Ford’s BlueCruise is the top-rated active driving assistance system, according to Consumer Reports (CR). BlueCruise is a hands-free driving feature that takes over the car’s steering, braking, and acceleration while travelling on the highway. This feature is known as an active driving assistance (ADA) system, which uses a car’s adaptive cruise control (ACC) to control speed and lane centering assistance (LCA) to control steering. ADA systems are already available on more than 50% of 2023 model-year vehicles, according to CR’s data. The second-best ADA system is GM’s Super Cruise and the third is Mercedes-Benz Driver Assistance.
Tesla’s Autopilot system fell from its second-place showing in 2020 to seventh this time around. According to CR’s senior director of auto testing, Jake Fisher, “After all this time, Autopilot still doesn’t allow collaborative steering and doesn’t have an effective driver monitoring system. While other automakers have evolved their ACC and LCA systems, Tesla has simply fallen behind.”
While Ford’s BlueCruise and GM’s Super Cruise have direct driver monitoring systems (DDMS) that require drivers to keep their eyes on the road even while the systems are automating steering, acceleration, and braking, most ADA systems do not adequately monitor drivers. Instead, they simply require occasional hand pressure on the steering wheel to indicate that the driver is paying attention.
CR’s manager of vehicle technology, Kelly Funkhouser, states that “If an automaker is going to equip a car with an ADA system, they should put in adequate safeguards—or not include both lane centering assistance and adaptive cruise control at all.”
