No FSD, no problem
Just curious. Any other M3 drivers not care at all about FSD? I don't use autopilot now, and in 40+ years of driving, I can't recall ever using cruise control beyond a few minutes spent simply figuring it out. My point is, I've always liked driving - a lot - and while I use Uber and am generally fine with being a passenger, that's not what I am looking for when I get behind a the wheel. Does anyone else view FSD as non-essential in a personal vehicle? Or even a bit silly, a la fart horn?
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Is it essential? No. Is it nice? Absolutely!
Perspectives on something being silly are purely subjective of course, but I think that classifying FSD as something at the level of fart noises is probably being disingenuous and likely just someone who just wants to spur an argument rather than being constructive.
> Perspectives on something being silly are purely subjective of course, but I think that classifying FSD as something at the level of fart noises is probably being disingenuous and likely just someone who just wants to spur an argument rather than being constructive.
Ok, to be less “disingenuous,” does anyone else’s level of interest in the FSD option more or less equal their interest in the fart horn?
Real issue is Tesla's poor ADAS (automated driver assistance systems) vs. FSD. Things like adaptive cruise, blind spot alert, rear cross traffic alert, lane keepiing alert just don't work well or don't exist on Tesla.
1. Traffic Aware Cruise control - works excellently both on the highway and on city streets to maintain appropriate following distances and appropriate speeds. The biggest issue I have with it is that it likes to reduce the max speed when speed limits drop, as it should, but doesn't like to raise it back up when the speed limit goes up, which kinda sucks when driving rural highways where every two-store town likes to reduce the speed limit from 65 to 35 while driving through.
2. Lane Keeping - works well on the highway. Rock-solid lane centering with no ping-ponging, with only slight issues these days when you're in the right lane and it widens for an on-ramp/off-ramp. The biggest issue I have with it is I'd really like to be able to give it hints - "when the lane splits up here, move into the right lane". It doesn't listen to such direction well.
3. Auto-lane change. I don't use it much, because I think it's sometimes a bit rude on the open highway about when it changes lanes in front of people. I'll use it in driver-initiated mode, but not in the FSD automatic mode.
4. Navigate on Auto Pilot. Kind of a toy, IMHO, especially when I don't let it do auto lane changes. Frankly, I don't trust it well enough at the moment to blithely let it start making decisions at complicated interchanges/ramps. When I play around with it, it raises my stress levels rather than reducing them.
So I guess I make extensive use of the EAP functions because, on long trips, I get to the end far less tired than when I drive manually. TACC and Lane Keeping drastically reduce the mental load of driving, and I spend more time relaxed while monitoring the other cars on the road. FSD isn't really there for me yet.
That said, I remember back in the early 80s thinking pretty much the same thing as the OP above about the importance of cruise control. Then I started to try it and grew to enjoy using it. The only time I ever didn’t use it after that epiphany was joy driving on winding roads in the foothills. When my 2011 Chrysler 300 had Adaptive Cruise Control I discovered a new level of comfort using it, since it now controlled speed and initial breaking to maintain distance between cars on the freeway, and I grew to use it every day. It was simply too useful to ignore.
I don’t have my new Tesla yet, but its adaptive cruise control (Traffic Aware Cruise Control) seems to work much the same way, but now allows the car to completely stop and start up again, which should be useful in heavy traffic. If you take it to the next step and engage Autosteer, it’s supposed to also keep you within your lane, as well, which can certainly be helpful when you get distracted and your car starts to drift from the center of the lane. I look forward to using both.
The FSD option is supposed to allow you to engage navigation to control your freeway driving Exit Ramp to Exit Ramp, with a few extra bells and whistles such as auto lane change and the display showing traffic lights and stop signs as you approach them on city streets. Very cool, but probably not worth an extra $10K just yet. But, I’ll be watching eagerly as the technology improves.
Only AutoSteer works. Lane Keeping alert/assist does not work 90% of the time. Sometimes a loud "Take Control" alarm, sometimes a wheel nudge, most times nothing at all as car crosses the lines into traffic or the ditch.
Tesla adaptive cruise is buggy with phantom braking and unwarranted speed changes.
Both Adaptive Cruise and AutoSteer are still Beta products (three years after the Model 3 was released).
I used it several times and got used to it for over a year. Then, once Tesla figured it out and took it away, I went ahead and ordered EAP when it became available. I imagine I have about 90% (or all?) of the current features of FSD without the inflated cost (more than twice what I paid), and I admit it is a good bit better than I took it for originally.
One other issue is that drivers on AP/FSD are many times less likely to get into an accident than driving under their own control, it’s that much safer. I’m one who had stated on this very forum that “I like to drive.” I still do, but AP/FSD makes it a safer undertaking for all involved.
All in all it’s a matter of personal taste and driving proclivities. It’s good that Tesla gives us the choice.
I am never going back to a car that doesn't have the same fantastic safety features of my 3, one of the safest cars in the world. Not going to happen!
> Just curious. Any other M3 drivers not care at all about FSD? I don't use autopilot now, and in 40+ years of driving, I can't recall ever using cruise control beyond a few minutes spent simply figuring it out. My point is, I've always liked driving - a lot - and while I use Uber and am generally fine with being a passenger, that's not what I am looking for when I get behind a the wheel. Does anyone else view FSD as non-essential in a personal vehicle? Or even a bit silly, a la fart horn?
I think you got in with the wrong car company. Tesla is a tech company first and a car manufacturer second. GM and the Bolt should have been your first route.
We have FSD. TACC, lanekeeping, all the cameras. We don't go so far as to let the car do lane changes on its own, but use the auto stuff for lane shifts. Which is cool: The cameras and such make sure that one isn't going to get tagged by somebody in the blind spot.
So, 8.5 hours on the road. We got home a _little_ tired. Had we done that with just good old cruise control it wouldn't have been tired: We'd have to stay overnight somewhere.
No question: FSD, as is currently available, makes long distance traveling a snap.
Yes, I agree with you about FSD. I’m also happy that my Model 3 doesn’t have AP. I prefer old-fashioned cruise control.
When I’m driving, I’m driving.
I like to bake, and sometimes the electric mixer is handy. I love driving and sometimes AP is handy. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.