Is ARS, Integral active steering and luxury seating package worth the money?

SchwarzerM3 · 11-12-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlai

If you need to ask.... Probably not for you...

well, I'd like to get some first hand experience reports to make up my mind....
The feature itself seems to be usefull but does it work in real life as intended?

Breach · 11-12-2011, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SchwarzerM3

How about the active cruise control??? Thats a very expensice option...is it worth it?

Unless you never drive long distances on motorways. Unless you've never been stuck in stop and go jams. Imagine if you never had to accelerate and break and could relax your feet for hours (of course always be ready to react on the break manually!). It's quite expensive so I was on the fence about it but I think it's worth every penny/cent.

In real life it works as advertised with one caveat: when someone cuts you off / moves into your lane ACC applies the breaks if it can't maintain the distance by merely decelerating - this results in one thing - people behind you get a bit pissed at you. Then again that's what you're supposed to do if you'd want to maintain a safe distance to the vehicle in front of you.

TheGr8Swami · 11-12-2011, 09:05 PM

These posts are spot on about most of the available options for the 5 series. My 2011 550i with xDrive doesn't have night-vision but my wife's parents' 2009 535xi does and we've found it useful when driving through Rock Creek Park or the suburbs of Washington, DC. Night vision allows us to easily pick out deer before any incident can occur. My wife has also been able to pick out parked police cars at speed-traps because of the glow under their cars.

kaishang · 11-14-2011, 10:59 AM

I've got active cruise on my 330..... very good, would get it again but it is not autopilot. There are times when you need to intervene and times when it intervenes for you when you don't want it to. Usual times when it brakes when I don't want it to are:

- you are approaching a car on a freeway and intend to change lanes and pass. It starts to slow you down before you change lanes

- there is a bend in a multi-lane road and a truck is ahead in a different lane. Truck is in the bend, you have not yet entered the bend. ACC picks up the truck and thinks it is in your lane and slows you down, sometimes violently slows you down when actually the truck is in the next lane over.

11-12-2011, 09:05 PM	#25
TheGr8Swami Private First Class 17 Rep 186 Posts Drives: 2012 550i M-Sport w/XDrive Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington, DC iTrader: (0)	These posts are spot on about most of the available options for the 5 series. My 2011 550i with xDrive doesn't have night-vision but my wife's parents' 2009 535xi does and we've found it useful when driving through Rock Creek Park or the suburbs of Washington, DC. Night vision allows us to easily pick out deer before any incident can occur. My wife has also been able to pick out parked police cars at speed-traps because of the glow under their cars. __________________ 2012 550xi MSport - everything but TV's in the head rests!
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11-14-2011, 10:59 AM	#26
kaishang Colonel 54 Rep 2,197 Posts Drives: 2010 E90 330d Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London iTrader: (0)	I've got active cruise on my 330..... very good, would get it again but it is not autopilot. There are times when you need to intervene and times when it intervenes for you when you don't want it to. Usual times when it brakes when I don't want it to are: - you are approaching a car on a freeway and intend to change lanes and pass. It starts to slow you down before you change lanes - there is a bend in a multi-lane road and a truck is ahead in a different lane. Truck is in the bend, you have not yet entered the bend. ACC picks up the truck and thinks it is in your lane and slows you down, sometimes violently slows you down when actually the truck is in the next lane over.
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