Comparison: Ford Copilot vs Tesla Autopilot

[lightningandmache]

I recently spent a lot of time in a Tesla with Autopilot and was able to compare to Copilot (mostly hands on, but some Bluecruise).

Autopilot was better in sharper curves, but when it isn't ... wow, it's terrible! You can't simply steer the vehicle if you are unsure about the curve. The system fights you. On some curves it would drift toward the yellow and oncoming traffic so naturally you move to push it back...NOPE.

If driving near ramps and some exits on 2-lane highways Autopilot lurches toward the ramp. I'm sure the people behind me thought I was drunk. This was shocking. How do people use this system?

Want to change lanes? Good luck! You have to fully disengage the system or else it fights you.

I came away preferring Ford's implementation, which was unexpected.

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[GreaseMonkey]

Wow. I feel like Ford’s implementation is terrible enough, not sure how I’d deal with teslas! I’ll check it out again in 10 years

 

[lightningandmache]

Wow. I feel like Ford’s implementation is terrible enough, not sure how I’d deal with teslas! I’ll check it out again in 10 years

I find Ford's okay. I don't expect it to handle sharper curves, 2-lane highway intersections, etc. but it does still take a lot of the steering workload. Whenever you are unsure you can simply steer through the issue and the system stays on.

Maybe I'm mostly doing easy highways. What are your issues?

 

[samev]

Does the Tesla fight you harder when the curve is sharper (because the applied torque is stronger perhaps?), or can that (the fighting) be rectified via OTA without losing its ability to handle sharper curves vs. the Ford?

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I find Ford's okay. I don't expect it to handle sharper curves, 2-lane highway intersections, etc. but it does still take a lot of the steering workload. Whenever you are unsure you can simply steer through the issue and the system stays on.

Maybe I'm mostly doing easy highways. What are your issues?

Currently? I don’t have BC because my car is old. Like 7-months old. Apart from that, it still hugs the right too much and disengages frequently. I’m driving on highways with tight turns with the city. It does better on highways in rural areas.

 

[lightningandmache]

Does the Tesla fight you harder when the curve is sharper (because the applied torque is stronger perhaps?), or can that (the fighting) be rectified via OTA without losing its ability to handle sharper curves vs. the Ford?

In the curves it seems like it fights you much less because you are going the same direction it wants, but its default is to counter your torque and then eventually "release" which is imo a safety issue. There are many small instances where you want to adjust the car and fighting for control is not a good solution. I had to pass cyclists and potholes and when the system releases control you get an oversteer jerk.

 

[lightningandmache]

Currently? I don’t have BC because my car is old. Like 7-months old. Apart from that, it still hugs the right too much and disengages frequently. I’m driving on highways with tight turns with the city. It does better on highways in rural areas.

I'm usually on more open freeway and highway when I use it, so that is easier than urban.

So you don't have bluecruise but you have the original 1.0 Copilot with no updates?

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I'm usually on more open freeway and highway when I use it, so that is easier than urban.

So you don't have bluecruise but you have the original 1.0 Copilot with no updates?

I have whatever comes with the job2 2024s. I think it’s bc1.3

 

[lightningandmache]

I have whatever comes with the job2 2024s. I think it’s bc1.3

I find 1.3 to be pretty good on California roads at least. You're saying your 1.3 can't stay centered? Or just that it drops out of hands-free to hands-on on the sharper inner city curves? Maybe camera isn't calibrated?

 

[E90alex]

Coming from a Tesla with Autopilot (not FSD), I hated the Tesla system and never used it as a result.

 

[lightningandmache]

Coming from a Tesla with Autopilot (not FSD), I hated the Tesla system and never used it as a result.

Yes, it's weird because it is really good at base lane centering, but it's all the other issues that spoil it. Do you use the Ford system at all?

 

[E90alex]

Yes, it's weird because it is really good at base lane centering, but it's all the other issues that spoil it. Do you use the Ford system at all?

I’ve played with it a couple times and the Ford system seems to work smoother for me especially when coming up on slow/stopped traffic.

The big thing like you said is that Ford’s system doesn’t fight you and discourage the driver from making adjustments or making lane changes without completely canceling the system like Tesla does.

 

[Tampamike]

I’ve played with it a couple times and the Ford system seems to work smoother for me especially when coming up on slow/stopped traffic.

The big thing like you said is that Ford’s system doesn’t fight you and discourage the driver from making adjustments or making lane changes without completely canceling the system like Tesla does.

This is the part I really like about BC - you can easily override it, it doesn’t really fight back and it just resumes when you’re done - no disengaging and re-engaging.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

In my experience (driving my friend 2021 M3), autopilot fights for control but if you deign to steer more than the tiniest amounts it says f-you and turns off autopilot. Worse yet, it freaks out on curves through intersections. I stopped using it. I've found BC to be much better in similar situations (though I've not driven the two vehicles on the same road). I definitely prefer BC, though I do like some aspects of autopilot such as auto-resume on non-access controlled roads. The braking is smoother than with BC. But there's also the phantom braking issue with autopilot, while I very rarely have that issue with BC.

 

[T1328]

It really depends on 2 factors. Was the Tesla you were driving one with Hardware 4, where the cameras are far better? Meaning either the new Model 3 Highland (2024+), or the new Model Y Juniper (2025)? If so, it is better. But in reality, Tesla cheats folks with Autopilot into getting FSD. They give FSD for free for a month. With FSD, whether or not you use FSD or just use Autopilot, the Autopilot is about the best I’ve experienced. It’s better than Ford’s and better than Kia/Hyundai/Genesis (all of which I’ve driven). But once you unsubscribe from FSD, Autopilot goes to crap. Clearly the tech is there, but they want people subscribing to FSD for $100/month. Now if you drive a ‘23 or below Tesla, it sucks either way due to phantom braking etc because it’s cameras are far lower resolution.

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