Cruise Control

rugbyleague

This might be a noddy question......

Is a car more effecient when on cruise control than if you drive it normally on the motorway?

I guess this depends on the driver but vs the average driver?

Ian

Rossy.

I've always found that it uses more fuel

It's handy to have, but if i'm totally honest, i hardly ever used it due to the increased fuel consumption

Example

Car was a Renault Sport Clio 197 (2.0 litre 16v - 197bhp)

I used to travel from London to South Wales (Caerphilly), which is roughly 185 miles

With cruise control and it set to 70, i used between a 1/4 and 1/2 a tank of go go juice

Without cruise control and it set to 70, i could easily do it with 1/4 of a tank, sometimes less

This is just my opinion though from experience in this type of car

Kira000

I have a manual gear box Fiesta 1.6tdci with cruise control. I confess to being mildy obsessed with my MPG, and therefore usually have my trip computer set to show current MPG usage.
On evidence in this car, i get better MPG when in CC than manually controlling the speed. Eg, manually at 50mph, i might be at 48.5MPG, when i then flip to CC, the MPG goes up to something like 78MPG.
Similar difference at lower speeds as well.

Having said that, i think it varies wildy depending on the car. I have used a hybrid auto gear box toyota for work, and tried the CC which sucked up petrol like nobodies business. Nearly got me stuck with an unexpectedly empty tank!

K

Hammyman

rugbyleague wrote: »

This might be a noddy question......

Is a car more effecient when on cruise control than if you drive it normally on the motorway?

I guess this depends on the driver but vs the average driver?

Ian

For me, no but then again I've done an economical driving course.

However the difference is within a few percent. For some drivers it would be an increase in economy.

forgotmyname

If you a crap driver then CC may improve your MPG by keeping to a constant speed.

Normal drivers who do not drive like looneys dropping gears and flooring the throttle to overtake
a car in front doing 0.000001mph less than they want to go will see consumption get worse.

I can do better with the cruise control off, I can anticipate hills and speed up or slow down before
rather than the cruise kicking in with harsh acceleration.

maninthestreet

I used CC on a trip back from Cardiff to Reading. Set at 60mph, I managed 53.5mpg for the journey. Car is a 1.8 petrol engined vehicle.

marlot

I've always managed better fuel consumption without the CC. The CC tends to use too much throttle going up hill (where I would back off slightly and let the car slow maybe 5mph). CC is brilliant for average speed limits through roadworks though.

almillar

Yep, CC is a useful tool, especially on long flat straight empty motorways, and can potentially save fuel here. Cheapest way to drive is at constant throttle, so if you hit a hill, you need to have anticipated it and let the car slow down a bit, having used the momentum before. CC can't see that hill, and always reacts to what happens on the road instead of being able to anticipate.
CC can help when driving in light traffic if your one of those drivers that always has to overtake, the CC will show you that you're constantly doing (for example) 70, and the temptation to speed up is removed.
If you're concentrating, you can drive smoother, if you're not, CC can help, and will reduce tiredness and increase comfort on long journeys.

Lum

In my case regular use of CC has virtually eliminated pain and cramps in my right foot on long journeys. I don't really care if it makes the fuel consumption worse, the price is worth it.

Only advice I'd give is, if you plan on taking your foot off the pedals when using CC, practice finding the brake pedal in a hurry. Last thing you want to do is hit the clutch (or even worse, the accelerator) by mistake when someone pulls in front of you.

Flyboy152

rugbyleague wrote: »

This might be a noddy question......

Is a car more effecient when on cruise control than if you drive it normally on the motorway?

I guess this depends on the driver but vs the average driver?

Ian

Generally speaking, in my experience, yes, the fuel consumption is better with the cruise control. If you leave it up to the car to decide how much fuel it needs, it tends to be far more accurate than your right foot.

Mark_Hewitt

Kira000 wrote: »

I have a manual gear box Fiesta 1.6tdci with cruise control.

Snap!

I love my cruise control, I use it pretty much all the time (when I can!)