[5ilver-5amurai]

A few years ago I ended up not taking delivery of a car because I had not optioned adaptive cruise and lane keeping assist. I ended up ordering and waiting for a different car (same model) that did have it. On paper, I needed to have it because I convinced myself it would make my commute in Toronto so much easier. It did not.

Adaptive cruise systems are way too generous with the gap it leaves in both slow highway and bumper to bumper city traffic - even on the shortest follow setting. If anyone has driven anywhere in the GTA, leaving a decent gap means everyone is going to cut you off especially in stop and go traffic. The system doesn't start moving you until there is a decent amount of space between you and the car in front of you. It was more frustrating than useful. I found myself toggling the adaptive cruise off until traffic was moving smoothly again, which defeats the purpose of it. Even on long fast moving highway drives, the second I reached the car in front of me and realized they were driving slower than me, I would bypass the system, overtake, and activate it again. If you set the system to driving 100 kmph and the person in front of you is doing 90, you end up wanting to switch lanes and overtaking quickly instead of now following at 90.

The lane keeping assist was neat, seeing the wheel turn by itself. It requires you to lightly hold the wheel most of the time to make sure you aren't dozing off. It wasn't actually reducing driver fatigue for me by virtue of the fact that I was now timing myself to actively hold / wiggle the wheel every 10 seconds. It was just encouraging me to make poor driving decisions now that I knew the car was maintaining my lane...for the most part. Not everyone will think this way, but that's my experience with it.

Honestly, cancelling my original order years ago because I wanted drivers assistance packages wasn't worth it. I'm glad I did it because I would have always thought that I was missing out on something special. Now that I've had it once, I'm okay without it. If I want the car to drive for me, I'll get something with mature autonomous driving - otherwise, I'm okay with taking myself from point A to point B.

[SCMTX]

I love the driver assists! But, I agree the gap is too large. I end up giving the car gas to close the gap a lot of the time. I needed a daily because I had to get rid of my work truck. The f87 will have to be sold and the f80 really seems to be a do it all car…. It seems like it will do fine on the track.

My son and I took a trip from Houston to Dallas last weekend. It was really nice just letting the advanced driving work for me. I’m amazed at how well the car turns at “speed.”

[turbojg]

Originally Posted by SCMTX

... But, I agree the gap is too large. I end up giving the car gas to close the gap a lot of the time.

I have always loved adaptive cruise control especially if I just want to relax and stay in the right lane and just go with the traffic flow. It is also great in stop and go traffic. However, I am just the opposite in regard to the gap. I don't like following the vehicle in front of me too closely as it helps me to avoid stone chips in the front of my car and windshield. I always use the furthest settings on the adaptive cruise control. I always felt my Subaru was too close on the farthest setting but my M4 is about right on it's farthest setting. I can always shorten the gap if traffic is moving slowly.

The only problem comes in when I get drivers playing "leap frog" and weaving in and out between the right and left lane trying to get ahead, They close up that gap on me and my vehicle slows down to increase the space again. But I'm not going to follow on the bumper of the vehicle in front of me so that there isn't enough gap for someone to pull in front of me because that defeats the reason I don't follow closely.

The ironic part is those drivers that weave in and out usually do not get much farther ahead in spite of increasing the risk of a collision several times. I can understand it if there is just a car or two hogging the left lane but if traffic is heavy that sort of driving is futile and just increases the risk of accidents.

[vasillalov]

I ordered my M3 with "stripper specs" - 6MT with laser lights and M Drive Professional for the full adjustment of the rear diff. I do not find myself missing ANY of the electronic do-thats at all. Besides, none of these options will matter when its time to resell the car.

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

I ordered my M3 with "stripper specs" - 6MT with laser lights and M Drive Professional for the full adjustment of the rear diff. I do not find myself missing ANY of the electronic do-thats at all. Besides, none of these options will matter when its time to resell the car.

Manual m3 doesn't come with acc, bmw hasn't figured out how to push in the clutch and shift gears automatically yet
I use acc every day especially in traffic or when i want to fiddle around with stuff...

[echtors]

I swear by ACC, it's a game changer in bumper to bumper traffic

[Mike02z]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Manual m3 doesn't come with acc, bmw hasn't figured out how to push in the clutch and shift gears automatically yet
I use acc every day especially in traffic or when i want to fiddle around with stuff...

LOL! Just like a post I saw elsewhere where someone was saying they skipped remote start on their manual G87 build. 😂

[Needsdecaf]

Don’t know what system people are using that they say the gap is too big. I used it a bunch on my first drive home yesterday and got stopped in both bumper to bumper and very dense but 40-60 MPH traffic. For this NY born and raised boy driving in Houston, gap was perfect. No bro dozers were trying to cut me off. I had the setting on adaptive / situational and it was perfect. My only issue is that for the traffic jam plus or whatever it’s called below 40, the wheel blocks the camera from seeing my face, so it gets mad. Thankfully that’s not a situation I will use often so no biggie. But if it was the newer system that operated above 40 I’d be disappointed.

But, literally, day 1 already super glad I had it.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Manual m3 doesn't come with acc, bmw hasn't figured out how to push in the clutch and shift gears automatically yet
I use acc every day especially in traffic or when i want to fiddle around with stuff...

I know ACC doesn't come with 6MT.

I suppose you enjoy being driven instead of driving yourself.

[MJBO]

ACC is fantastic, especially for bumper to bumper traffic on the motorway. The system crawling you along, bringing you to a smooth and complete stop, then slowing creeping you along again with pressing buttons or pedals is so nice.

Agree the grill looks better without the radar, but in my view the pros significantly outweigh the cons.

[forcefed]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

I know ACC doesn't come with 6MT.

I suppose you enjoy being driven instead of driving yourself.

If you would be stuck in traffic at much as I am you'd opt for the auto also.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

I know ACC doesn't come with 6MT.

I suppose you enjoy being driven instead of driving yourself.

I enjoy having the choice while sitting in traffic instead of being stuck with only one option, yes, thank you.

And get this, I can just...not use it if I don't want to! Marvel idea.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by forcefed

If you would be stuck in traffic at much as I am you'd opt for the auto also.

Originally Posted by Berzerker

I enjoy having the choice while sitting in traffic instead of being stuck with only one option, yes, thank you.

And get this, I can just...not use it if I don't want to! Marvel idea.

Exactly.

Look, I can see if you want to get the MT and can't get it, it's no huge sacrifice then. But, if you're getting the auto and you sit in any kind of traffic, or do any kind of long slogs....why wouldn't you?

I live in Houston which, while it's not rated as one of the worst traffic cities I think that's just because there isn't "traffic" like there is in other cities where you're literally just stopped and inching along. I've lived in NY, DC and Philly and have sat in my share of that type of traffic. Houston's is...different. You have thick stop and go traffic, but it's more like "roll and go". And you sit in it for ages, but you cover more miles....but you have more miles to go! So it's really just as bad as anywhere else. Just a different type of bad.

I took a job in 2018 that turned my 15-20 mile / day drive into a 90-130 mile a day one. At the time I was driving a 2017 GTi. Loved that car, STILL love that car. But after 2 months of that commute in that car, I started planning a replacement. And I got...a Tesla Model 3. Why? Autopilot. The first week after I had it, my wife said "wow, you are WAY less cranky when you get home than you used to be". The amount of stress reduction you get from a really good Level 2 system is immeasurable. Whether it's sitting in traffic or doing a 450 mile day (as I did about every 8-10 weeks for that job), well, let's just say..

...yes, I very much enjoy being driven when you're looking at 60 minutes in traffic. Or 3.5 hours on a dead straight highway.

[christianb5s4]

Another point besides the functionality, at least for me, is it's a feature that's impossible to add later on. So might as well tick the box now.

[Needsdecaf]

Point against…it’s not the best looking thing and almost forces you to use the stock grille.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Point against…it’s not the best looking thing and almost forces you to use the stock grille.

There's a few options for a DAPP-supported grill, both CSL and stock, plastic or CF.

I think it's fine, breaks up the monotony of the front middle area.

[geko29]

Originally Posted by forcefed

Manual m3 doesn't come with acc, bmw hasn't figured out how to push in the clutch and shift gears automatically yet

There are plenty of manual cars that have adaptive cruise--Civic Type R comes with it as standard equipment just for one example. BMW was just lazy. And that's my regret about DAP--that I couldn't option it on my 6MT.

The clutch is no excuse. In the early 90's, one of my friends had a manual with (non-adaptive, obviously) cruise control, where he could hit "resume" from a slow roll leaving a tollbooth (one of the old-school ones where you had to hand someone money and wait for the gate to go up), and it would take him all the way back up to 70 as long as he shifted along the way.

[turbojg]

It seems like a lot here are "Form over Function" people. For me it has always been "Function over Form" If the radar detector is needed for the function than it looks fine to me. If you don't have a need for ACC then don't get it but if you do then don't let appearance stop you. The radar detector doesn't look any worse than the gas filler door on the right side of the car. All things don't have to be symmetrical!

[Mike02z]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

I suppose you enjoy being driven instead of driving yourself.

Yes, when I have to drive 600 miles, all on Interstate, the break I get by using DAP is welcome. If I did not make these multiple trips per year I may have skipped it.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

There's a few options for a DAPP-supported grill, both CSL and stock, plastic or CF.

I think it's fine, breaks up the monotony of the front middle area.

Yeah, that's why I said "almost" forces you. There are options, as you said, but pretty much every one I've seen just leaves the sensor sitting there naked. Definitely not my cuppa, but then again, most of the aftermarket grilles are way too open for my taste anyway. To me, having the sensor out there makes it REALLY obvious. But, everyone's tastes are different.

[hinckley]

I never use cruise control. I'd need to think about how to even turn it on. So for me, there was no reason to spend the extra $$ and add the ugly front radar sensor.

[pateke]

Not sure of its been mentioned, but you can’t have the CSL/M Performance steering wheel. I really like the CSL steering wheel, but ACC and heating won’t work with it (as I understand).