IRL Favorite Gladiator Factory Option--Adaptive Cruise. What is/are yours?

[philupngo]

Hi all, new member here, sorry for the long post. I wanted to share my thoughts on real world use of the Adaptive Cruise Control, one of my favorite (and must-have) options when I ordered my Gladiator.

How I used Adaptive Cruise today:
I traveled northbound on I-95 towards Wash DC. Traffic wasn't bad, everything was moving. I moved to the left lane and set my speed at 78mph. I set the speed arbitrarily high just to make sure that if my lane of traffic wanted to move fast, then I would move fast with it! I also set the preset distance keeper to a healthy distance between me and any vehicle in front. What was so much fun about it (other than the sunny day and front freedom panels removed) was the ability to manipulate my preset speed and distances between cars based on how traffic was flowing. If traffic began to slow and jam up, I would usually increase my distance with the push of a button to give me more safe space between cars...but if traffic got tight yet was still moving fast, I would decrease my distance with the steering wheel button to tighten the gap between me and the vehicle in front to prevent others from darting over into my lane. I could also use the + or - buttons to adjust my speed setting anytime. And what's nice about the speed setting is that no matter how high of a speed you select, the Jeep will go no faster than the car in front of you, keeping you in the flow of traffic. I also found it nice to let the computer do a lot of the thinking for me (I was still very much 10 and 2 on the wheel and ready to intervene as necessary). Basically the entire 2 hr drive was mostly with my feet off of the pedals and using the adaptive cruise inputs on the wheel to make adjustments when and where needed. One last thing, if traffic halts to a complete stop, the Jeep will decelerated to a complete stop automatically. However, if traffic does not resume within a few seconds, the Adaptive Cruise function beeps and cancels out--I believe this is so you can safely take over by placing your foot on the brake pedal vs. relying on the computer to do all the work. Fun drive!

Hopefully this will help someone decide if this feature is value or non-value added when Gladiator shopping. Thanks for reading.

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[869 KPH]

Welcome! Based on the comments I've seen here you sound like the board's biggest ACC fan, lol. It gets a lot of derision. But for me - I am super stoked to get it and use it exactly as you have described. Thanks for the added confidence!

 

[philupngo]

Welcome! Based on the comments I've seen here you sound like the board's biggest ACC fan, lol. It gets a lot of derision. But for me - I am super stoked to get it and use it exactly as you have described. Thanks for the added confidence!

Thanks! I can understand people having different perspectives on that type of system. I did go from a 1996 Tacoma to a 2021 Gladiator for my daily driver...tech has definitely evolved, so that likely has me more excited than most.

 

[steveorama]

We have the ACC feature on my wife's 2019 Subaru Outback and it works basically the same. It's one of the few options my JTO doesn't have. It's nice on longer drives, but I'm not really a fan for day to day use. The lane assist feature drives me nuts on her car though, as if I get even a tiny too close to the line, it pulls me back into the lane. That feature really sucks when you're going through areas of construction where there are lines all over the place.

Personally, my favorite option is the LED lighting. It's actually a really nice feature IMO. It looks good and functions well.

 

[philupngo]

We have the ACC feature on my wife's 2019 Subaru Outback and it works basically the same. It's one of the few options my JTO doesn't have. It's nice on longer drives, but I'm not really a fan for day to day use. The lane assist feature drives me nuts on her car though as if I get even a tiny too close to the line it pulls me back into the lane. That feature really sucks when you're going through areas of constructions where there are lines all over the place.

Personally, my favorite option is the LED lighting. It's actually a really nice feature IMO. It looks good and functions well.

Good call on the LED lighting stevorama--I finally had the chance to drive at night outside of the city yesterday and was super impressed with the LED lighting. Little things like the auto-high beam had me smiling from ear to ear when passing cars on twisty, hilly roads at night. Thanks for sharing.

 

[cdyoung9799]

We have the ACC feature on my wife's 2019 Subaru Outback and it works basically the same. It's one of the few options my JTO doesn't have. It's nice on longer drives, but I'm not really a fan for day to day use. The lane assist feature drives me nuts on her car though, as if I get even a tiny too close to the line, it pulls me back into the lane. That feature really sucks when you're going through areas of construction where there are lines all over the place.

Personally, my favorite option is the LED lighting. It's actually a really nice feature IMO. It looks good and functions well.

+1 on the LED lights. I also love the bed size. It's perfect for my needs.

I have the ACC on my JTR, and I had it on a SRT Grand Cherokee I had a few years ago too. I honestly can't stand using it on the local interstates around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Too much congestion, and traffic can bottleneck at any time (for no reason ). On longer trips where there's less traffic, I could definitely see the benefit though.

 

[cdyoung9799]

Little things like the auto-high beam had me smiling from ear to ear when passing cars on twisty, hilly roads at night.

I love that feature too. What's funny, is that I had no idea I even had that option when I bought the truck. I had my high beams on driving through our neighborhood one night after I had just bought it, and the sensor picked up a street light on the corner near our house when I was turning. The lights dimmed on their own, and my wife freaked out. We're constantly giving each other grief about whose car is nicer, my Jeep(s) or her ATS-V coupe. But when she saw my automatic high-beam headlights, her jaw dropped. She finally admitted she was a little jealous of my Jeep for the first time.

 

[CFLgladiator]

+1 on the LED lights. I also love the bed size. It's perfect for my needs.

I have the ACC on my JTR, and I had it on a SRT Grand Cherokee I had a few years ago too. I honestly can't stand using it on the local interstates around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Too much congestion, and traffic can bottleneck at any time (for no reason ). On longer trips where there's less traffic, I could definitely see the benefit though.

Funny enough I found it a little too aggressive on the brake and gas for light traffic and wrote it off for a while. Then during heavy fast traffic I turned it on and turned the follow distance real short. It works awesome. I now use it for i-4 and i-95 traffic all the time

 

[philupngo]

I love that feature too. What's funny, is that I had no idea I even had that option when I bought the truck. I had my high beams on driving through our neighborhood one night after I had just bought it, and the sensor picked up a street light on the corner near our house when I was turning. The lights dimmed on their own, and my wife freaked out. We're constantly giving each other grief about whose car is nicer, my Jeep(s) or her ATS-V coupe. But when she saw my automatic high-beam headlights, her jaw dropped. She finally admitted she was a little jealous of my Jeep for the first time.

One win for the Jeep! I vaguely recalled having the auto high beams as an option. Then last night I switched to manual headlights with high beams on thinking they would switch to low on their own and ended up blinding an oncoming driver. Only then I realized headlights must be on auto for auto high beams to work…of course that makes sense after my test run!

 

[philupngo]

Funny enough I found it a little too aggressive on the brake and gas for light traffic and wrote it off for a while. Then during heavy fast traffic I turned it on and turned the follow distance real short. It works awesome. I now use it for i-4 and i-95 traffic all the time

I had a few experiences where I thought the same—too aggressive. But after getting more familiar with the system I like it more every time I use it.

 

[Jefe1018]

Nice to know that feature works so well. I didn’t check that box, I really wanted the diesel for future viability of lifts, tires, etc. so as a cost savings measure I didn’t check any of the active safety features. Time will tell if it was a mistake I suppose.

 

[869 KPH]

Nice to know that feature works so well. I didn’t check that box, I really wanted the diesel for future viability of lifts, tires, etc. so as a cost savings measure I didn’t check any of the active safety features. Time will tell if it was a mistake I suppose.

Narrator voice: It was a mistake.

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