Richard Solomon

Either regret getting it or regret *NOT* getting it...

I hear so much bad about Adaptive Cruise Control, it seems silly to pay an extra $3K, but I've not driven with it yet. I really like the idea of the top-view camera system but don't value that $3K worth.

I guess I'm looking for opinions pro/con especially from those who have 2nd thoughts about whichever choice they made.

TIA,
Richard

Brooklyn

I have a 2013 that I bought off the lot with Driver Assist. On the highway it works well and for long hauls I found it useful. I live in the DC area and picked up my car in FL and had to drive some 13+ hours to get it back home. Made extensive use of the adaptive cruise control on the way home and found it very helpful there. The distance interval is a bit longer than I would like, and I found myself getting flashed by people who couldn't understand why I kept maintaining such a large gap between myself and the car ahead of me. That said, it worked as advertised, and once I changed lanes to get from behind a slow mover or they moved out of the lane, acceleration was instantaneous.

That same response, however, makes it problematic for me in city driving. My commute to work involves a two lane road with a 50mph limit. Lots of traffic and lights. Setting the adaptive cruise to 50 on that road is a no-go. As soon as traffic clears, the car ramps up to 50mph rapidly, and that becomes tricky when I can see the next light is going to be red by the time I reach it. The radar senses other cars when you're within a certain proximity that results in rapid acceleration up to the established speed setting and then a massive application of brakes when it finally detects the cars stopped at the next light. A lower speed setting helps there, but it's an unfortunate limitation based on the reach of the radar sensor.

I don't seem to have the top-view camera, so I'm guess that's a newer addition to the package than was available at the time my car was ordered. Overall, I find the DA package to be useful under certain circumstances. If money were tight I might skip it, but otherwise I'd probably order it. With active lane assist included, I'd probably edge closer to it being a must-have purely for the safety benefits given the amount of driving I sometimes find myself doing.

Delurker

I wouldn't have bought the package before, but I would definitely buy it now. Not sure if Brooklyn knows, but you can adjust the cruise control following distance using the switch on top of the cruise control stalk.

I use active cruise control all the time in LA, and it does make me a little nervous once in a while running up on the car in front, but otherwise I think it works great.

Top-view camera didn't come with the DA package in 2013, only with the innovation package, but the backup camera is invaluable, as are the parking sensors. I'd never get this car backed into my garage an inch from the wall and a few inches from the shelves in the back every day without the parking aids. I also like the side assist.

ScrewBallVin

I like it.

I use it in the carpool lane, works great!

diverdan

The adaptive cruise control is useful, though even shortest distance setting creates a larger gap than I would prefer. I don't particularly care door the lane departure assistance (not sure if that is included with the DA package or just the innovation) and rarely turn it on. The top down view is definitely worth having.

snagitseven

You can also ease up the resumed closing speed somewhat by setting the MMI Car>Individual>ACC to Comfort. The settings control the rate at which the ACC responds to the following car, i.e. Dynamic adjusts to the preset interval faster, Comfort adjusts to the preset interval slower.

Brooklyn

Affirmative on the distance setting via the switch, but as diverdan notes below, even that allows for a pretty decent gap. That said, I'm not complaining about it too much. I'll have to play around with snagit's suggestion of setting it to comfort mode when employed. I have everything set at AUTO, so perhaps the Comfort setting might indeed help out. I shot from a light like a bat out of hell with a red light waiting for me a few yards down the road. People were giving me the "this *******" look the entire way!

CreoS4

+1 as this sums up my experience as well.

I have the top-view camera and one of the neat features is that you can have the display show the left/right view immediately in the front and the rear of the vehicle. So if you're parked into a space and there are two SUVs parked on either side of you, just flip on the appropriate camera view and you can pull out of the space without having to worry if a car is coming in either direction.

MalibuCANE

I got it on my 2014 and I love it. I was surprised how well ACC works and here in LA it's great for that slow rush hour traffic. The lane assist is also useful and the parking cameras including top view are a must have for me. I didn't get the innovation package and I don't wish I did but if I didn't get the drivers assistance package I would certainly regret it.

gatorguy7

I think they are really nice features to have. When I was looking for my car I wasn't looking to have every feature available. But now that I have them, I have come to find how handy and convenient they are to have. I use the ACC frequently in rush hour traffic which helps to ease the frustration that I'm driving a car with 420 HP that just wants to floor it. The top view camera is also a useful feature in many situations. Seeing some of these features on far cheaper cars, also makes me glad that I have them.