Jon H

Have a 2024 loaner for a few days - is it possible to defeat the Active Cruise Control?

VAGfan

Turn it off in the menu.....

wingless

That is the reason I'm remaining w/ my 2022 Macan, because I want / need / use a conventional cruise control and do not want a vehicle w/ a dynamic cruise control. Not an option to deselect that device on later model years because Porsche made it standard.

wwahl

Curious as to what the difference is to you in your driving style?

wingless

My vehicle operation requires active and continuous engagement and involvement of the operator.

IMO having the vehicle "maintain" the specified safety cushion instead of the operator significantly disengages the operator from required active scanning of near and far traffic conditions.

Safety is significantly decreased because of that operator disengagement.

When I'm driving I want / need to remain focused on driving. To that end I use the tap up / down on the cruise control to maintain the safety cushion AND to ensure I am alert and engaged in driving. When required I will also disable cruise and exceed the setpoint to place the vehicle into an area devoid of other traffic.

It is unfortunate and wrong that Porsche does not permit the operator to toggle this system to function like a conventional cruise control, given that they now force new vehicles to include this system. I am unwilling to take that safety hit by purchasing a vehicle w/ the active cruise control.

schnell

I totally agree with you about maintaining an active and alert engagement while driving-- after all, that's hopefully why we own a Porsche!

I suspect there are safety arguments to be made for not having both systems. I personally do use the active cruise controls on both my vehicles that have it, often in 2-lane road situations where traffic speeds change a lot (or I use no cruise control and "hand fly" it). But on one of my other vehicles it is too easy to engage the conventional cruise mode instead of the adaptive cruise, which as you know will happily drive you into the rear end of the vehicle ahead (at least it will try until the collision warning kicks in).

What I do pay special attention to on limited access highways, when using the adaptive cruise, is my speed-- if my vehicle speed starts dropping as I am coming up behind another vehicle in the right lane, it is time to look left, signal, and change lanes

Tpup

The cruise control system does not change driver engagement or driver safety, the driver does. I would not buy a new car without it.

If it cannot be turned off how does it work in heavy rain? My Lexus will shut off in heavy rain. It can then be turned to "manual" so it will work in rain.

wwahl

I have the ACC on my car. Over the past six years, twice I have had someone cut in front of me and slam their brakes on. The ACC immediately applies the brakes faster than I would have. So with that in mind, I find the ACC to be very helpful to keep my car pristine.

CavallinoRed

Be interested in knowing your reasoning as why you would not want ACC. If there is not a car ahead of you, wouldn't it do the same thing?

#1SomeGuy

If the roads are anything like here, there's always traffic in front...that's where ACC is supposed to shine, but it leaves a gap that people cut into, causing the vehicle to automatically slam on the brakes to reset the distance. Or you'll be closing on a slower vehicle and rather than maintaining speed where you can move to another lane and continue around, it slows you down and now you have to deal with it manually.

I specifically ordered my 21 Macan without ACC because I hate the behaviour of radar cruise and you can't switch modes. It's ridiculous that Porsche doesn't allow both modes, my Lexus does...hold the stalk forward and it switches to regular cruise mode. Best of both worlds.

CavallinoRed

I totally forgot about the other a**holes on the road. But in that kind of traffic, I wouldn’t think using any sort of cruise control would be a good idea.

Will admit that I do not have ACC on my Macan but do on another and the sudden breaking when you’re using it and someone cuts in front is a jolt. But if you’re traveling at a set speed with non ACC and someone jambs into the gap, wouldn’t you just hit them if you’re not paying attention?

Being said. Would be interested as well if you can set ACC to behave more like standard cruise control. At least until the AI catches up to the real world that is.

#1SomeGuy

Nah, you'd maybe knock the regular cruise back a notch or two, but you'd likely coast without braking...at least I would.

Driving the 400 series highways up here, ACC just doesn't work but I use regular cruise to keep me from speeding too much when things briefly open up.

DHL

I hate the nanny state driving aids imposing themselves on my driving. What did you do 20 years ago when a clown cut in front of you and slammed on the brakes? You slammed on yours. Its why you have a Porsche to begin with. Superior brakes among other things.

wingless

Yes, the ACC was developed specifically for American "drivers".

There is no way any radar system can ever approach the safety of an alert and engaged driver, actively scanning the entire environment, actively modifying position and velocity, including looking for overtaking vehicles that suddenly brake.

As expected, there are many studies showing statistically decreased operator engagement when relying on systems like ACC. Here is an example report, including this conclusion based on analysis: "took more frequent and longer glances at non-driving-related tasks and spent less time with their eyes on driving-related tasks".

I remain unwilling to suffer decreased engagement and the associated expected safety impairment from ACC, but for sure, it is statistically good to have it in American's vehicles.

IMO, Porsche should have a menu option for the few unwilling to purchase vehicles w/o the ability to toggle to legacy cruise control.

Larson E. Rapp

I use ACC all the time, find it indispensable on long highway drives, and will never buy another car without it. But no, its behavior is not well-tuned to promote smooth traffic flow. Like many features on a modern Porsche, it behaves as if it were designed by talented engineers who take a bus to work.

If it weren't for the roar-up-behind-the-car-in-front-and-slam-on-the-brakes behavior, it would be fine. It is simply too eager to hit the brakes, in general.

Note that automated emergency braking is the mandatory part. At least in the 95B.2 models it can (and should) be disabled in normal driving, as it is a genuine hazard. Unfortunately, it is always enabled while ACC is in use. So you can get bogus "COLLISION WARNING!" alarms every so often while ACC is in use, and there is no way to prevent those.