Is 360+ worth the upgrade?

AmazingSieve

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I'm interested in the stop and go feature, which I guess I'd have to get the 360+ to get it. Sounds interesting enough, but how does it perform in the real world?
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Mark S.

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I'm interested in the stop and go feature, which I guess I'd have to get the 360+ to get it. Sounds interesting enough, but how does it perform in the real world?
My wife's Escape is equipped with the full 360+ suite: adaptive cruise, lane centering, etc. I like using it on multi-lane highways with a lot of traffic, but I usually turn everything off on typical two-lane, rural highways. Lane centering is too aggressive on roads like that, and it can be confused by simple things such as an increase in the width of a lane, or a washed-out center/side stripe. If that happens I sometimes find myself in a little wrestling match with the steering wheel, which is really uncomfortable when you have oncoming opposite-direction traffic at highway speeds. Further, when cars in front slow to turn off the road the adaptive cruise will slow almost to a stop until the offending vehicle is COMPLETELY off the road, then BAM!, hard on the throttle to re-accelerate to highway speed. I can do it manually far more smoothly, and with a lot less drama.

That said, on multi-lane highways with a lot of stop and go traffic, the system works brilliantly. You can set the following distance within a certain range, and it will hold it faithfully as long as everyone is moving. If traffic comes to a stop the car will close the distance slowly until coming to a complete stop. When the car in front moves on the system will release brakes and accelerate to keep up.

If the Bronco will be your daily driver in a stop and go commute situation, then I'd say it's worth the money.
 

MJE

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Adaptive cruise has become my absolute must have in a modern car, I wouldnā€™t accept a car without it now. Markā€™s situation with a car turning off a rural two lane is exactly how it works, it seems to let off the gas & react a bit late, slow too much then speed up too much. But itā€™s easy to retake control as needed to smooth out the odd jarring occurrence. It fits nicely in a two lane with following distance when youā€™re not looking to pass the car ahead though. What I didnā€™t expect though is how much it shines in those multi lane freeways & stop/go traffic. As Mark said, the system works awesome in those! Itā€™s a little hard to trust itā€™s going to be on the brakes enough when traffic comes to a dead stop, but it will actually stop the car. Of course though if you decide youā€˜re not a fan, you can always turn it off & use it as a normal cruise too.

My experience with lane centering is probably the opposite of Markā€™s, I find it hardly does anything, or at least Iā€™m not feeling it, itā€™s probably not nearly aggressive enough (and Iā€™m assuming the explorer uses the same software & implementation as the BS & Escape, they wouldnā€™t design these systems individually per car). At least until youā€™re on an empty two lane & let your hands off the wheel then watch the car center itself, as close to self driving as weā€™re likely to get in much longer than Tesla would have you believe.
 

elmhead

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I too am a big fan of the adaptive cruise control. I had it on my 2017 Fusion and would not have bought my BS without it. The stop and go feature does work well in traffic. The lane centering is also much better than in my Fusion.
 

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Further, when cars in front slow to turn off the road the adaptive cruise will slow almost to a stop until the offending vehicle is COMPLETELY off the road, then BAM!, hard on the throttle to re-accelerate to highway speed.
Yep, that's a jolt when it happens. Now I just use it on the interstate.

Love the Adaptive cruise control for sure.
 


Mark S.

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My experience with lane centering is probably the opposite of Markā€™s, I find it hardly does anything, or at least Iā€™m not feeling it, itā€™s probably not nearly aggressive enough (and Iā€™m assuming the explorer uses the same software & implementation as the BS & Escape, they wouldnā€™t design these systems individually per car). At least until youā€™re on an empty two lane & let your hands off the wheel then watch the car center itself, as close to self driving as weā€™re likely to get in much longer than Tesla would have you believe.
There is lane keeping assist and lane centering. Lane keeping is really very relaxed--almost unnoticeable. You get a gentle nudge if you get close to a line, and if you cross over without your turn signal on you'll get a rumbling feeling in the wheel. Lane centering is CONSTANTLY turning the wheel, and it yells at you (both audible and visual warnings) if it doesn't feel you make a steering input every five or ten seconds; it's VERY noticeable in the Escape.

I can't image the system would be so different between the Escape and the BS. I wonder if you have lane centering turned off and you're just feeling (or not feeling) lane keeping.
 
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JerryC

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360+ was a must have for me.

I use it almost all of the time. CC is the only thing that keeps me from getting tickets in town. There's speed traps everywhere and the sport is always going faster than it feels. Adaptive is really nice as it keeps a good spacing.

The stop and go works but I usually hit the brakes long before the CC does and coast.

I really like the Intelligent Cruise Control, I even started a thread on it here.
 

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It works great and the package in total is a great upgrade. I'm pretty certain the extra safety stuff can also score you a better insurance rate so it might even pay for itself that way. I agree with the things other people have said about the responsiveness and the weird quirks of the adaptive cruise. Just wanted to touch two points I didn't see-
1) it is nerve wracking to settle back and let the vehicle take control. It will bring you to a stop but on a highway that goes from full speed to a jam, I guarantee it brakes later than an alert driver would.

2) there is a setting for follow distance. The button cycles between 4 settings. Part of my #1 is that I want to give the machine plenty of space to react. I think bad weather, rain, warrants even more distance because the car operates the same regardless of the road condition. So I rarely use the closest follow which I'd estimate is about 15 or 20 feet.
Related to that, at any setting, in stop and go traffic, 100% of the other drivers will move into the gap the car leaves. When this happens the car brakes abruptly reacting to the new object in sight leaving space for the next one to do it and so on and on. I find myself turning it off and just driving due to this. YMMV, but here in Portland something makes people change lanes all the time in traffic, even into that 15' space:mad::mad:. The system is great for those little slowdowns of a few MPH and it has a really light touch on the throttle that can help increase your gas mileage but those actual stopping and going situations, I get bounced like a ping pong ball by other drivers.
 

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No it is not. I consider it a downgrade it is a very basic low tech. I find it is not refined enough to justify using.
 


PirateBrahm

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It will depend on your driving style. I like to maintain a consistent speed on the road and I find it exhausting following drivers who cannot. Adaptive cruise takes care of both issues, and it's totally worth it for me. It's also quite handy for squeezing out some extra mpgs, so it'll pay for itself over time. The stop-and-go is remarkable, as it really does move along with traffic. It's not perfect, though - you still need to be ready to disengage when the car in front of you turns or if there's a vehicle in the turn lane confusing the radar. Also, the 'go' part of stop-and-go isn't great at traffic lights, so give the gas an extra nudge before the person behind you taps their horn.

The lane centering turns on and off depending on road conditions, so it's not exactly autopilot. It will give you a little extra assurance if you are momentarily distracted.

My big concern about both is complacency. It's a handy assist, but you really do have to actively keep aware of when the system is on or off, or you'll go flying into a tight turn at a speed past your comfort level.

Also, you get navigation without needing to plug in your phone, so if you are not a fan of Android Auto/Carplay, it's a bonus.
 

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We have it on my husbandā€™s Escape and the 360 ā€œsafetyā€ features on it have almost caused an accident a few times when the he had to swerve or change lanes quickly and the car fought it. Now he just turns most of it off.

I didnā€™t get that package for that reason. I also donā€™t use cruise control that much anyway so it wasnā€™t a must have for me.
 

MJE

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There is lane keeping assist and lane centering. Lane keeping is really very relaxed--almost unnoticeable. You get a gentle nudge if you get close to a line, and if you cross over without your turn signal on you'll get a rumbling feeling in the wheel. Lane centering is CONSTANTLY turning the wheel, and it yells at you (both audible and visual warnings) if it doesn't feel you make a steering input every five or ten seconds; it's VERY noticeable in the Escape.

I can't image the system would be so different between the Escape and the BS. I wonder if you have lane centering turned off and you're just feeling (or not feeling) lane keeping.
Youā€™re quite probably right. Iā€™ll do a bit of manual reading & check to see if itā€™s off or not. Thanks for the explanation!
 

tburner

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I'll echo what some have said here. The adaptive cruise control isn't particularly smooth. A car turning from infront of you will bring you to a stop until they're fully off the road. It slows too late and accelerates too aggressively for my taste in stop and go traffic, but I still use it because it IS handy, just not as smooth as I'd be. And using ACC in Dallas-FW traffic just means people will constantly be cutting over in front of me, so I disable it in heavy, moving traffic.

For some added context, I drive almost exclusively in Eco mode, I have no problem letting a computer adjust my speed or manage stop and go situations, and my last car (VW Golf R) had adaptive cruise control and it was MUCH smoother and more polished. For example, it would engine brake to slow down smoothly and efficiently, whereas my BS uses the brakes for everything. Speed limit dropped 5mph? BRAKES. So not all ACC implementations are the same (though it's probably safe to say they're close to it within the Ford brand).

I have lane centering enabled and I rarely notice it, except when it bings at me because it lost sight of the lane edges or when I pass an exit it wants to take and I have to briefly fight the wheel from turning slightly. I have the steering wheel rumble setting on max but I've never noticed it go off. But I also use my blinker for everything and I'm a fairly attentive driver.

Edit: I should add that I still use the features pretty frequently and I appreciate the convenience. But, as someone else stated, you still absolutely must maintain your attention and be engaged with your driving.
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