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Currently have two cars; one Mazda '14 3 with AEB, Lane Departure alert, radar cruise, BLIS, rear cross alert - and the other an '11 Outback with none of that (but DSC and ABS, as well as AWD). The assists are certainly helping more than anything, so I feel that the Mazda is much safer to drive in heavy traffic than the older Outback. The cruise has autonomy over controlling the speed only, and applying brakes, but it is still autonomy. Of course since my hands never leave the wheel it may not fit with what you have in mind. Having said that, Mazda (or Bosch?) really nailed their radar, having never failed to pick up motorbike riders even though the manual warns us to not expect it to work. I feel more confident in a system where the ambition is smaller, yet execution more solid. Fwiw I also tested the AEB against cardboard boxes driving through them at 30km/h not moving accelerator at all, and came away very impressed by the system. It intervened so last second I felt for sure it wasn't going to work, but it did - first time was a very slight impact, next two were complete stops with small margins. This stuff is guaranteed to save lives and prevent costly crashes (I generally refuse to use the word "accident") on a grander scale. |
I do love that even though they have a ton of driver alerting features, hands have to be on the wheel at all times.
Either you have full autonomy without hands or you don’t. There is no middle ground, it’s a recipe for a disaster.