Cruise or right boot?

[Parksy]

I've recently upgraded my tow car and am now the proud possessor of a 2009 Kia Sorento 2.5 td which is very comfortable and has one or two things that my trusty old Trundle Truck lacked.
One notable addition is the cruise control.
I read however that cruise control can be very bad for fuel economy and I don't like to waste fuel.
We're off to St Ives in Cornwall with the caravan in tow first thing in the morning, the M5 will be quiet when we go so should I use cruise control or would I save a significant amount of fuel between the West Midlands and Cornwall if I simply used my right foot?

 

[Marbles007]

Cruise all the time if you can that's what its designed for the ecu controls the revs to keep fuel economy.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

ditto

 

[Dustydog]

A no brainer B)
Use the Cruise Control as much as you can. It knows better than your leaded boot.
Enjoy Polmanter!!

 

[Jaydug]

I disagree with the previous members. Yes! I use cruise control a lot even when I'm towing but whenever I come to a half serious hill, I knock it off, change gear and go up with a light touch on the pedal. If you keep it on cruise a modern turbo diesel will keep the grunt going but with a heavy fuel consumption. Switch to "Instant readout" when you hit a hill and see your fuel consumption sink to 5mpg. IMHO it's better to switch off, change gear, keep close to maximum torque figure and reach the top only a few seconds later.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

but whenever I come to a half serious hill, I knock it off, change gear and go up with a light touch on the pedal.

On our previous car the cruise control automatically dropped out when your foot was on the clutch, however our current car stays in cruise control when you change gear so you can change down and still stay at the preset speed going up hill. Mind you with the power/torque on our current car it does pull up most motorway hills without slowing down.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Parksy,

I must admit I would use cruise control simply becasue it one less thing to have to continually adjust - its just much more relaxing, and provided you set it correctly you can save your self from accidentally creeping above the speed limits. But if you are after ultimate fuel economy then it would have to be the right foot. However I would guess you'd need to be very careful to be able to make any significant saving.

The main reason is that unless you are towing with a Rolls Royce, which uses GPS and maps to pre-select the right gear for the road ahead, most cruise controls will only react after it has detected a change in driving conditions, so it will always slightly late and will over compensate for the change, but having said that there'r pretty good. Driving yourself you will of course be looking ahead and will automatically start to pre-select throttle, brakes and gears in advance of the change.

I think you will find that trying to beat the Cruise control requires a much higher level of concentration, so you need to ask yourself is it worth it, especially on the route to Cornwall that has some pretty good major roads, its just a long way.

May I suggest you try both cruise and lead foot over some well known routes to see if you can detect a significant difference. My suspicion is that other changing road conditions will swamp any difference in fuel economy you will realistically be able to detect, but i'll bet you'll notice how much more relaxed you are at the end of a journey.

 

[Dodger524]

Use it, the chances are that it will do a better job than a human driver. Switch the a/c on as well and ignore the fuel consumption.

 

[Jaydug]

our current car stays in cruise control when you change gear .

So it has an automatic gear box?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

our current car stays in cruise control when you change gear .

So it has an automatic gear box?

No - manual gear box. Cruise control is knocked off either by the button on the steering wheel or touching the brake.

 

[Marbles007]

our current car stays in cruise control when you change gear .

So it has an automatic gear box?

No - manual gear box. Cruise control is knocked off either by the button on the steering wheel or touching the brake.

Yours is not working correct then all cruise control work the same way so if you change gear and put the clutch down it will de-activate cruise control.

 

[Jaydug]

Yours is not working correct then all cruise control work the same way so if you change gear and put the clutch down it will de-activate cruise control.

Yes! I agree. You have a clutch switch which needs attending to. With it not working, unless you switch it off manually, there's nothing to stop the engine racing and taking up the next gear at a 'snatch' speed.

 

[KeefySher]

Cruise all the way. You're on holiday not a timetable

btw is the car auto or manual? If manual you'll soon find when you need to drop a cog.

Have you a sunroof? Open it and keep the a/c off.

Pour a bottle of injector cleaner in the tank before you leave and give it a flush in one run.

Most of all, enjoy your break

 

[Mogwyth]

Cruise control great for a relaxing drive, except 50mph roadworks as most people can't manage a steady speed or don't understand the meaning of average speed and slow down for the cameras!

Having had cars with cruise control for many years, I can say from experience its not so great for economy whether solo or towing, by its very nature it's designed for constant speed great for perfectly flat roads, not so good up and down even fairly modest inclines where you would might drop a few mph going up or gain a few going down. Plus that relaxing bit, one less thing to concentrate on and help you stay alert, the less you do the more your mind can wander.

 

[Perry525]

Having driven hundreds of thousands of miles without cruise control, I find it irritating. I am continually arriving behind slower vehicles and willing them to go faster and at the same time looking in the mirrors to find a gap in the traffic to pull out. Using my right foot, speed is instantly varied to the road conditions, it is less stressful. As far as hills go, the box changes gear to maintain 60mph, in no time the engine is screaming, heaven knows how much juice is being used. It is so more relaxing to just infinitely adjust ones speed on approach, and slip into the next lane.
Enjoy your holiday.

 

[Parksy]

The Sorento does have an automatic gearbox, we're setting off quite early with less traffic and I think that I'll go with the majority decision to use cruise B)

 

[tadhgocuilleain]

Use the cruise control - you'll find the drive far more enjoyable. If you spend the whole drive watching your speed, you'll probably be more efficient than cruise control but realistically, when you're talking, enjoying the view etc, your speed will drift up and down, which is less efficient.

I do the opposite to what others are saying, if I think my speed will drop before the cruise control reacts to the hill, I'll put my foot on the throttle to keep my speed steady until the cruise control catches up. Having said that, I rarely have to do that. My Ranger will happily tow at 80kph in 6th gear, and on steeper motorway hills I can hear the turbo working harder. I know that's the not the most efficient, but I think it's better driving than dropping speed on an incline.

 

[camel]

Cruising down that little back road namely the M5, enjoy yourself Parky and have a very nice Waldorf Salad if you are anywhere near the English Riviera,

Basil

 

[DrZhivago]

I read however that cruise control can be very bad for fuel economy and I don't like to waste fuel.

I don't know where you read that, but common sense should tell you to knock off the cruise control when meeting significant hills or twisty roads, as should your handbook. If a hill is steep enough to make the engine labour to keep up the speed commanded by the cruise control, then economy will go down.

I like using cruise control but find it less useful than I might have thought. Sooner or later, in fact sooner rather than later, you are going to come up behind a something doing 1-2 mph less than you are (typically a lorry if you are towing in the inner motorway lane) and you will need to re-adjust or knock it off until it is clear to pull out and pass.

 

[Jaydug]

I read however that cruise control can be very bad for fuel economy and I don't like to waste fuel.

See what Honest John, the Daily Telegraph Motoring writer says about it:-

One of your correspondents mentioned that cruise control increases fuel consumption. Is this true?

Yes, because it robs you of the sensitivity of control via your right foot. Motorways are surprisingly undulating. If you leave the tripmeter on "instant consumption" you can see the economy dive on an incline if you maintain speed. But if you lift off a little bit and lose maybe 5mph, you might maintain reasonable economy. On a descent the opposite happens. When you could increase speed without burning extra fuel, the cruise control slows the car and economy suffers.

 

[Anseo]

Different manufacturersmodels do not share a single cruise control program across the board, and there are variations within vehicle types, in some circumstancessituations they perform as you would wish them to and in other circumstances they don't, such as the variability of wind, weather, inclines, descents, loading etc. etc..

Economically, an attentive mind and a disciplined right foot will invariably be more frugal on fuel, on relatively flat straight (boring ) journeys, the relaxing pleasure of cruise control is very enjoyable and can indeed be beneficially restful, so yes, it has it's rewards.

I would caution that cruise control (in general) does not know what weightloads and types of goods you are carryingtowing, and consequently cannot take account of individual circumstances.

For instance, I would not engage the 'resume previous pre-set control speed' function on cruise control routinely, a 'sprinting' car pulling a load in an attempt to achieve a previously programmed speed setting within a manufacturer's set point can be quite, shall we say, exhilarating :woohoo:

I guess the preferred and safest start point is, make no assumptions as to how the vehicle will react under differing conditions until you have enjoyed experimenting under varying conditionsituations.
After all, you would be unlikely (and presumptuous) to drive a new-to-you different model vehicle exactly like your previous vehicle and expect it to perform exactly as your previous vehicle did.

Get to know your new vehicle and then relax and enjoy it in safety.

 

[Hutch]

3quote="Jaydug" post=433604]

Yours is not working correct then all cruise control work the same way so if you change gear and put the clutch down it will de-activate cruise control.

Yes! I agree. You have a clutch switch which needs attending to. With it not working, unless you switch it off manually, there's nothing to stop the engine racing and taking up the next gear at a 'snatch' speed.[/quote]

Parksey, car is An Auto. And is probably quoting the fact that when the brake is touched the Cruise control, "deactivates" I think a newbie to Cruise control will realise it just comes off cruise control and does not "swith off " as if you accelerate and then , foot off it resumes cruise. Doesnt sound like anything wrong, true in a manuel gearbox , brake or clutch touch will "de cruise" the system. And no switch it off, Parksey use it as you see nessacary, have a good time away.
Hutch.

 

[Dustydog]

WC. I agree with others yours is not working correctly.
If you dip the clutch and CC doesn't disengage your engine will tear itself to pieces.
The M5 has a few hills where decent needs more care. Remember you can use the hand CC controls to slow down speed up or switch off and then r engage as was.
A30 has some very steep hills where manual over ride is sensible.
However for the bulk of your journey CC will serve you well.
Ask yourself why aircraft use the autopilot for most of the flight.

 

[Hutch]

The Sorento does have an automatic gearbox, we're setting off quite early with less traffic and I think that I'll go with the majority decision to use cruise B)

DD and others. Parkseys Sorento is a Auto.
And the pilot and copilot eat and sleep at different times, all allowed under air regs.

 

[Gagakev]

Have a good time away Parksy, I'll give you a wave as you pass through B)

Sorry cant comment on CC.....................Ive NEVER had it on any vehicle