General 500 1.2 Cruise Control

[AbarthGav]

A review on the North American 500…

http://www.edmunds.com/fiat/500/2012/#fullreview
Standard equipment on the 500 Pop includes 15-inch steel wheels and chrome-trimmed wheel covers, keyless entry, full power accessories, heated mirrors, air-conditioning, cruise control, a tilt-only steering wheel, a height-adjustable driver seat, a trip computer and a six-speaker sound system with a CD player and auxiliary audio jack.

Looking at recent article in Autoexpress (can’t really rely on these articles)…
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/251071/fiat_group_maps_out_its_future.html
Focusing exclusively on the Fiat brand, the highly successful 500 and 500C will both receive a major overhaul in 2012, while an all-new city car, possibly an all-new Uno, will appear in 2013. A new Panda is scheduled for 2011, while the Punto EVO will be replaced in 2013.

Initially I thought it was an option on the US 500 and was surprised to see that it was a ‘standard’ option even on the Pop. Expect that it will be an option late 2012 / early 2013 on the ‘new’ models in Europe.

Still if you want it now IMHO that price is OK.
When I have the 500 1.4 I used the Sport button to save leg work on the right foot on the motorway and it ‘saved’ on leg cramp. On the F500 this Sport button has no effect on the 'mapping' unlike the A500.

American market!!!!! alot of straight roads out there will they deem it neccersary for the european market ?? However the smart guy who is fitting these kits has told me after speaking to him there are alot of f500 & a500 out there atm with no cruise control and they continue to build more without until further notice!!!

Still a cheap upgrade for aftermarket!!!

 

[AbarthGav]

I think it could "cope" but it would probably just floor it in 5th and waste loads of fuel when an intelligen driver would carry a bit more speed coming up to the hill.

If your driving around in town say 30-40mph are you gonna have cruise control on sometimes yes sometimes no however if you about approach a hill im sure CC would cope but would you have it on going up it ?

 

[jrkitching]

If your driving around in town say 30-40mph are you gonna have cruise control on sometimes yes sometimes no however if you about approach a hill im sure CC would cope but would you have it on going up it ?

Of course not. You put it on when it's useful, and disconnect it when it isn't. How often it'll be useful depends entirely on the type of journeys you make.

 

[frupi]

IMHO if you are limited on power the best way to travel on 'up and down' motorways is to work the engine gathering a bit of speed going down to carry you up the next 'section'. I reckon that it would prove more economical than travelling at a steady speed with Cruise Control (I'm going to avoid any debate on this :devil.

Thing I also learned with cruise control is if I've been plodding along at 70, when I reach the brow of a long sweeping descent, and there are a few motorways with a nice long downhill run (Haldon Hill for example on the M5 near Exeter Racecourse), is to flick of the cruise control and coast down under the car's own weight - in gear of course because free wheeling out of gear is both dangerous and illegal, and I've noticed that the car's computer registers the fuel consumption as using less fuel if I had stayed with CC on. I'm not an expert in this stuff, but it's been a handy little tip for me on fuel saving. When I get to the bottom of the hill, I just flick CC back on.

 

[AbarthGav]

If your driving around in town say 30-40mph are you gonna have cruise control on sometimes yes sometimes no however if you about approach a hill im sure CC would cope but would you have it on going up it ?

So is the point thats its irrelevent if IT will go up hills on CC!!! .....


Mayby the question is to the people who have had it fitted would like to gives there feed back ?!!!

 

[frupi]

So is the point thats its irrelevent if IT will go up hills on CC!!! .....


Mayby the question is to the people who have had it fitted would like to gives there feed back ?!!!

Sorry if this is a bit of an irrelevant post and admittedly I don't have it fitted on our 500, but I use CC on my own car going up hills quite often and it's only when I get to really steep hills I have to flick it off and drop from 6th to 5th. I certainly don't use CC anywhere where the road speed is less than 50mph or if the roads are too winding. It is great using through 'Average speed' camera roadworks, that is if other numpties know what 50 mph actually means instead of plodding along at 40 or 45mph.

 

[306maxi]

Sorry if this is a bit of an irrelevant post and admittedly I don't have it fitted on our 500, but I use CC on my own car going up hills quite often and it's only when I get to really steep hills I have to flick it off and drop from 6th to 5th. I certainly don't use CC anywhere where the road speed is less than 50mph or if the roads are too winding. It is great using through 'Average speed' camera roadworks, that is if other numpties know what 50 mph actually means instead of plodding along at 40 or 45mph.

But your car has a decent size engine doesn't it? The 1.2 is adequate for motorways and all, but it doesn't have that spare power to just hold 70 up a hill.

 

[frupi]

But your car has a decent size engine doesn't it? The 1.2 is adequate for motorways and all, but it doesn't have that spare power to just hold 70 up a hill.

Yes, when you're engine is five times larger than a 1.2 POP, 70mph(ish) uphill seems like going downhill on the Matterhorn.....:slayer:

 

[306maxi]

I think the merits of cruise control are more to do with the type of journey you make than the size of car you drive. On the odd occasions when I've borrowed a car with CC, I've found it very useful on flat motorways and absolutely irrelevant on twisty mountain roads.

As the 500 might not be a first choice car for a motorway cruiser (it's perfectly capable, but if someone else is paying the fuel bill I'd prefer something quieter with better seats), CC isn't going to be worth having for everyone. But there will be some folks out there who could make good use of it - which is why it should be an optional extra, rather than a standard fitment which bumps up the price of the base car. That way, those who want it can have it, and those who don't, need not pay for it - which ought to keep everyone happy .

I know there's the whole vive le difference thing and all that, but it just seems a bit like pointless. The whole thing with CC in a big engined car is that it'll do keep its speed regardless of incline, that just won't happen with a 500.

 

[AbarthGav]

I know there's the whole vive le difference thing and all that, but it just seems a bit like pointless. The whole thing with CC in a big engined car is that it'll do keep its speed regardless of incline, that just won't happen with a 500.

i think before we should comment i think we should find out from users of this great aftermarket attachment what they think or there findings

but i simply cannot see how it would be such a big issue!!!

 

[306maxi]

if you want to do 70 in 1.2 500 uphill you will have to accelerate before the hill, cc will NOT do that

 

[arthur daley]

it will if you are the "thinking driver" and press + on the downhill before the incline. Exactly what any "thinking driver" would do without cruise control.
With the Auto box it would change down.

 

[FloJo]

We were in the US recently and CC was great for the 300+ mile drive at 75mph on a straight road that we did to the grand canyon, my OH has decided he wants CC on his next car For me, in my 500 I use it around town and maybe do 2 A1/motorway trips a month so I'm happy without it. Some people would love to have CC as an option but as mentioned above it will depend on the journey that the car does - for some it's appropriate to have it.

 

[eco sTAr]

CC can also be useful around speed limited areas.
Some systems (such as Mercs) also have a built-in speed limiter function, too.

 

[frupi]

CC can also be useful around speed limited areas.
Some systems (such as Mercs) also have a built-in speed limiter function, too.

I'm not sure if the Merc CC is programmable by the driver, but I was driving a Merc last year as an occasional work vehicle prior to my retirement. What I didn't like, was when you pressed the + button to increase speed, the increments were graded in 5mph increments which I found really offputting for some reason. The CC speed increments on my own car are only 1mph on each click of the stalk. I'm looking forward to a 500 owner with CC fitted to give a more detailed assessment of their experience.

 

[eco sTAr]

I'm not sure if the Merc CC is programmable by the driver, but I was driving a Merc last year as an occasional work vehicle prior to my retirement. What I didn't like, was when you pressed the + button to increase speed, the increments were graded in 5mph increments which I found really offputting for some reason. The CC speed increments on my own car are only 1mph on each click of the stalk. I'm looking forward to a 500 owner with CC fitted to give a more detailed assessment of their experience.

The Merc CC is programmable to 1mph. It's just that in quick-use mode it uses the 5mph increments. This makes it really easy (and accurate) to go from say 30mph to 40mph. I don't have a Merc at present so I can't remember how to set at 1mph intervals, but it can be done quite simply.

 

[frupi]

The Merc CC is programmable to 1mph. It's just that in quick-use mode it uses the 5mph increments. This makes it really easy (and accurate) to go from say 30mph to 40mph. I don't have a Merc at present so I can't remember how to set at 1mph intervals, but it can be done quite simply.

Thanks for the response on that. To be fair, I had very little interest in the Merc, not quite to my level of luxury spec I'm afraid, and I certainly wouldn't buy one. I certainly didn't enjoy driving it one bit. Closest to a Merc I would ever buy, is the 1st generation Chrysler 300C which as you may be aware, uses many Merc components, certainly the diesel engined model uses a Merc derived engine and for me personally, is a much nicer car. Sorry, back on topic, has CC too! (obviously)

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Thing I also learned with cruise control is if I've been plodding along at 70, when I reach the brow of a long sweeping descent, and there are a few motorways with a nice long downhill run (Haldon Hill for example on the M5 near Exeter Racecourse), is to flick of the cruise control and coast down under the car's own weight - in gear of course because free wheeling out of gear is both dangerous and illegal, and I've noticed that the car's computer registers the fuel consumption as using less fuel if I had stayed with CC on. I'm not an expert in this stuff, but it's been a handy little tip for me on fuel saving. When I get to the bottom of the hill, I just flick CC back on.

Where did you get free wheeling being illegal from? It's not advisable, but hardly illegal!

However, what you do down hill is called using 'fuel shut off' which is what the car does when decelerating (engine in negative load). It's a good idea and can be used to increase MPG by a large amount, especially on long down hill runs, also handy on slip roads from motorways upto roundabouts etc

 

[frupi]

Where did you get free wheeling being illegal from? It's not advisable, but hardly illegal!

Well I'm no expert in Road Traffic Law and I certainly don't have a copy of the Road Traffic Act in front of me, so if you are an expert I apologise in advance for questioning the legality or otherwise of free wheeling. I was informed several years ago by a Traffic Officer that free wheeling was not legal because if the car was not engaged in gear at all times when underway, then the driver did not have proper control of his mechanically propelled machine. If it's all wrong, sorry, it's only what I was told at the time.

 

[frupi]

Where did you get free wheeling being illegal from? It's not advisable, but hardly illegal!

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/192369-1-2-mpg-2.html

It seems this whole argument has been brought up before, well before my arrival on this forum. Reading through all of the posts is entertaining! In fact, I nearly wet myself laughing so much! It's amazing how many armchair lawyers there are out there! I draw attention to the second post down on the link, which is exactly what I was told by a serving Traffic Officer. Now I know Police Officers are not trained lawyers, but a trained Traffic Officer with years of experience certainly knows more than an armchair lawyer. I did do a search on google and I found one answer whereby a solictor appears to have answered that coasting (and I assume this means both engine on or off) is illegal. I also take note that of the disclaimer at the foot of the page concerned. Point is, coasting is both stupid and dangerous and serves little point. Anyway, back on topic, I don't think CC works when the car isn't engaged in gear........