Tesla is famous (or in some circles, infamous) for its Autopilot driver assistance system, but it isn’t the only game in town. Other automakers are developing their own autonomy features, and Cadillac has a system on the market: Super Cruise, which debuted this year on the CT6 luxury sedan.
Dan Edmunds and Jason Kavanagh, of the automotive consultancy Edmunds, tested an Autopilot-equipped Tesla Model 3 and a Super Cruise-equipped Cadillac CT6 to compare the two systems, and presented their road test in a new video.
Autopilot and Super Cruise both combine adaptive cruise control with autosteering (Level 2 automation, according to SAE’s definition). Neither claims to be a completely autonomous driving system.
Above: Tesla’s Autopilot takes on Cadillac’s Super Cruise (Youtube: Edmunds)
Heavy stop-and-go freeway traffic is where driver assistance systems shine, so Dan and Jay take the two cars out on the infamous Santa Monica freeway during the morning rush hour. Both systems handle the horrendous traffic fine, but there are important differences between them.
As Jason notes, Autopilot wants you to keep your hands on the wheel, but if you grip the wheel too tightly, it will return the car to manual control. Tesla drivers learn how to apply just the right amount of pressure to the wheel. Unlike Autopilot, Super Cruise doesn’t require the driver to lay hands on the wheel at all – it uses a set of sensors on the steering column to verify that you’re keeping your eyes straight ahead.
Super Cruise works only on limited-access highways that have been mapped by the system (this seems to include pretty much every Interstate highway in the US). Autopilot will theoretically work on any road that has clearly defined lane markings, but Jason finds (as other drivers have) that once you get off the highway and onto smaller two-lane roads, its lane-keeping performance can be pretty poor.
This video was produced in February, and Tesla has updated the Autopilot system since then. Edmunds has a new video in the works that test the latest update, so stay tuned.
===
Note: Article originally published on evannex.com by Charles Morris; Source: Edmunds
Top Rated Comments (view all)
Discuss: Model 3
Log in with:
Or sign up with TESLARATI:
Tesla's autopilot system is good, but not quite there yet. I think the next few updates will continue to improve things. Meanwhile the caddy is as good as it will ever get and will not improve with updates.
This said Cadillac couldn't do over the air updates, however GM can always do local load updates within the service center if the cruise software permits. It fails to mention this, although it would require a service call.
Autopilot may have the potential to be so much more, but it remains mostly adaptive cruise control and advanced lane keeping after so many years of PR.
Adaptive Cruise Control and Auto Steer is kinda what Autopilot is all about. Sure, there are things like the promised auto freeway exit, and things like better collision warming, or better blind spot detection that Autopilot should pursue but honestly, anything that gets into "self-driving" territory will probably fall under the Full Self-Driving option.
I am still curious how Tesla will implement Full Self-Driving from a UI perspective. Will drivers continue to do the double tap of the stalk for autopilot but do 3 taps for FSD or will the double tap do FSD instead of AP? I am thinking that FSD will probably replace AP so drivers will just need to do the double tap to engage FSD.
I also feel like the review makes it seem like keeping your hands on the wheel for autopilot is a bothersome task. It really isn't. Just keeping your hand rested on the bottom of the wheel is enough to satisfy autopilot. I also have never had an issue with applying too much pressure and disengaging auto-pilot by mistake.
Autopilot may have the potential to be so much more, but it remains mostly adaptive cruise control and advanced lane keeping after so many years of PR.
I have a feeling that Tesla will release another big Autopilot soon, so here's to potentials!
