Where do you put your right foot when using cruise control

[Guest]

On the foot rest of course.

At least there's one for each foot in the 08 GTI

TIP - Save fuel - don't use the cruise control

S

[Purgi]

TIP - Save fuel - don't use the cruise control

S

So who to believe?

Cruise control has been shown to improve fuel economy...? What's your theory behind it having poorer fuel economy?

[blutopless2]

my cruise control is on more than it's off

same here.

[gregozedobe]

A really good driver who is concentrating hard can get slightly better fuel economy than cruise control in hilly country as cruise controls can't anticipate. A (human) driver can anticipate and build momentum at the bottom of a dip, similarly they can allow the car to go below the "specified" cruising speed as you go up a hill. But most of us will get worse fuel economy almost all the time, particularly on flat, straightish roads.

[benough]

So who to believe?

Cruise control has been shown to improve fuel economy...? What's your theory behind it having poorer fuel economy?

CC is reactive on hills where a person is proactive who can see ahead and push the throttle in advance to get up the hill.

From memory in the manual it says allows you can go up to 15km/h over your set speed before it cancels so just give it a bit of a squeeze before a hill. Simple

In a diesel you don't notice hills...

[Alfy]

on the foot rest next to the accelerator

[acdcfan]

to the right of the accelerator pedeal there is a flat section of plastic trim. Seems to be a comfy spot for me

Same here..... I like that spot

[Guest]

So who to believe?

Cruise control has been shown to improve fuel economy...? What's your theory behind it having poorer fuel economy?

Funnily enough I read somewhere just the opposite to what you suggest. I still have to see how the GTI goes with CC, I've only had 3 weeks.

But in over 20 years of driving (in other makes) and a fair bit of that country driving - i have found i personally get better economy if i limit the use of the CC.

CC is great when it's flat but the constant gear changing and power surges in even slightly hilly areas can't be good for fuel economy.

[Manaz]

I concur.

You can get better fuel economy without cruise control than with it, simply because cruise control can't predict what the road ahead will do. You know you're approaching a hill, so you can pick up a bit of speed when the engine load is low, rather than straining to maintain speed as the engine load is already picking up. You can also tell when you're about to crest a hill and judge when momentum will carry you through at the selected speed, whereas cruise control can't do this, and will generally burn fuel overshooting as the engine load lightens.

That's if you're an attentive driver who actually understands your car and how it operates. There's lots of people who simply don't know or care about this sort of thing, and for them, cruise control is probably more economical.

[Purgi]

I concur.

You can get better fuel economy without cruise control than with it, simply because cruise control can't predict what the road ahead will do. You know you're approaching a hill, so you can pick up a bit of speed when the engine load is low, rather than straining to maintain speed as the engine load is already picking up. You can also tell when you're about to crest a hill and judge when momentum will carry you through at the selected speed, whereas cruise control can't do this, and will generally burn fuel overshooting as the engine load lightens.

There's nothing stopping you from doing this with cruise control engaged as well, though.

The majority of the travel I do is flat road, I doubt I could achieve the same economy while maintaining the speed limit if I never used cruise control. The biggest benefit I find with cruise control is that I don't have to constantly check my speed incase plod is hiding in the bushes on the next bend.

Engaging cruise doesn't necessarily mean I completely disengage from the accelerator. The only complaint I have with modern fly by wire pedals is that the pedal no longer moves.

[gerhard]

Funnily enough I read somewhere just the opposite to what you suggest. I still have to see how the GTI goes with CC, I've only had 3 weeks.

But in over 20 years of driving (in other makes) and a fair bit of that country driving - i have found i personally get better economy if i limit the use of the CC.

CC is great when it's flat but the constant gear changing and power surges in even slightly hilly areas can't be good for fuel economy.

In my experience, cruise on 4cyl cars is crappy, surges a lot, applies too much throttle and backs off too much.

But the cruise on my v6 Jackaroo is superb. It samples engine load hundreds of times a second and adjusts the throttle in minute increments. It even performs very well on "camel humps".

I would say that the earlier 4cyl implementations were not good due to poor ECU integration, and that something like the GTI with its huge flat torque delivery, direct injection, ECU and drive by wire should be as good as my V6 if not better.

Something to find out when I get it

[dangerous_daveo]

Im parranoid so I hover the brake. On the plus, you have super fast reaction time on your braking.

The reason most articles say CC is best for economy is as above, most people can't drive or just don't care, so its a blanket. People who know and understand how their car works can do better. For me I don't really like it, I find I drive with the flow of traffic, so a normal cruise isnt any good for me.