Ford BlueCruise Vs Tesla Autopilot: Which Is Better For Road Trips?

Ford BlueCruise autonomous driving

As the production of cars gets more advanced, throwing down more horsepower and torque than ever before, safety systems also get more advanced. One such push by automakers in recent years is the introduction of driver assistance systems. Two such systems are Ford BlueCruise and Tesla Autopilot. 

Both are Level 2 autonomous driving systems , as described by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) International. That means that both systems require constant input from the driver, and do not allow for total hands-free driving for the duration of the trip, and are, by nature, very limited in scope and ability. That said, each system has the potential to offload some of the more tedious or monotonous driving tasks to the car itself and allow the driver to experience at least a bit of assurance behind the wheel. 

Ford has been trying its darndest to make strides in the world of EVs and steal the electrified crown from Tesla with EVs like the F-150 Lightning and Mach-E. But which automakers' driver assistance system holds up best to the rigors of a long road trip lasting hundreds or thousands of miles?

Ford BlueCruise

For starters, BlueCruise is fairly limited in the scope of vehicles it's available on. It's only available on the Mustang Mach-E, the XLT, Lariat, Platinum, and Tremor trims of the F-150, Platinum, and Lariat trims of the EV F-150 Lightning, and Platinum trim models of the Ford Expedition. Additionally, it's available on both the Lincoln Corsair and Lincoln Navigator, regardless of trim level.

Currently, BlueCruise 1.3 is the latest version, and the system includes adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, and the ability to reposition the car inside the lane if it strays outside the lines. According to Ford, BlueCruise works on 97% of the highways in the United States and allows for somewhat hands-free driving on a large portion of highways. Although judging by Ford's coverage map, you will need to take control of the vehicle on nearly every road that isn't a major highway. And for safety's sake, you should never have your hands off the wheel for any extended period of time whatsoever.

The previous version, the  Ford BlueCruise 1.2 system is found to be sensible, but it is ultimately lacking in coverage, and the system has a tendency to abruptly change speeds at times. Given that many major highways are covered in a strict road trip scenario, having Ford BlueCruise enabled might make the bi-yearly trip to Disney slightly less strenuous. 

Tesla Autopilot

On the other hand, Tesla Autopilot is significantly more controversial than Ford's option. The same could be said about the entirety of Tesla. The full self-driving system, which is separate from the autopilot system, came under immense fire and has faced many legal and safety challenges, one due to a shocking dashcam video showing an autopilot Tesla crashing into emergency vehicles.  That can't be ignored when it comes to driver assistance features. And given Elon Musk and Tesla's tendency to over-promise, it's best to pay extra attention. 

At least on paper, Tesla's system touts much of the same abilities as Ford BlueCruise, meaning it can steer, slow down, and speed up by itself within a lane. However, Tesla does not make the same geographic concessions as Ford. Tesla takes great pride in its cameras that (theoretically) allow Tesla Autopilot to be used on more roads than Ford's system, not just major highways. The system also includes Smart Summon features that Ford does not have. As far as a road trip is concerned, you don't have to worry about the system's compatibility with the road you are driving on. And given the fact Teslas are electric, the onboard system is able to automatically guide you towards any Tesla Superchargers during the drive, a feature that's particularly helpful in unfamiliar areas.

Nonetheless, Tesla has the leg up on Ford as far as driver assistance features are concerned. Tesla has also been in the game longer, and as Autopilot capabilities improve, they will continue to be upgraded by over-the-air software updates. 

The verdict

For a road trip, the victor would have to go to Ford, even though the technology may not be as capable as Tesla's. And as of now, it only works on a set number of highways. Not only will the number of compatible roads go up in the future, but Ford has a better attitude toward safety improvements than Tesla has shown in the past. An individual Tesla likely isn't going to go haywire while in autopilot mode. Still, given  the sheer number of safety investigations into the brand and its supposed autonomous driving technology, it's tough to make an honest recommendation.

When it comes to long-distance driving, Ford's system covers most major highways to the point where it likely won't be a problem if you're going across the country. But it's still something to consider. If coverage is a deal-breaker and you don't mind stopping to take in the sights and fill up on electrons at a charging station, then Tesla's Autopilot might be the driver assistance package for you.

There's also the final question of price. Base Autopilot is standard on all Teslas, and the Enhanced Autopilot, which includes Smart Summon, automatic lane changes, and navigation features, is a $6,000 option. Ford's BlueCruise 1.3 is a $2,100 option on the Mustang Mach-E, and BlueCruise 1.0 is a $1,995 option on the gas-powered F-150.

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Autopilot Vs Super Cruise Vs BlueCruise: How Do They Compare?

The level 2 autonomous systems from ford, gm, and tesla aren't created equal..

Tesla, Ford, and General Motors offer Level 2 autnomous driving systems in their vehicles.

Update: Clarified Auto Lane Change functionality for Tesla Autopilot system.

The global automotive scene is in the midst of a paradigm shift. Electric motors are replacing internal combustion power, and advanced technology is literally taking control of automobiles. We are witnessing the birth of autonomous mainstream transportation, but it's not quite ready for prime time both in terms of development and regulation. However, some systems with limited self-drive capability are available for consumers to buy right now.

Ford is the latest automaker to step into this realm with its BlueCruise system , promising self-drive features similar to its crosstown rival, . Meanwhile, both Detroit brands are competing with Tesla , the company that wowed the world with its Autopilot system back in 2014. Everyone else has been playing catch-up since then, which begs the obvious question. Have Ford and GM caught up?

The Race To Full Autonomy:

honda level 3 autonomous driving japan

To find out, we gathered up some information for a direct comparison focusing on features, functionality, and cost. Note: with technology evolving at a rapid rate, this information is subject to change. Here's a quick overview followed by some noteworthy information on each system.

Ford BlueCruise

Ford BlueCruise autonomous system (F-150 instrument cluster)

Ford's curiously named BlueCruise is the latest tech to hit the market. As such, details are still slim and we don't yet know how much Ford will charge after the initial three-year subscription is up.

In addition to the $600 option (that Ford lists as software-specific), BlueCruise requires the Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package on the F-150 , which is $1,595 all total (including the $600 software cost). For select trims on the Mustang Mach-E , it's part of a $3,200 package. For now, Ford says BlueCruise is only available with the Mach-E and F-150.

BlueCruise will use a driver-facing camera to make sure you're paying attention while the system is operating. It will also let you drive completely hands free while it's activated. 

GM Super Cruise

Cadillac Super Cruise: 1,200 Miles, No Hands

Starting as a feature exclusive to Cadillac , Super Cruise is now offered on the Chevrolet Bolt EUV , though it's not the advanced Super Cruise system with lane-change functionality. As for Caddy, it's currently available on the CT4 and CT5 sedans, as well as the Escalade .

Like BlueCruise, Super Cruise relies on a driver-facing camera to ensure you're paying attention while it's active. It will also allow you to drive without any hands on the wheel.

Tesla Autopilot

Tesla Model S Autopilot

Every Tesla comes standard with Autopilot, offering Level 2 autonomous capability that isn't limited to specific stretches of highway. Additionally, Tesla offers features like summon mode, which slowly brings the car to the driver. Beyond that, Tesla's Full Self Drive (FSD) mode currently opens self-drive capability to city streets, offers point-to-point functionality with Navigate on Autopilot, and has an enhanced summon mode where the car can drive itself from a parking spot to meet you in front of a store. FSD is still in development, however, and the full beta that can navigate itself anywhere is only available to a small number of Tesla owners at this time.

Regardless of the system or the location, Tesla requires a hand on the wheel at all times. The steering wheel has a force sensor that can tell if your hand's on the wheel, and if it's absent for too long, Autopilot will alert the driver to reengage and eventually stop the car if that doesn't happen. There is no other driver-monitoring tech, particularly no cameras that monitor the driver's eyes. There is a driver-facing camera inside all Teslas, but the company currently does not use it for this purpose.

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Ford BlueCruise Rivals GM’s Super Cruise for Balancing Automation and Driver Monitoring

This new active driver assistance system stands out for allowing the driver to intervene without shutting off

Ford Mustang Mach-E BlueCruise at ATC

We just evaluated the new Ford BlueCruise active driver assistance system on a 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle and came away with mostly positive feelings. The system can allow for hands-free driving on sections of premapped divided highways, automating the vehicle’s steering, acceleration, and braking for the driver. It stands out for its driver monitoring and appropriate warnings when driver attention appears to have wandered, plus it effectively encourages collaborative driving. 

BlueCruise is similar to General Motors’ Super Cruise—currently the top-rated active driver assistance system in Consumer Reports’ tests —in that it uses a direct driver monitoring system, via an infrared camera mounted on top of the steering column, to make sure the driver is looking at the road. 

CR feels it is imperative that active driver assistance systems—which combine lane centering assist (LCA) and adaptive cruise control (ACC)—use direct driver monitoring to make sure the driver is looking at the road to help keep their car and other vehicles around it safe. Most current active driver assistance systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot , do not use effective direct driver monitoring, and instead require occasional hand pressure on the steering wheel as a means to make sure the driver is paying attention.

BlueCruise has a big advantage over Super Cruise and Autopilot: It allows for driver collaboration. If the driver wants to steer around a pothole, pedestrian, or cyclist, for example, the system doesn’t immediately shut off or go into a standby mode, as with Autopilot and Super Cruise. After the maneuver is completed, the system will recenter the car in the lane automatically. This allows the driver to work with the system, rather than seemingly passing the control back and forth between automation and the driver.

Although BlueCruise has taken notable steps in the right direction for active driver assistance systems, Ford has made some missteps, too. We found that it doesn’t communicate enough information to the driver about when and why they are being told to suddenly put their hands back on the wheel when the system is in its “hands-free” mode. 

Plus, Ford’s marketing of the system as a “hands-off highway driving experience” is sure to leave some customers confused about the system’s capabilities when they get alerts to put their hands back on the wheel for reasons that aren’t always clear. 

“If consumers expect that BlueCruise will do the driving for them, they are going to be disappointed,” says Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing. “The reality is this is a unique, collaborative approach that balances making driving easier while keeping drivers engaged during the boring parts of driving.”

During an interview with representatives from Ford, we were told that they “choose very carefully what to show drivers” in terms of messaging on the instrument cluster. But they also acknowledge that they’ve been listening to feedback from customers and “are looking at a future enhancement” to the system, although they wouldn’t elaborate on the details. To further help their customers understand the nuances of BlueCruise, Ford says it is developing how-to videos on the system.

@consumerreports Tesla’s system fails to keep a driver's attention on the road. Ford's issues an alert when the driver's eyes are diverted. #cartok #tesla #ford ♬ original sound - Consumer Reports

BlueCruise worked well during our preliminary evaluations on a Mustang Mach-E rented from Ford. The system is easy to activate because it takes only a single press of the cruise control button on the steering wheel to simultaneously engage the ACC and LCA. After that, all the driver has to do is stay attentive, ready to take over the steering on certain curvy sections of highways and manage the little stuff, such as steering to avoid potholes and manually adjusting the ACC’s speed, if they wish. 

We found BlueCruise enjoyable to use because it provides steering assistance on straight, boring sections of highway, or when you’re stuck in a traffic jam, which can make driving less stressful and more relaxing. 

We’re happy with Ford’s decision to utilize a driver monitoring camera to ensure that the driver is paying attention to their surroundings any time the system is active, whether on highways or secondary roads. 

We will fully test BlueCruise when the system becomes available through an over-the-air update on our 2021 Mustang Mach-E test car.

Photo: Consumer Reports Photo: Consumer Reports

BlueCruise Strengths

  • Direct driver monitoring to make sure the driver is paying attention to the road.
  • Allows for the driver to make their own steering-wheel inputs without immediately shutting the system off.
  • Simple to activate by pressing a single button on the steering wheel.
  • The system works on nonhighway roads with lane lines, but it still requires the driver to have their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

BlueCruise Weaknesses

  • BlueCruise doesn’t make it clear to the driver why it’s telling you to suddenly put your hands back on the wheel, or why the system won’t engage “hands-free” mode at times on divided highways.
  • Hands-free mode doesn’t always engage immediately after pressing the cruise-control button, with no explanation as to why.
  • Ford’s marketing of BlueCruise as “a hands-off highway driving experience” overstates the true experience.

Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports

The Camera Is the Key

BlueCruise hands-free driving is available only on “prequalified” (Ford’s term for GPS mapped or premapped) sections of divided highways called “Hands-Free Blue Zones.” Those zones cover about 130,000 miles of North American roads, according to the automaker. Thanks to Ford’s mapping data, BlueCruise knows information such as the GPS location of the lane, lane width, lane curvature, and changes in elevation. The information is onboard the vehicle, and Ford will update the maps over the air as needed.

But a key reason BlueCruise works so well is that the driver has to pay attention to the road. The system uses a driver-facing infrared camera perched atop the steering column that monitors the driver’s eyes and head gaze. If the driver glances away from the road for too long (about 5 seconds in our experience)—whether to look at their cell phone, fiddle with the infotainment screen, or because they fell asleep—the system will give the driver a visual warning to “Watch the road” within the instrument cluster, followed by an audible warning chime. The driver monitoring works effectively at detecting when the driver is looking away from the road, and it was not thrown off by sunglasses or a face mask. We didn’t find that it warned us so quickly that it became annoying.

Among BlueCruise’s advantages over competing systems is its simple activation process: All the driver has to do is press the cruise control button on the steering wheel (provided the system is set to adaptive cruise control, as opposed to “normal cruise control,” within the driver assistance settings on the infotainment screen) and the system is activated. 

But although pressing the cruise control buttons turns the system “on,” the hands-free aspect won’t necessarily engage immediately—sometimes it does; other times it can take a few seconds to a couple of minutes. The system has to be on a section of divided highway that it deems safe for hands-free driving. The driver will know the hands-free mode has been engaged when the instrument cluster background turns from white to blue, while showing a steering wheel with the words “hands-free” below it. 

We asked Ford representatives what parameters cause the system to suddenly switch out of hands-free mode, and were told it could be a number of things, from overly curvy lanes to unclear lane lines.

Works With the Driver, Not Against

As with Autopilot and Super Cruise, the BlueCruise system steers the vehicle to keep it near the center of the lane, yet unlike those other systems it doesn’t fight the driver if they want to take corrective action to dodge a pothole, or steer around a pedestrian or cyclist. Once the steering correction is made, the system seamlessly resumes control. With some competing systems, adding your own steering inputs deactivates the steering assistance, which means the driver will then have to reactivate it. 

Not only is it annoying to have to reactivate the system, but having to do so can also be a deterrent to the driver adding their own steering inputs, or using the system at all. With BlueCruise, even if the driver takes over the steering, the system still provides lane centering steering-wheel torque, but we found that it works with the driver instead of feeling like it’s working against them.

We see this as a big win, because systems shouldn’t “penalize” the driver for adding their own steering inputs.

BlueCruise Correctly Suggests Its Limitations

Unlike the inappropriately named Autopilot and other active driver assistance systems, the BlueCruise system is “more honest” about its limitations, says Kelly Funkhouser, CR’s manager of vehicle technology. “In our experience so far, BlueCruise seems to perform well in areas such as lane centering, ease of use, and driver monitoring,” she says. “But one of the aspects we really like about BlueCruise is that it doesn’t say to the driver, ‘I’ve got this, don’t worry about steering,’ which can lead to a false sense of complacency.”

Instead, BlueCruise asks the driver to “Keep hands on steering wheel” on curvy stretches of highway. “It’s not necessarily ending its steering assistance,” Funkhouser says, “but the system wants the driver to have their hands on the wheel for safety just in case the automation can’t actually handle the turn.”

“I love driving,” Fisher says. “But not on boring, straight stretches of highway or in stop-and-go traffic.” In those situations, BlueCruise can automate the steering, braking, and accelerating for you pretty well.

“I still want to be in charge during higher-risk driving, such as through fast or tight curves,” Fisher continues. “BlueCruise has the ability to sense those sections ahead of time, and it makes sure you have your hands on the wheel so you’re at the ready.”

Mixed Messaging

Ford’s marketing of BlueCruise as a “hands-off highway driving experience” is potentially misleading to consumers. People may be confused or feel misled when they find out that BlueCruise wants them to have their hands on the steering wheel quite often on curvier sections of highway. Many customers may assume “hands-free” actually means “hands-free at all times,” and in our experience so far, that simply isn’t the case with BlueCruise, even on premapped sections of divided highway.

BlueCruise is currently available on the F-150 full-sized pickup and Mustang Mach-E EV. The system will be coming to the 2022 Expedition Platinum soon, as well as the upcoming F-150 Lightning EV pickup. A Ford spokesman told us BlueCruise would be heading to more vehicles, as well, but declined to give specifics as to which models, and the time frame.

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Ford BlueCruise vs. Tesla Autopilot: Which Hands-Free Driving System Is Better?

If you’re like many drivers, new tech developments within the automotive industry may intrigue you, especially when it comes to hands-free driving capabilities. This relatively new feature is popping up all over the industry, with giants like Ford and Chevy taking on newcomers like Tesla, offering their unique spin on semi-autonomous driving. Several news outlets have recently announced that Ford’s BlueCruise technology has secured the top spot in Consumer Report’s ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) test, which put various systems through a rigorous course to see how they stacked up against each other. Ford surpassed its main rival, Chevy, and its Super Cruise tech to take the top spot, but most notably, Tesla, one of the biggest up-and-coming automakers, fell to seventh place. This is a big deal for the respected Ford brand since Tesla is touted as being one of the most innovative and tech-forward automakers on the planet.

Passing by your local Ford dealer , you may wonder which vehicles on the lot are armed with some of the best semi-autonomous driving tech in the industry. From the Mustang Mach-E to the iconic F-150, electrified Lightning to the Expedition, Ford is loading up its vehicles with this groundbreaking tech. The biggest question is; although BlueCruise scored the highest in one testing event, is it really better than Tesla’s famous Autopilot technology? We weigh in on each system, getting down to the nuts and bolts of each to see which semi-autonomous driving experience is the best in the business.

About Ford BlueCruise

BlueCruise pairs Adaptive Cruise Control, which adjusts to the speed of traffic to keep you moving forward safely, with Stop-and-Go and Lane Centering capabilities to keep you securely in your lane, braking and accelerating accordingly. The system also utilizes Speed Sign Recognition to ensure that you’re following the rules of the road at all times. Put all of these advanced features together, and you’ve got a vehicle that maneuvers through traffic with ease and adjusts to changes in the journey, all without your hands being on the wheel. Vehicles armed with BlueCruise technology can travel over 130,000 miles of Blue Zones throughout the continent, which have been pre-mapped and tested to ensure your safety and the quality of the ride. Once in a Blue Zone, blue lighting on the instrument panel will illuminate, signaling that the vehicle is safe to engage in hands-free driving.

A silver 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is shown from the side while off-road.

Ford BlueCruise’s Most Notable Features

So, what makes Ford’s BlueCruise technology such a winner? Well, you’ll find that the system isn’t just easy to use and ultra-convenient; it’s also extremely safe, with extra precautions in place to ensure one of the safest rides on the road. Here are some of the most notable features of this system that have drivers hooked.

Driver-Facing Camera

You may be wondering how exactly a vehicle can tell if you’re really paying attention when your hands aren’t even on the wheel. Wouldn’t it be easy to just launch into BlueCruise, climb into the backseat, and take a nap after a long day at work? Well, that won’t happen in a Ford vehicle because all BlueCruise vehicles are armed with a driver-facing camera, which monitors your gaze to ensure that your eyes remain firmly on the road ahead. If the vehicle detects that the driver isn’t paying ample attention to what’s going on on the roadway, it will disengage BlueCruise, and the driver must take over their driving duties. There’s no funny business happening inside a BlueCruise vehicle; Ford makes sure of this.

Predictive Speed Assist

Sometimes, the road ahead gets a bit windy, and you may wonder, is a BlueCruise vehicle able to tackle the twists and turns of the road? Absolutely! With Predictive Speed Assist, vehicles equipped with BlueCruise 1.2 adjust their speed to safely take on a tight curve without the driver having to intervene. There won’t be any worrying when a BlueCruise vehicle takes on windy mountain roads.

Lane Positioning Tech

Whether a BlueCruise vehicle needs to change lanes or shift away from vehicles in an adjacent lane, they can do so with advanced features in the BlueCruise system. Just a simple tap of the turn signal, and your vehicle will safely switch lanes for you. When it senses that a neighboring vehicle is inching too close to you, it effortlessly shifts away without you having to lift a finger.

About Tesla Autopilot

Tesla vehicles are equipped with what’s called Autopilot, a hands-free experience, utilizing eight external cameras to monitor road changes and deliver a safe and convenient ride. There are a variety of levels of this system, which include Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self Driving Capability. Autopilot utilizes Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to safely stay with the flow of traffic, as well as Autosteer, which steers the vehicle for you. Enhanced Autopilot allows drivers to switch lanes, parallel park, and navigate more complex environments without the driver’s help. Finally, Full Self Driving Capability utilizes traffic and stop sign technology to speed up, slow down, make full stops, and more, while an Autosteer feature for use in urban areas is making its way down the pipeline soon.

Tesla Autopilot’s Most Notable Features

Tesla is known for designing some of the most advanced vehicles on the road, and one look at any Tesla will most likely have you gawking in its direction. Although it seems like Autopilot has all of its bases covered, some concerns have arisen in the industry, especially regarding the safety of this system. Take a look at some of its most notable features and see where these concerns begin to pop up.

A red 2020 Tesla Model S is shown from the side after leaving a Ford dealer.

Steering Wheel Nag

Ford’s BlueCruise tech monitors the driver’s attention via a driver-facing camera. This ensures that their eyes are glued to the road so that the vehicle remains in complete control, even when the driver isn’t actually operating it. Tesla, on the other hand, requires drivers to touch the steering wheel every so often to ensure that they’re still paying attention to the road.

Have you ever lost focus on work, started staring at your phone, and just moved your mouse around so that your computer didn’t go to sleep? That’s about the same as Steering Wheel Nag. What’s worse is that drivers have gotten smart, rigging a system where an object in the vehicle remains in contact with the steering wheel while the driver takes a siesta in the backseat. What would you do if you witnessed this out on the open road?

Smart Summon

Forgot where you parked your car? No worries, just summon it, and it’ll come to you. This may work with Fido at the dog park, but travelers aren’t quite sure they want a vehicle hurtling toward them on its way to find its faithful owner. The good thing is that it’s only meant for use in private parking lots or driveways. We have a feeling that’s not going to stop some drivers from putting it to the test in the Home Depot parking lot. Who else always forgets where they park when they go there?

The Verdict

Although Tesla is pretty cool and all, especially since you’re able to control your vehicle when you’re not even in it, it raises some concerns about the safety of the hands-free driving system. The cool features seem to do more harm than good, which places a seed of doubt into the minds of many everyday travelers. The biggest advantage of BlueCruise is that the system monitors drivers more accurately. There seem to be more precautions put into place because, let’s face it, the technology isn’t quite there yet for us to trust our vehicles to jet around town completely on their own. It seems as though BlueCruise may just be the answer drivers are looking for, especially when they want to harness cutting-edge tech, like semi-autonomous driving, but still want to feel safe on the road.

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But it's not absolutely perfect yet.

Mustang Mach-E

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are well on the rise throughout the automotive sphere to decrease on-road fatalities and ultimately develop a foundation for autonomous mobility. Ford's relatively new BlueCruise system has been implemented into products such as the Mustang Mach-E and, based on impressions from experts on the technology, it might just be one of the best examples out there.

Consumer Reports put the system to the test and noted how it may even put GM's Super Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot to shame. BlueCruise incorporates hands-free driving on divided highways that are pre-mapped. This automates the car's steering, acceleration, and braking but the stand-out feature is its driver monitoring and warning functionalities.

BlueCruise bears a lot of similarities to GM's Super Cruise, which is soon to be shown up by the group's upcoming Ultra Cruise system . Both of these technologies make use of direct driver monitoring via an infrared camera mounted to the top of the steering column. This is employed to ensure that the driver maintains a steady eye on the road.

This has been considered a crucial feature in ADAS when combined with lane centering assist and adaptive cruise control. That's because it ensures that the driver is paying attention in the case of an unforeseen circumstance where said driver will have to intervene. Consumer Reports notes that this is not the case in a system such as Tesla's Autopilot .

If BlueCruise and Super Cruise run on similar systems, what makes the former better? The key difference is the technology's motivation for driver collaboration. If the driver notices an obstacle in the course, such as a pothole or pedestrian, and assumes direct control, the system switches to a standby mode and reengages once the action is complete. With Super Cruise and Autopilot, the system cancels operation completely.

Consumer Reports notes that BlueCruise does take steps in the right direction but it's not the perfect system. For example, the driver does not receive sufficient communication in instances where they are required to put their hands back on the steering wheel. Furthermore, Ford's decision to market the system as a "hands-off highway driving experience" is likely to mislead customers when they take their hands off the wheel and are told to place them back.

"If consumers expect that BlueCruise will do the driving for them, they are going to be disappointed," says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports . "The reality is this is a unique, collaborative approach that balances making driving easier while keeping drivers engaged during the boring parts of driving."

In an interview with Ford representatives, it was stated that the brand chooses what to show drivers via messages in the instrument cluster with a lot of caution. It also acknowledges that feedback from consumers has been essential and is looking at making enhancements to the system in the future. A series of instructional videos are also being produced for improved clarity on how to operate BlueCruise.

Tesla's Autopilot is falling behind as other software catches up

  • Consumer Reports ranked the best advanced driver-assistance systems on the market. 
  • Tesla's pioneering Autopilot feature was beaten out by several technologies. 
  • Ford's BlueCruise took the top spot. 

Insider Today

Tesla, a pioneer in the world of high-tech cars, fell in Consumer Reports' latest ranking of advanced driver-assistance systems released on Wednesday. 

The nonprofit organization evaluated 12 technologies that combine adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane centering assistance (LCA) to aid with highway driving. The systems, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the auto industry, keep a vehicle in its lane while slowing down and speeding up with the flow of traffic.

They don't make vehicles self-driving, of course, but can make driving safer and less stressful. 

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Ford's BlueCruise (ActiveGlide in Lincolns), which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel on approved highways, nabbed the top spot. General Motors' similar Super Cruise feature came in second place. Mercedes-Benz's tech took third. 

Tesla Autopilot fell to seventh place this year, from second in 2020. That's because Elon Musk's automaker hasn't made significant changes to Autopilot's core functionality in years, Consumer Reports said. It's mainly focused on adding features. 

"After all this time, Autopilot still doesn't allow collaborative steering and doesn't have an effective driver monitoring system. While other automakers have evolved their ACC and LCA systems, Tesla has simply fallen behind," Jake Fisher, the organization's senior director of auto testing, said in the report. 

Consumer Reports judged the features based on five criteria: ease of use, capability and performance, keeping the driver engaged, unresponsive driver, and clear when safe to use. 

Driver-assistance tech isn't the only area where Tesla is losing ground. Though it's still by far the dominant electric car seller in the the US, automakers like General Motors, Ford, Hyundai , and Polestar are eating away at its market share as they release new and appealing models . Tesla accounted for roughly 65% of electric car sales in 2022 , down from 79% in 2020 . 

blue cruise vs autopilot

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Tesla Autopilot vs Ford BlueCruise

Tesla Autopilot vs Ford BlueCruise: BlueCruise Can’t Even Take Curved Roads

It’s a fully autonomous mad rush to the virtual finish line. While Tesla Autopilot has received its fair share of criticism over the years, the time has come for Ford BlueCruise. Unfortunately, Ford BlueCruise found a clue, and the clue is to find out what has worked for Tesla Autopilot.

Comparing Tesla Autopilot and Ford BlueCruise

Tesla Autopilot vs Ford BlueCruise

In case you don’t know, Sandy Munro is an automotive engineer that is exceptionally well-versed in vehicles. Munro has sat down with Elon Musk before and regularly criticizes Tesla for one reason or another, as reported by Teslarati . However, Munro does drive a Tesla Model 3. However, Ford BlueCruise did not impress Munro. At all, actually.

Both Tesla Autopilot and Ford BlueCruise are advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). BlueCruise is a lot less further along in design than Autopilot, and it shows. Drivers can only activate BlueCruise in specific areas called “blue zones.” In the video below, Munro and Ford Driver Assist Technology Chief Engineer Chris Billman took a trip on a freeway in a blue zone.

According to Ford, BlueCruise has over 130,000 miles of pre-qualified highways that offer hands-free driving. Tesla Autopilot technically requires hands on the steering wheel at all times.

How Ford BlueCruise perfoms on the highway

BlueCruise simply knows to drive on a straight highway. When Munro questions if the Ford vehicle will take the offramp to get to another destination, Billman tells him no. It won’t even change lanes without the driver changing lanes manually. The navigation aspect isn’t integrated, Billman notes.

Munro must immediately place his hands on the wheel to navigate the bend when the road starts to curve. It’s a bit odd. Ford BlueCruise will offer over-the-air updates like Tesla Autopilot offers. Ford does plan on including lane change assist and speed control options. Munro says Ford BlueCruise performed OK, but he does not seem impressed at all. He offers a diplomatic opinion and delves into why he finds Tesla Autopilot so impressive.

Munro suggests that Ford get in a Tesla and try out Tesla Autopilot to see how it compares. “Maybe we will get another ride and drive, and ill say, ‘wow, this is marvelous.’ But not this time.”

It takes time to get up to speed

@Ford hands-free BlueCruise chases Tesla Autopilot, GM Super Cruise. Camera monitor, highways only. Payne @DetroitNews https://t.co/LoJnsdEvz0 pic.twitter.com/tKZbA6KSuk — Henry Payne (@HenryEPayne) April 14, 2021

There are some definite improvements Ford can make to the BlueCruise system right away. When Munro needed to put his hands back on the wheel, the alert was very quiet. If an unsuspecting driver was using the system, this might not be enough to attract attention. Plus, BlueCruise should include basic maneuvering like lane changes.

Trying to use Ford BlueCruise on a regular road seems quite far away for now. While Tesla Autopilot isn’t perfect, it has proven relatively good at navigating the city streets. Thus far, BlueCruise will debut in the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Ford F-150 Lightning . It seems that BlueCruise is in the same place Autopilot was four or five years back. It takes time to get these features correct, and Ford has a lot of work to do.

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Amanda Cline

Amanda Cline is an avid fan of Formula 1 and joined MotorBiscuit in 2021. A Southwest Floridian, she easily and often finds automotive events to attend in the Tampa, Orlando, and Miami areas. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Technical Communication. Combining her editorial and digital media expertise, Amanda served as a content creator for FanSided and now provides our readers with a variety of automotive subject matter like pickup trucks and SUV s, including valuable consumer advice.

Amanda closely follows many F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. Her all-time favorite author is Shel Silverstein.

blue cruise vs autopilot

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Sell my car, car research, sign in, tesla autopilot and full self-driving vs. gm super cruise vs. ford bluecruise, tesla took an early lead in the race to automate driving tasks, but gm and ford have beaten the start-up to delivering hands-free driving..

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Tesla Autopilot

Tesla full self-driving capability, general motors super cruise, ford bluecruise.

The past decade has seen a sharp rise in the availability and capability of advanced driver-assistance systems. Many mainstream vehicles now have blind-spot monitoring, which informs you when traffic is lurking next to your rear-quarter panel, and automated emergency braking, which slows the vehicle to mitigate or prevent an imminent rear-end collision. Cruise control has evolved into adaptive cruise control, which uses radar, cameras, and/or laser to track and match the speed of the vehicle ahead of you.

On the cutting edge of driver-assistance technology, a few automakers have even released technologies that make it possible for you to remove your hands from the steering wheel in certain circumstances. General Motors is one of them, with its highway-limited Super Cruise system, and Ford is another, with its similarly capable BlueCruise. And then there’s Tesla. Its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability tech doesn’t allow for hands-free motoring, but it can control the vehicle and negotiate traffic with a driver loosely holding the steering wheel.

If you’re interested in a vehicle with this kind of advanced driver-assistance technology, this primer will help you understand how GM’s, Ford’s, and Tesla’s systems compare.

blue cruise vs autopilot

Released in 2015, Tesla’s Autopilot captivated consumers, investors, and the auto industry with its ability to accelerate, brake, and steer the vehicle. It gave the impression that the car was capable of driving itself, even if it was designed to be used by an attentive driver with hands on the wheel and ready to take control at any moment.

As other automakers have upgraded from lane-departure warning to lane-keeping assistance systems to lane-centering systems, the Tesla technology that once seemed so futuristic is now common. Currently, the Autopilot tech suite consists of adaptive cruise control and Autosteer, Tesla’s lane-centering system. Competitors’ products, such as Honda Sensing Suite and Kia Highway Driving Assist, have the same capabilities as Autopilot.

Autopilot is standard on every new Tesla on sale today: the Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and Model X. Depending on the model and age of the vehicle, Autopilot uses radar, ultrasonic sensors, and/or cameras to track lane markings and vehicles around them. And while this wasn’t always the case, Tesla now monitors driver engagement, using a torque sensor to detect that the driver has a hand on the steering wheel and, in certain new models, a camera above the rearview mirror to ensure drivers are alert. If a driver removes their hands from the wheel and their eyes from the road, the system will audibly warn them to act. If they continue to disobey the car’s orders, Autopilot will shut down and the vehicle will slow to a stop.

Tesla, believing it can achieve autonomy using just cameras and ultrasonic sensors, no longer equips the Model 3 and Model Y with radar. (The Model S and Model X will likely lose radar, too, at some point.) The reliance on cameras makes Autopilot and FSD more susceptible to perception issues in rain, snow, and fog. Faded lane markings and abrupt road changes in construction zones can also trip up the system.

blue cruise vs autopilot

Tesla’s more advanced, extra-cost driver-assistance system is called Full Self-Driving Capability (FSD), but don’t let the name fool you: FSD is not capable of autonomous driving, wherein the driver can simply punch in a destination and let the car do the rest. The driver still must keep his or her hands on the wheel and eyes on the road when using FSD.

The FSD package builds on Autopilot with additional capabilities, including some “beta” features that are still under development and should be used with caution. One of those features, called Navigate on Autopilot, uses the destination typed into the navigation system and, working in conjunction with Autopilot, seeks to handle the highway portion of your trip. When operating properly, it should guide your vehicle from on-ramp to off-ramp, even automatically changing lanes to pass slower vehicles or to navigate an interchange. As with Autopilot, the driver must remain alert with hands on the wheel and eyes on the road while the car does this.

When Autopilot is enabled but there’s no destination in the navigation system, FSD’s Auto Lane Change can move the vehicle into an adjacent lane to pass slower traffic. The other beta feature, called Traffic and Stop Sign Control, reads stop signs and traffic signals and tells the car to behave accordingly. This technology similarly requires active supervision.

FSD also adds a host of parking assistance features. Summon allows the driver to exit the car and move their Tesla forward or backward in and out of a tight parking spot via a mobile app. Using Smart Summon, the car will exit a parking spot and maneuver around a parking lot to come pick the driver up. FSD will also parallel-park for you (with a driver behind the wheel) at the push of a button.

Autopilot and FSD can be activated nearly everywhere, and that gives Tesla a huge bragging point over the competition, although that doesn’t mean drivers should use them everywhere. The real-world capabilities of these systems vary based on a variety of factors. In many city and suburban settings, the Tesla systems are unpredictable and unreliable, and using them is a nuisance. Users have noted that they may swerve suddenly or may not detect major obstacles. Teslas using Autopilot have also been known to collide with stationary emergency vehicles, most often at night. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently opened an investigation in hopes of understanding why those crashes occurred.

The Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and Model X are all available with FSD at a cost of $10,000. For those who can’t afford or justify such a high premium, the automaker offers a FSD subscription plan to owners. The monthly cost is either $99 or $199, depending on what hardware a vehicle has, which determines what FSD features will be activated. Used Teslas with the necessary hardware (specifically version 3.0 or newer) are also compatible with FSD. Vehicles equipped with older technology can be retrofitted with this equipment for $1,500.

blue cruise vs autopilot

In addition to lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control, Super Cruise allows for hands-free operation on 200,000 miles of select, pre-mapped divided highways in North America. Introduced in 2017 on the Cadillac CT6 as the first hands-free driver-assistance system available on a production car in the U.S., it has since trickled down to other brands and vehicles under the GM umbrella.

The latest version supports automatic lane changes to keep the vehicle at an optimal speed and, on certain trucks and SUVs, a trailering feature. The latter takes into account the weight of a trailer and how it affects the vehicle’s driving dynamics and then determines the best following distance. It will also make steering adjustments to keep the trailer in line.

Super Cruise uses a combination of high-definition maps, GPS, radar, and cameras to monitor the road and other vehicles. The mapping data informs the system of what’s coming up, giving the car time to anticipate, say, a tight curve by slowing down in advance. The maps are also frequently updated so that the system can hand control back to a driver as the vehicle approaches a construction zone.

In addition to audio and dashboard alerts, a light bar on the steering wheel changes color to signify when Super Cruise is active. A camera mounted on the steering column makes sure the driver continues to pay attention, and capacitive sensors in the steering wheel let the car know when the driver has resumed control.

blue cruise vs autopilot

As the first hands-free driver-assistance feature to reach the market, Super Cruise has enjoyed several years of real-world testing, allowing GM to examine and improve the feature set as well as expand its system's coverage area while the competition rushes to catch up. But as we mentioned earlier, Super Cruise works only on divided highways, and it can’t navigate every situation. Road construction and faded lane markings may cause it to disengage. On the plus side, when that does happen, the driver knows right away via the highly visible light bar in the steering-wheel rim. Fail to take charge and the vehicle will prompt you with beeps and a voice command before coasting to a stop (at which point, you won't be able to re-engage the system until the next ignition cycle).

For 2022, GM intended to offer Super Cruise in the Cadillac Escalade, CT4, CT5, and XT6, the GMC Sierra and Hummer EV, and the Chevrolet Silverado and Bolt EUV. Unfortunately, the chip shortage delayed those plans, and currently only the Chevy Bolt EUV offers the tech, to the tune of $2,200.

blue cruise vs autopilot

BlueCruise is the new kid on the block. Like GM’s offering, Ford’s system allows the driver to remove their hands from the wheel on pre-mapped divided highways (called Blue Zones) and uses GPS, high-definition maps, radar, and cameras to enable lane centering and adaptive cruise control, keeping the vehicle where it should be.

BlueCruise currently works on more than 100,000 miles of road in the U.S. and Canada, or about half of what GM’s system covers at the time of this writing. BlueCruise also lacks the lane-changing assistance of Super Cruise and FSD, but Ford plans to retroactively add this capability to current models via an over-the-air update in the future.

blue cruise vs autopilot

A camera in the instrument cluster tracks the driver’s eyes, and a torque sensor in the steering wheel determines if the driver has command of the helm. Unlike Super Cruise, BlueCruise doesn’t use a steering-wheel light bar to relay information, but rather sticks to just visual alerts in the dash cluster and audible warnings. If the driver fails to act, the vehicle will slow to a crawl.

BlueCruise is available on the 2021 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E. For the F-150, it comes standard on the top-spec Limited trim. Buyers of the Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum models can get it by opting for the $1,595 Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package. As for the Mach-E electric crossover, the CA Route 1, Premium, and First Edition trim levels include BlueCruise at no additional charge, while the Select model offers it only as part of the $3,200 Comfort and Technology package.

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TESLARATI

Ford Blue Cruise and GM Super Cruise lauded in Consumer Reports’ driver monitoring rankings

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In a recent announcement, Consumer Reports stated that it has decided to reward carmakers whose driver-assist systems encourage safe driving behaviors. With this in mind, the CR 2022 autos Top Picks, which would be announced on February 17, would reflect scoring changes based on how vehicles’ driver monitoring systems perform in real-world scenarios. 

Under the updated scoring system, vehicles with systems that encourage safe driving are given two additional points. So far, Consumer Reports noted that only Ford’s Blue Cruise and GM’s Super Cruise would be earning these extra points. Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center, explained these findings. 

“We believe it’s time to recognize vehicles that have found a safer way to deploy this technology. GM’s Super Cruise and now Ford’s BlueCruise both have the right combination of helping drivers enjoy the convenience of automation while verifying that they’re keeping their eyes on the road,” he said . 

Different carmakers utilize different driver monitoring systems. Ford’s Blue Cruise even taps the brakes to “jolt” an inattentive driver , and other systems limit access to certain features if a driver proves inattentive. Other systems engage an audible alarm if a driver is not paying attention to the road, and some restrict further usage of automated features until the next drive. 

Consumer Reports noted that it has tested driver-assist systems from five carmakers, namely BMW, Ford, GM, Subaru, and Tesla. In BMW’s case, features like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist could reportedly be engaged even if the vehicle’s internal camera is covered or toggled off in a system menu. Subaru’s EyeSight and DriverFocus, on the other hand, could detect driver distraction in some scenarios, but it could be completely turned off. 

As for Tesla, Consumer Reports claims that in their Model S and Model Y with V11 software , Autopilot could still be engaged while the cabin camera was fully covered. CR shared concerns about Tesla using video data from its vehicles’ cabin camera as well, since owners have the option to send footage from their cars to the company. Lastly, Consumer Reports claimed that as long as drivers’ hands were on the wheel, there were no warnings if drivers’ eyes were off the road. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to  [email protected]  to give us a heads up.

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The Cadillac Celestiq is on its way for the 2024 model year, bringing ultra-high-end styling and luxury and a sky-high price tag. Beyond its lavish build quality and futuristic styling, the upcoming EV will debut a new semi-autonomous driving function for General Motors. Called Ultra Cruise, the feature builds on the existing hands-free Super Cruise function with more advanced hands-free features and sensors.

Though it’s more advanced than the existing system, GM is careful not to label Ultra Cruise as an autonomous driving system, saying that drivers will still need to pay attention at all times. The marketing and language surrounding Ultra Cruise is a departure from the way Tesla portrays its full self-driving (FSD) system, but there are a few other significant differences to note.

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Unlike FSD, which lets drivers hand over control on city streets and other scenarios, Ultra Cruise’s functionality will be limited on rollout. It won’t work in roundabouts, intersections and parking lots at first, and will hand over control to the driver in those situations. The functionality will improve over time, however, eventually covering almost every paved road.

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Another significant difference between GM’s Ultra Cruise and Tesla FSD is the sensor setup that guides each system. Tesla relies on cameras only to view and absorb data about the world around the vehicle, while Ultra Cruise uses short- and long-range radars in addition to cameras. GM also incorporates LiDAR behind the windshield and another camera inside to monitor the driver’s attention levels.

Perhaps the most significant difference between the two is how they’re advertised to prospective buyers. Tesla is under investigation for crashes that took place while drivers were using its FSD technology. The automaker hasn’t done much to curb the perception that vehicles can actually drive themselves when equipped with the tech. Its beta test program is running on public roads in the hands of everyday drivers, so it’s easy to see how things could go sideways.

General Motors is taking a more measured approach to the Ultra Cruise rollout, saying that its fundamental strategy is to safely release the functions to the public. Its testing regimen has examined the handoff point between tech and human control, saying that the most consistent and clear operation presents the safest situation.

Super Cruise offers hands-free driving on highways and is available in several vehicles, including the Chevrolet Bolt EUV , Silverado and others. Ultra Cruise will be far more limited to start, with availability only on the insanely expensive and bespoke Celestiq EV. Even so, the rollout to other models will be faster than it was with Super Cruise. However, GM said it was not ready to make promises on which functions would be available at launch due to its extensive and ongoing testing.

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Ford BlueCruise vs. Tesla Autopilot

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Ford BlueCruise Has Clear Advantage Over Tesla Autopilot

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for more details see Driver Monitoring Systems by Ford and GM Are Only Ones...  

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Tesla autopilot is clearly superior to Blue Cruise at this time. However, Consumer Reports puts more importance on monitoring the driver, ie, who cares how poorly the system drives the car, lets focus on making sure the system disengages when driver isn't fully focused on the road at all times. What a farce of a report. What actually matters is how well the system drives the vehicle, and here, autopilot is king. But of course, Consumer Reports has a big beef with Tesla on the driver monitoring (and they always have). Note : see Sandy Munro youtube channels video where Sandy (who has driven autopilot for thousands of miles) drives in Blue Cruise and tells Ford rep in the vehicle how badly the Ford system is working.  

FM_Jack

If you are more of a fan of Tesla, I can see being peeved that they not favor Tesla. However, you can't state these things in a vacuum. The driver being monitored is an important part of the system. And famously, at this point, there are loads of real world examples of Teslas not doing that at all. Some of which have been fatal. So making it seem like someone is being biased, to me, isn't valid anymore. Especially now that we have examples of them nearly hitting cops and other emergency response personnel. BTW, from most reviewers I've see, not CR, have stated they feel like SuperCruise is the best right now and AP is second. As for me, I actually don't care. I'm fine with ACC and some form of Lane keep and I'm happy. These auto pilot systems are not selling points for me. And if Teslas keep hitting stationary objects while people either are watching movies or sleeping (doesn't matter how corner case they are), that'll only fuel legislators to never let them fully operate on the road anyway. And to this last point, may be why they are emphasizing driver monitoring, because some may believe that fully autonomous vehicles are too far down the road to rate at this point.  

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GM Super Cruise vs Tesla Autopilot: Who's The Daddy?

GM's Super Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot are both Level 2 autonomous driving systems, but here's how they stack up against each other

Once upon a time, a self-driving car seemed as far-fetched as a flying one, but with semi- and fully-autonomous driving technology being developed by a number of car manufacturers, the world is closer than ever to having fully street-legal self-driving cars than ever before. That being said, each manufacturer's self-driving tech has its pros and its cons, making it difficult for drivers to determine which make and model to invest in. For instance, both General Motors (GM) and Tesla have their own autonomous driving technology. For GM, it is Super Cruise, which GM describes as '' the first true hands-free driver assistance technology for compatible roads' '. Meanwhile, Tesla equips its new models with a program called Autopilot. While both Super Cruise and Autopilot are paving the way for a futuristic driving experience, which of these semi-autonomous driving systems reign supreme?

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GM Super Cruise - 400,000 Miles Of Coverage!

General Motors first announced that it would be developing an autonomous driving system, known as SuperCruise, nearly ten years ago in April 2013. A decade later, Super Cruise is known as a semi-autonomous driver assistance feature. GM models equipped with Super Cruise allow their drivers to navigate hands-free for extended periods of time during highway driving. Of course, not all automated vehicles are made the same. According to the NHSTA’s Automated Vehicles for Safety document, GM's Super Cruise is classified as a Level 2 autonomous driving technology. This essentially means that Super Cruise is not fully autonomous. In other words, the technology acts as a driver assistance feature as opposed to a comprehensive self-driving system.

According to the NHTSA, Level 2 automated vehicles, such as those equipped with Super Cruise, have ''combined automated functions, like acceleration and steering, but the driver must remain engaged with the driving task and monitor the environment at all times.” Specifically, Super Cruise uses a combination of camera, LiDar mapping, radar sensors, and GPS information to take control of the vehicle during highway driving, including taking over functions such as steering and braking. Additionally, Super Cruise enables GM models with full-speed range adaptive cruise control as well as lane centering.

When it was first launched, Super Cruise was only available on 130,000 miles of limited-access freeways throughout the U.S. and Canada (significantly less than Tesla's Autopilot), though a more recent update has mapped an additional 200,000 miles of North American roads. With more updates, it now covers up to 400,000 miles of roads. GM similarly promises that the range of availability for Super Cruise will be expanded yearly. “We continue to look for ways to expand access to hands-free driving on more vehicles and roads for customers to experience,” GM spokesperson Aimee Ridella said. “GM will make Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance technology available on 22 vehicles by the end of 2023.”

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Tesla Autopilot - Taking Autonomous Technology To The Next Level

Tesla unveiled its Autopilot system in 2015, just two years after GM's Super Cruise. Similar to Super Cruise, Tesla's Autopilot also allows Tesla vehicles to accelerate, brake, and steer themselves without driver intervention under certain conditions. At the time, Autopilot seemed to be on the cutting edge of autonomous driving, however, today these features are fairly commonplace due to the invention of systems such as lane-keeping assistance and lane-centering.

Unlike GM's Super Cruise, Autopilot is a standard feature on all new Tesla models: the Model 3 , Model S , Model X , and Model Y . Autopilot uses a combination of radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras to be able to track lane markings as well as other vehicles on the road. Updated versions of Tesla's Autopilot technology also monitor driver engagement through the use of a torque sensor and a rearview camera mirror to ensure that drivers have a hand on the steering wheel and are remaining alert. If drivers are not meeting these requirements, the Autopilot system will audibly warn them to remain alert. Continuing to ignore these alerts will cause the Autopilot system to shut itself down and will slow the vehicle to a stop.

Tesla similarly offers an Enhanced Autopilot system as well as Full Self-Driving Capability for an additional cost to drivers. While Autopilot boasts features such as Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer, Enhanced Autopilot equips Tesla models with additional features including Auto Lane Change, Autopark, and Smart Summon, which allows the car to "navigate more complex environments and parking spaces, maneuvering around objects as necessary to come find you in a car park within your direct vicinity." Full Self-Driving Capability is also available from Tesla, allowing its models to identify street signs and traffic lights and react accordingly through a feature called Traffic and Stop Sign Control. Tesla is also working on adding Autosteer technology on city streets to its FSD system.

Related: Tesla Is Supposedly One Step Closer To Making Drivers Obsolete

Which Is Better? Super Cruise Or Autopilot?

At the end of the day, both GM's Super Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot do very similar things by allowing their vehicles to function, steer, accelerate, and brake without driver intervention. That being said, both systems are Level 2 autonomous driving systems according to the NHTSA, meaning we are still a long way from fully autonomous driving. When it comes to which of the technologies is better, Tesla's Autopilot takes the cake. This is partially due to the additional features included in Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot and FSD systems, but also due to Tesla's incorporation of artificial intelligence. While GM's Super Cruise allows for semi-autonomous driving using data collected from pre-mapped routes, Autopilot relies on AI-powered cameras and machine learning to detect and avoid safety hazards while driving. Autopilot is also able to "remember" information from drivers' experiences and redistribute that information to other Tesla models online. This essentially means that any information learned by one Tesla model should be shared by every other Tesla model. This kind of collective consciousness among Teslas is really what puts Autopilot head and shoulders above GM's Super Cruise.

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  1. Meet 2022 Ford F150 Blue Cruise

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  2. Tesla-Autopilot-No-Driver-Highway

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  3. Tesla Autopilot vs Ford BlueCruise: BlueCruise Can’t Even Take Curved

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  4. Tesla Autopilot vs GM Super Cruise vs Ford BlueCruise: All you need to

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  5. Tesla Autopilot vs. GM Super Cruise: Comparing driver assist features

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  6. Ford's hands-free BlueCruise chases Tesla Autopilot, GM Super Cruise

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COMMENTS

  1. Ford BlueCruise Vs Tesla Autopilot: Which Is Better For ...

    Base Autopilot is standard on all Teslas, and the Enhanced Autopilot, which includes Smart Summon, automatic lane changes, and navigation features, is a $6,000 option. Ford's BlueCruise 1.3 is a ...

  2. CR Rates Active Driving Assistance Systems

    Consumer Reports reviews and ranks active driving assistance systems, including Ford BlueCruise, General Motors Super Cruise, and Tesla Autopilot.

  3. BlueCruise vs AutoPilot thoughts as a Tesla owner since 2015

    As a whole I find Tesla Autopilot is more capable in the sense that it can steer correctly in many more situations. Blue Cruise is very much an assist system and the hands free thing I think is more of a gimmick where they've pre-mapped a bunch of areas where the roads are boring and probability of a mistake is low. 3.

  4. Autopilot Vs Super Cruise Vs BlueCruise: How Do They Compare?

    A comparison of the Level 2 autonomous systems from Ford, GM, and Tesla based on features, functionality, and cost. Learn about the hardware, location, lane-change, and driver-monitoring capabilities of each system.

  5. Tesla Autopilot vs BlueCruise? : r/electricvehicles

    Blue Cruise isn't a self-driving system. It's a highway driving assistance system similar to GM's Super Cruise. Both Super Cruise and Blue Cruise only work on mapped highways, and still seem to have issues with curvy highways. Tesla's autopilot works wherever there are lane markings and can much more confidently navigate curvy roads.

  6. Ford BlueCruise Rivals GM's Super Cruise for Balancing Automation and

    BlueCruise has a big advantage over Super Cruise and Autopilot: It allows for driver collaboration. If the driver wants to steer around a pothole, pedestrian, or cyclist, for example, the system ...

  7. Ford BlueCruise vs. Tesla Autopilot: Which Hands-Free ...

    Tesla vehicles are equipped with what's called Autopilot, a hands-free experience, utilizing eight external cameras to monitor road changes and deliver a safe and convenient ride. There are a variety of levels of this system, which include Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self Driving Capability. Autopilot utilizes Traffic-Aware Cruise ...

  8. Ford BlueCruise Has Clear Advantage Over Tesla Autopilot

    Consumer Reports put the system to the test and noted how it may even put GM's Super Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot to shame. BlueCruise incorporates hands-free driving on divided highways that are ...

  9. Comparing Ford BlueCruise, GM Super Cruise and Tesla Autopilot

    In its announcement of BlueCruise, Ford specifically compared its new option with Tesla's Autopilot and General Motors' Super Cruise. That's not a surprise, as Tesla and GM are widely considered the leaders in this space; a Consumer Reports study of driving assistance systems published in October put Super Cruise in the top spot, Tesla ...

  10. Tesla's Autopilot Beat by GM, Ford, Mercedes Softwares

    Tesla's Autopilot is falling behind as other software catches up. The 2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport in Super Cruise mode. Consumer Reports ranked the best advanced driver-assistance systems on the ...

  11. Who Does it Best? Ford BlueCruise vs Tesla Autopilot

    Ford fans swear by blue cruise saying it is better than autopilot so I tested both of them back to back on the same route to see which was better. INTOTHEAM ...

  12. BlueCruise 1.0 vs AutoPilot

    Ford Blue Cruise 1.0 - $800 per year. Tesla AutoPilot - Included in the price of the car. Hands Free: BlueCruise wins easily by allowing the driver to remove their hands from the steering wheel while enabled. AutoPilot requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel and apply limited force to register your hands.

  13. Why Ford's BlueCruise Is Better Than Tesla's Autopilot And FSD

    Fast-forward to 2023, and the Autopilot is now ranked seventh, from a total of twelve. Other systems such as General Motors' Super Cruise and Volkswagen's Travel Assist have since caught up ...

  14. Tesla Autopilot vs Ford BlueCruise: BlueCruise Can't Even Take Curved

    In the video below, Munro and Ford Driver Assist Technology Chief Engineer Chris Billman took a trip on a freeway in a blue zone. According to Ford, BlueCruise has over 130,000 miles of pre-qualified highways that offer hands-free driving. Tesla Autopilot technically requires hands on the steering wheel at all times.

  15. Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving vs. GM Super Cruise vs. Ford

    Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving vs. GM Super Cruise vs. Ford BlueCruise ... Ford's system allows the driver to remove their hands from the wheel on pre-mapped divided highways (called Blue Zones) and uses GPS, high-definition maps, radar, and cameras to enable lane centering and adaptive cruise control, keeping the vehicle where it ...

  16. Rivian Driver+ Vs Ford BlueCruise Vs Tesla AutoPilot

    Rivian Driver+ vs Ford Blue Cruise vs Tesla. The Ford Blue Cruise technology has a level two autonomy this means that the full effect of the autopilot lacks some of the nifty features of the Tesla and Rivian Driver +. Unlike Tesla, the Ford Blue Cruise is not equipped to deal with effective auto management when it comes to lane changes.

  17. Ford Blue Cruise and GM Super Cruise lauded in Consumer ...

    Under the updated scoring system, vehicles with systems that encourage safe driving are given two additional points. So far, Consumer Reports noted that only Ford's Blue Cruise and GM's Super ...

  18. Comparing Ford's Blue Cruise Driver Assist with Tesla's FSD

    And Blue Cruise isn't connected to the GPS navigation system at all. It won't steer you off at your appropriate off ramp. So the appropriate comparison is Blue Cruise vs Autopilot. Autopilot works on any road where there are painted lane markers, Blue Cruise works only on limited access highways. And Blue Cruise won't change lanes for you.

  19. Consumer Reports calls Ford's automated driving tech much ...

    Tesla's Autopilot, which at its core combines lane keeping assist with traffic aware cruise control to help guide a car down a highway, was once groundbreaking technology.

  20. How GM Ultra Cruise Differs From Tesla's Autopilot

    GM's Ultra Cruise differs from Tesla's Full Self-Driving tech in a few key areas, ranging from the sensors that power them to how they're portrayed to potential buyers. The Cadillac Celestiq is on its way for the 2024 model year, bringing ultra-high-end styling and luxury and a sky-high price tag. Beyond its lavish build quality and futuristic ...

  21. Ford BlueCruise vs. Tesla Autopilot

    Joined Jan 16, 2022. 36 Posts. #3 · Jan 23, 2022. Tesla autopilot is clearly superior to Blue Cruise at this time. However, Consumer Reports puts more importance on monitoring the driver, ie, who cares how poorly the system drives the car, lets focus on making sure the system disengages when driver isn't fully focused on the road at all times.

  22. GM Super Cruise vs Tesla Autopilot: Who's The Daddy?

    Unlike GM's Super Cruise, Autopilot is a standard feature on all new Tesla models: the Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y. Autopilot uses a combination of radar, ultrasonic sensors, and ...

  23. Autopilot Vs Super Cruise Vs BlueCruise: How Do They Compare?

    Ford is entering the self-driving world with its BlueCruise system, so now is a good time to compare similar systems currently available.

  24. Just in: The 2025 VW ID.7 electric sedan is coming to the US in two trims

    The VW ID.7 electric near-luxury sedan will be offered in Pro S and Pro S Plus trims. Both will be available in RWD or 4MOTION AWD configuration. The ID.7 is the sixth and largest member of VW's ...