use of the technology to other models across the Cadillac, Chevy and GMC lineups. Super Cruise is now operational on 40,000 vehicles, while the system’s road network doubled from 200,000 miles to around 400,000 miles by GM updates on select GM models in late 2022.
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Who would want to use these systems off-road? That just seems ridiculous. Additionally, don’t both systems require mapping of the roads and why would either brand be spending time mapping areas without roads?
Seems very odd. Though probably should expect that from CR.
Are you an idiot? Off-roasding use was never mentioned.
“By contrast, Super Cruise completely disengages if the driver actively steers for even a second.”
As a Super Cruise user, this is NOT accurate! If you take control the system goes “blue” and as soon as you release it goes back to “green”. This is just testing ignorance..
CR will decide not to recommend an entire car if they don’t like the way the window switches feel. You’d think they would be accurate if they wish to scrutinize so much. You are correct, ignorance.
I have a 2022 Bolt EUV and agree that Supercruise disengages and takes way, way too long to re-engage. I have seen it take 20 seconds to re-engage. I have never had it re-engage in less than 3 seconds.
People on coasts mock American cars yet Kia, Toyota, VW lack these innovations. Cruise should be helping sales but apparently not.
Cruise should have been spun off. It’s special, but as rivals like Ford catch up, it will be worth nothing in a few years. How did tiny, debt laden Ford accomplish this? 8 gotta give them credit
I agree – Super Cruise, and soon to be introduced Ultra Cruise, are options that should be competitive advantages for GM, but GM doesn’t promote the options. I’m thinking GM was slowly ramping Super Cruise to ensure it was safe for the mass market, and, second, GM was hit with the pandemic/chip shortage. I hope – I expect – when GM introduces Ultra Cruise they will really promote the option. I think GM will sell Ultra Cruise equipped vehicles as fast as they can make them, assuming reasonable prices for the vehicle and the option. We’ll see….
gm introduced SC for Cadillac thinking it would be a brand boost (it didn’t). Meanwhile, people are not all that interested in semi-auto driving.
Most people don’t even use cruise control on the highway. Anyone who uses cruise control knows this when they get on the freeway. gm waited too long to incorporate the tech company wide. It’s not all that special.
“People on coasts mock American cars yet Kia, Toyota, VW lack these innovations”. yeah, well at least they aren’t cost engineered to fall apart as soon as the warranty ends.
Meanwhile the Detroiters tell themselves “ALL cars break down” and just throws money away to buy another “American” car every 3 years or 36,000 miles.
Either system is not important to me. I like being in total control of my vehicle . I’m sticking with GM. Never owned a Ford product and never will.
Super cruise is interesting to try but to keep it at a cost of 25$ a month I cancelled
You are paying for Onstar Data Plan for Super Cruise, you get far more functionality with it than just Super Cruise.
Also you need to understand Maps and other things need upkeep so paying for it makes sense… Far Cheaper than what Tesla wants up front. Heck you even get Super Cruise for FREE for 3 years.
I just checked the Super Cruise web site and it is full of asterisks regarding the pricing. The text says unlimited data is included. That isn’t clear if that means use of the map data for navigation alone, and wether that includes Internet access to access the data.
With my 2017 Bolt, the OnStar services, if I wanted them, would be billed separately from the 4G to WiFi hotspot billed by AT&T. The OnStar subscription by itself does not include enabling the hotspot. It isn’t clear from the verbiage in the MyChevrolet app purchase section if OnStar also requires the AT&T subscription in order to work. I use CarPlay for maps and navigation, so I don’t have interest in the OnStar voice-only assistance. The pricing of the unlimited 4G data via the hotspot is currently $15/month.
GM uses the telematics to get performance data from the car and you get “free” fairly useless monthly e-mail reports abut your vehicle for three years. After that you can subscribe for $0 to keep getting the reports, but you’ve got to agree to some pages boilerplate legalese. GM can’t seem to be able to get the e-mail report right, reporting very unrealistic MPGe statistics and broken links to the owner portal web site which haven’t worked for several years. There are also readouts on things not present my EV such as engine oil status. Not getting this basic stuff right makes me wonder about GM’s software prowess, but theoretically GM’s corporate lawyers will see to it that Super Cruise isn’t outright dangerous.
I’m old school…I can’t turn over control of my car to a computer and a camera.
I think Consumer Reports is in 10th place in regards to evaluating vehicles! No not 2nd, about 10th. Complete joke!!!!
and here I go.
My 6 year old toyota, and my 1 year old BMW motorcycle have a form of active cruise control that I now consider essential. But my brand new Chevy (Corvette) does not.
The safety brought with active cruise control ( no fee to use), is awesome.
Safety first. Best thing to happen in my 40 plus years of driving.
Start with basic safety for everyone.
Super Blue Cruise Mobile whatever needs to be everywhere, for free.
Bring on your hate.
Adaptive Cruise is coming to 2024 Corvettes it seems, it’s included with the E-Ray. If I remember right.
Safety first and you purchased a fiberglass car. No hate. Just a funny observation. I agree completely.
cruise control is not a safety feature
Anyone who has traveled California interstates has probably encountered one, two, maybe a thousand pot holes.
With Super Cruise and Blue Cruise, if you have to monitor your road track in order to steer around pot holes and road lizards etc., why bother having “hands-free” control at all??
This may be true, but to unconditionally take consumer reports as gospel??!!
Consumer reports is a guideline!!!
They need to stick with washers and dryers.
And who the hell says off -highway?
They did!!
The same people testing the cars yesterday
are testing washers and dryers today.
I could care less about either. Would never use either. If I’ve got to stare at the road ahead without being able to look at scenery, I’m might as well be driving myself. Besides it would give me more stress worry when it might screw up while doing 70 mph.
Well said!!! So your the one doing 70?
My EV6 is like blue Cruz. I really like it. When you change lanes all you do is center in the new lane and the car takes over again.
I have Super Cruise in both of my Cadillac CT6’s. I love it and the way it responds when I get more distracted than I should. The seat vibrates, there is an audio announcement (which scares the hell out of passengers), and the green bar goes to red on the steering wheel. It also announces construction zones with an alert on the dash adding to safety for the workers as long as people slow down to the posted speed limits.
Contrary to SDW, you can look at the scenery, check mirrors and blind spots when the warning pops up in the mirrors. You arrive at destinations more relaxed and not as tired when using Super Cruise. Now, I don’t recommend using it in adverse weather, like snow and ice, but rain is OK.
I have been in a Blue Cruise car, and it scared the hell out of me when it suddenly crossed the center line on a 6-lane road. Not a warm and fuzzy feeling!
CR can keep its reviews and ratings…they have no idea what is going on in the world. They just want the money from the company and hook the subscribers. Let them evaluate laundry detergent and stay out of the vehicle evaluations.