laser (vs radar?) active cruise control + Around View + Tech

[iaw]

(I drive a 2007 G35. I care about gadgetry more than about power or acceleration. hardware is ok. software is very mediocre. even my passenger cannot operate the GPS while driving. adaptive cruise was very dumb in accelerating and slowing down. and why do I want to see as much space behind me on the map as in front of me?? anyway, my lease will expire soon, so I am thinking about an ex35 or a volvo xc60, both probably 2011, and both with technology packages.)

I like that the volvo xc60 will break hard by itself if I am distracted [e.g., looking over my shoulder for lane passing, or fiddling with my radio] and the car in front of me is suddenly breaking hard.)

I have a specific question: most cars use radar for adaptive cruise control. infiniti uses the cheaper laser system. does someone know why? is radar much better? has the software improved much over the last 3 years?

and when will a cruise control keep me 2 seconds from the guy in front of me, rather than a fixed distance? keeping distance regardless of speed seems idiotic. if I go faster, I want more distance than when I go slower. the g35 liked to keep a certain distance. sigh.


-- other question: will the car finally beep now if I get too close to another one? I am thinking of parking ventures, where I have scraped my car on the passenger door, because I did not see small pole there. I would prefer it if the car did not let me drive into another car in this way, at all, of course. after all, it already has "Around View". but a strong beep would at least keep me from doing it myself.

will 2011 software be better than 2010 software?

any other tech thoughts?

[batman75]

I personally prefer the laser system. The radar system interferes with radar detectors, while the laser system does not interfere with laser jammers.

[hdfreak]

Like you, I was very interested in a car with good tech.. so here are my observations about the EX35 w/ tech package.

...even my passenger cannot operate the GPS while driving.

Does any car let the passanger operate GPS? Just hack it.. see sticky on first page of this EX35 forum.

adaptive cruise was very dumb in accelerating and slowing down.

Not sure about the G, but my EX35 is pretty good at highways speeds. Lets off the gas easy when it senses I'm getting too close.. smoothly applies power to speed back up. Can even start the ICC back up at 3mph, as long as there's a car in front of you to lock in on. It does stop a little too abruptly for my taste at slow speeds, but I usually keep the distance set to the "closest" setting.

I like that the volvo xc60 will break hard by itself if I am distracted [e.g., looking over my shoulder for lane passing, or fiddling with my radio] and the car in front of me is suddenly breaking hard.)

EX35 will apply "up to 25%" of break power, according to the manual. But I've had it hit the breaks pretty damn hard. Enough to "wake me up" and cause me to apply more break pressure if needed. Also adjusts break sensitivity when it senses you approaching a vehicle too fast.

and when will a cruise control keep me 2 seconds from the guy in front of me, rather than a fixed distance? keeping distance regardless of speed seems idiotic. if I go faster, I want more distance than when I go slower.

It will adjust the distance based on speed. I don't think it mentions specific distances in the manual for this reason. You can choose close, medium, or far setting.

-- other question: will the car finally beep now if I get too close to another one? I am thinking of parking ventures, where I have scraped my car on the passenger door, because I did not see small pole there. I would prefer it if the car did not let me drive into another car in this way, at all, of course. after all, it already has "Around View". but a strong beep would at least keep me from doing it myself.

It beeps when any of the four corners are getting too close to something (front only when front cam is on--but you should have it on if pulling into tight spaces). There's also a "sensitivity" setting for these sensors.

[pwlorraine]

I've got the active cruise control on my g37 vert but we didn't opt for the "tech" package on our EX35 - active cruise is alright I suppose but not something I'd pay for. As soon as I'm in traffic I tend to be fully off cruise anyway. In heavy traffic - near NYC for example - the active cruise control will leave too large a gap and it will be filled in by other traffic with a result of the car constantly sliding back the line. Response to speed up is also delayed enough to irritate me. It is great for cruising behind someone on a nearly empty highway - love it for that.

The around view feature is a very nice feature I'm glad to have - as is the sonar surround. I've also got adaptive wipers that come on automatically in rain on my g37 - not a bad feature but I don't really miss it.

One feature I wish they'd include is a heated steering wheel. We loved that on our X3. In the winter here it makes driving much more pleasant and is something we would pay extra for.

I've modified the nav system to let me use the full menu when I want to on my g37 convertible - I'll do it on the EX35 (wife's car) soon. Without the modification I am in the habit of preloading destinations before beginning to drive.

Peter