Impressed with Co-Pilot 360. Bay Area traffic? NO PROBLEM!

[Maric]

I did A LOT of driving this weekend for Mustang Day. About 500 miles of freeway where I used Co-Pilot 360 for a majority of the driving.

I have to say I'm really impressed with this feature. I drove Bay Area freeways (a nightmare if you have not had the pleasure) and it was really relaxing letting the car drive itself. I put the top speed at 80mph, picked a fast lane, and just let the car follow at closest distance 360 allowed. Always had my hand on the wheel but only to keep 360 active. The car kept a perfect buffer between the MachE and the lead car. When the freeway came to a halt the MachE adjusted accordingly, no harsh braking. Resumed acceleration accordingly. A couple times I engaged the brake just in case but 90% of the time the car perfectly predicted the force needed to stop on it's own. The car stayed centered extraordinarily well. I kept asking the passenger if from their perspective the car was hugging the right line. From the drivers seat I felt I was too far right. They told me every time I asked "Nope, perfect center". My range is finally topping 270. I managed to break 300 miles on a single charge on the First Edition yesterday. Caveat, even though I set the top speed at 80, that was just to make sure I was keeping up with cars but the majority of trip I was around 70mph, I had no passenger this leg, and it was a very flat, non hilly stretch of road. Temperature was in low to mid 80s.

I had one close call as a Porche driver in Concord decided to whip into my lane. Apparently I was in his blind spot. I deftly avoided him. I thought for sure he'd catch my rear passenger flank but I lucked out. This car is a tank, but it's a nimble tank!

I was just really happy with how relaxed I was after two very long trips. This really makes me look forward to BlueCruise.

Really loving this car.

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[macchiaz-o]

it was really relaxing letting the car drive itself

Nice write up of your experience... And what a great way to celebrate Mustang day!

Can I just point out that Mach-E cannot drive itself? Even with BlueCruise later this year, Mach-E will not be driving itself.

As you pointed out in your story, there are times where you needed to quickly maneuver the vehicle. This might be true even with BlueCruise. Like all passenger vehicles sold to the public today, it's at best SAE Level 2 automation, not an autonomous vehicle.

 

[MurphyDog]

It’s my birthday today and we decided to spend it in Santa Cruz. On the way home I used adaptive cruise and lane centering on highway 17 and it rocked. Traffic was terrible and slow moving and I’m confident it would have done the entire drive hands free if that was an option.

 

[Maric]

Nice write up of your experience... And what a great way to celebrate Mustang day!

Can I just point out that Mach-E cannot drive itself? Even with BlueCruise later this year, Mach-E will not be driving itself.

As you pointed out in your story, there are times where you needed to quickly maneuver the vehicle. This might be true even with BlueCruise. Like all passenger vehicles sold to the public today, it's at best SAE Level 2 automation, not an autonomous vehicle.

I know it’s not full self driving but self braking, acceleration, following the road without any input from the driver to me is driving itself. Of course I’m aware at all times and ready to take control as needed. Hundreds of miles of driving and the need for me to do anything was very rare.

 

[mcyee1]

Thanks - this was a really nice review and reflects my experiences in the Bay Area as well. Quick question - and I’m sure this has been asked and answered many times - why does the Active Cruise sometimes drop to 62 MPH especially when I first turn it on? Is there a setting I’m missing? I too am loving the car!

 

[Maric]

It’s my birthday today and we decided to spend it in Santa Cruz. On the way home I used adaptive cruise and lane centering on highway 17 and it rocked. Traffic was terrible and slow moving and I’m confident it would have done the entire drive hands free if that was an option.

I have a lot of experience on that road. (I love Santa Cruz and the mountains in that area). I bet it’s a blast driving it in the MachE.

 

[Maric]

Thanks - this was a really nice review and reflects my experiences in the Bay Area as well. Quick question - and I’m sure this has been asked and answered many times - why does the Active Cruise sometimes drop to 62 MPH especially when I first turn it on? Is there a setting I’m missing? I too am loving the car!

I honestly have not noticed that. The initial speed always seems to be set at whatever speed I’m at when I engage Active Cruise. I’ll have to watch for that.

 

[timbop]

I honestly have not noticed that. The initial speed always seems to be set at whatever speed I’m at when I engage Active Cruise. I’ll have to watch for that.

same for me

 

[ChasingCoral]

I've been really impressed with ICC/ACC in the first 4,000+ miles of driving. BlueCruise will be great!

 

[EV Lab]

Ditto for me... I use ACC every day in my commute and it's always been helpful.

 

[gnaark]

CoPilot 360 is so great. I use it all the time in Dallas heavy traffic and it feels great and way less stressful. You really feel like the car has your back.

My only complaints so far are:
- the intelligent speed limit recognition that sometimes picks up the exit speed limit or the frontage road speed limit so I disabled that feature for now.
- the car doesn't remember the latest distance between cars that you like so you have to manually adjust it every time. It'd be great to save the distance you prefer as your default.

The collision warning is great too and really pulls you in for attention in case you didn't react fast enough.

 

[deadduck]

Regular ACC is a blessing on 1 because there’s so much traffic and this isn’t even it at its worst, Covid4ever, at least for traffic. I don’t do 17 much but it’s ACCable for the most part as well.

The other day I borrowed my father‘s truck, and my foot was sore from having to press the gas pedal for 30 minutes, and I had to look backward to back up. Man, it was like the Dark Ages.

 

[BadgerGreg]

I’ve commuted to work a few times now and am using CP360 on the freeway. I agree that it works quite well...I have let the car drive itself the majority of miles, except to change lanes occasionally. I’ve come to trust CP360 on the highway, although in dry conditions only. It was snowing lightly here today (no accumulation, just lower visibility) and the system was having a really hard time. The biggest issue was ACC...the car let me creep up on other vehicles way too close before I had to intervene.

The reduced performance in bad weather isn’t all bad...it’s probably better that way, as drivers should be fully-engaged when weather is less than ideal. CP360 is a fair weather option, and that’s probably what it should be.

 

[Dmcerm]

Very nice write up! Great info! And with the confidence (not complacency) this system can build in its driver, and with the data that Ford is collecting, I am sure it will get even better with time.
It's nice to read some real-world, good news about the car!

 

[mikeho]

Thanks - this was a really nice review and reflects my experiences in the Bay Area as well. Quick question - and I’m sure this has been asked and answered many times - why does the Active Cruise sometimes drop to 62 MPH especially when I first turn it on? Is there a setting I’m missing? I too am loving the car!

Check to see what you set your tolerance level to be. Every time it reads a speed limit sign, it sets the speed to tolerance + X. So if you set it to 70 and you pass a sign, maybe it drops it to 62. I get dropped to 65 every time I pass those 55 construction zone speed signs.

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