How to Use Adaptive Cruise Control on Your Porsche
Your Porsche has a lot of high-tech goodies, and one of the nicest things for those of us who drive any kind of distance in traffic, is the adaptive cruise control. Here’s how it works.
How to Use Adaptive Cruise Control on Your Porsche
Understanding It
If you’ve never used it before, ACC is an amazing system that allows you to get all the benefits of a traditional cruise control but now with a “smart” component that means your car or SUV can slow down or speed up automatically, depending on the traffic conditions. The first important part of this system is the dynamic speed regulation. This is the function where the system is constantly reading the distance between the vehicle in front of you so that it can adjust your speed to keep you exactly the right amount of space away from that vehicle.
But the ACC goes beyond that by working together with the Lane Change Assist system, which makes micro adjustments to keep you in your lane as the ACC controls your speed. When you want to change lanes, the two systems work together to make that smooth and intuitive. And if you get caught suddenly in stop-and-go traffic, the ACC system not only slows you down but can actually bring you to a complete stop as needed for up to 15 seconds. If the stoppage lasts more than 15 seconds, you’ll be prompted as the driver to input what needs to happen next.
Setting the Controls
Setting the controls is pretty intuitive. To set it to start, you have to be going 37 mph or more. Now the system still works as you drop below 37 mph: that’s just the speed you need to be at when you first set it up. The cruise control button is on a stock on the left side of your steering wheel, and you’ll push this button when you get to the speed you want to be at.
The controller on the steering wheel gives you the option to set the desired distance that you want between you and the vehicle ahead of you on the instrument cluster, but this is something you should do in advance, when you’re not actually driving. Once you’ve set that distance, every time you turn on the cruise control it will default to it. In order to turn the whole system off, all you need to do is press on the brake or press the cruise control button a second time.
If you want to learn more about the system, find out which models offer it, or get any kind of help with your Porsche, contact us today at Porsche Tysons Corner in Vienna, VA.