Do you habitually dine while driving? Suffer from aggravated road-texting syndrome? Have yet to master Bluetooth communication skills? If so, you are a clinically distracted driver and a prime candidate for a Tesla Model S—now that the company has rolled out its new Autopilot feature.
As part of its continuous-improvement policy, every Model S manufactured after September 2014 is equipped with Autopilot hardware, the closest thing on the market to fully autonomous driving. That equipment is enabled as of October 8, via an automatic software download, assuming the car’s owner says “yes.” Autopilot provides adaptive cruise control, automatic hands-free lane keeping (Autosteer), on-demand lane changing (Auto Lane Change), automatic—hands and feet off—parallel parking (Autopark), and 360-degree collision warning (Side Collision Warning). (Adaptive cruise control and low-speed collision warning have been operational in Model S cars equipped with 6.0 software since the fall of 2014.)
Tesla charges a one-time fee of $2500 to activate the Autopilot capability, but the Side Collision Warning is free.
A select group of Tesla owners have enjoyed use of the alpha version of Autopilot for a month. What the rest of us are receiving is the 7.0 beta version upgraded with user feedback and the latest engineering changes. A new digital instrument cluster and center touch-screen displays with the necessary operating menus, driving icons, and warning symbols are also part of this upgrade.
The system consists of a dozen ultrasonic sensors, half of which wrap discreetly around each end of the car in the bumper fascias; one forward-looking camera positioned behind the windshield between the rear-view mirror and the roof header; and a radar sensor located in a low-center position in the grille. Servos and controllers steer the front wheels, apply the brakes, and command the drive motor(s).
The new driver’s display is also updated with an analog clock, outside temperature display, tire-pressure information, seatbelt warnings, and door-close status. Trip- and energy-monitoring apps are also updated. Some information appears automatically when necessary, other data can be called up with a switch located on the right steering-wheel spoke.
To engage Autosteer, you must first enable that capability in the driver-assistance menu while the Model S is switched on in Park. Then, while motoring between 18 and 90 mph, two rearward yanks of the cruise control stalk in quick succession enable Autopilot. (If there’s a car ahead in your lane, the greater-than-18-mph requirement is waived.)
Tesla’s legal eagles are quick to note that, “Autopilot is a hands-on feature. You must keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times.” Flaunting those admonitions, we quickly discovered it works just fine hands-free. To choose the spacing between you and the car ahead, you twist the end of the cruise control stalk to adjust between one and seven car lengths. Symbols in the cluster indicate your speed, the posted limit (a display that swells in size when you exceed that velocity), cruise-control engagement, lane borders marked in blue when the system is active, and the presence of a car ahead. Possible modes are: no car ahead, tracking the path of the car ahead (forward car marked blue if you engage below 18 mph), and maintaining the center of your traffic lane (distant car ahead marked white, close car ahead in black).
Autosteer feels smooth and confident with no path wobbling as long as the lane markers are clean and clear. When the system loses the scent—because of missing or obscure marks or sharp turns—a “hold steering wheel” advisory appears, followed by a display depicting red hands on the wheel and a “! Take over immediately” message followed, if necessary, by a wake-up chime. We noticed that the take-over advisory sometimes appears for no apparent reason. Steering with your hands for a few seconds reassures and reengages the system. Of course, when two adjacent lanes merge, Autosteer (not to mention many drivers) becomes temporarily confused, requiring disengagement.
We discovered that Autosteer works on damp pavement and will easily track a lead car onto and around an exit or entrance ramp. When the driver’s hand connection is requested, there is no panic taking over command. Those who ignore the helpful warnings will suffer continuous chiming and a prompt loss of cruising speed. If no driver response is forthcoming, the Model S will slow to a halt and hazard warning lights will be activated. Of course, Autosteer can be disabled by applying steering-wheel motion, touching the brakes, or pressing the cruise-control stalk forward.
If a car enters your lane, Autopilot is smart enough to provide appropriate following distance. Speed automatically changes to safely handle increasing- and decreasing-radius corners. Automatic cruise control is engaged by a tug of the stalk accompanied by up or down movements to set the speed. Rotating that lever clockwise to stretch the distance to the car ahead and counterclockwise to shrink seems slightly counter-intuitive to us, but the learning curve is short thanks to the helpful cluster display.
The new Auto Lane Change (ALC) feature also works superbly well. With Autosteer engaged and ALC enabled in the settings menu, you simply engage the turn-signal stalk as usual and the Model S smoothly and surely does your bidding. You’re allowed only one lane change at a time, even if you leave the stalk clicked for a double lane change. While we did not test it, the side-collision sensors—now with increased range—will stop you from clipping any nearby cars in the next lane. Side Collision Warning works between 20 and 85 mph.
Autopark sniffs out potential parking spaces as long as the Model S is traveling below 15 mph. If a suitable spot—defined as an open curb of sufficient length between a car ahead and a car behind—is detected, a P symbol shows in the instrument cluster. If you then shift to reverse, the parking sequence begins with automatic control of the steering and speed, and a rear-camera view displayed in the center screen. Grabbing the steering wheel or tapping the brake aborts the procedure.
Software upgrades unrelated to Autopilot help reach the set cabin temperature more quickly and with less energy consumption according to Tesla. The hill-hold function and the driveline jiggle we’ve noticed after engaging drive or reverse are also improved with the 7.0 software.
Tesla’s Autopilot ventures beyond the Mercedes-Benz S-class Intelligent Drive in three areas: it will control your direction of travel for miles on end versus the Benz’s 11 seconds, with no hand contact on the steering wheel; it executes lane changes on command; and it provides automatic parallel parking when conditions permit.
Chalk this up as one more proof point that Tesla’s mission is to advance the automobile beyond the status quo. While we enjoy driving with our hands and eyes in use all the time and our feet employed most of the time, we concede there’s no stopping the autonomous-driving freight train. Our attitude is that, since that train is coming, it should at least be a California Zephyr—swift, supremely comfortable, never late. Tesla seems to be on a similar wavelength. Autopilot is impressive and, at the very least, a feature Model S owners will enjoy demonstrating to amazed friends and neighbors.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1jp3dHP
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment