Automatic Braking

Automated braking that you couldn't turn completely off would truly suck at a track day.

Automated braking sounds like it could even be a big handicap at autocross if it can't always distinguish between other traffic and tall pylons.

I wouldn't want it just for the risk potential of its interference when merging into a travel lane on a busy Interstate or when moving over on the same kind of road such as to permit emergency vehicles and/or faster traffic to pass me, or perhaps to avoid hitting road debris. I really don't want any instantaneous thoughts of 'WTF just broke on my car' getting in the way ever, let alone during times/situations like those.


Norm

My mom's Acura ILX has it. But it never fully applied the brakes on me. It did once for my mom. But it signaled that I should brake when I was near a van in the other lane. I just looked at it and kept going. I just got the system for roadtrips. It's nice in stop and go traffic

I don't know. There comes a time when you need to hit something. The only thing I want stopping me is my conscience.

Rickycardo said:

I don't know. There comes a time when you need to hit something. The only thing I want stopping me is my conscience.

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You don't know how prophetic your statement is. Germany is about to pass laws saying that cars can not prioritize saving their occupants over saving other lives. So, for example, a car would choose to swerve and hit a tree instead of a pedestrian if the driver is more likely to survive with air bags than the pedestrian would be if struck by the car.

Should get interesting when kids make a game out of jumping out in front of cars with that technology.

Norm Peterson said:

Automated braking that you couldn't turn completely off would truly suck at a track day.

Automated braking sounds like it could even be a big handicap at autocross if it can't always distinguish between other traffic and tall pylons.

I wouldn't want it just for the risk potential of its interference when merging into a travel lane on a busy Interstate or when moving over on the same kind of road such as to permit emergency vehicles and/or faster traffic to pass me, or perhaps to avoid hitting road debris. I really don't want any instantaneous thoughts of 'WTF just broke on my car' getting in the way ever, let alone during times/situations like those.


Norm

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The collision warning system in the 2017's was disabled when you selected track mode (premium car). It's likely the same would be true of this system.

I have this on my Mazda 6. You'll sometimes get the warning if you're approaching a car too fast. It will start to brake and then apply more pressure if you aren't braking by that point till your car stops. 99% of the time, I never see it.

Adaptive Cruise is the greatest thing ever in that car though. Love how you can set the number of car lengths to follow the car in front of you from 1-4 cars. I usually leave it at 3 car lengths.

All of these options can be disabled if wanted.

Zelek said:

I have this on my Mazda 6. You'll sometimes get the warning if you're approaching a car too fast. It will start to brake and then apply more pressure if you aren't braking by that point till your car stops. 99% of the time, I never see it.

Adaptive Cruise is the greatest thing ever in that car though. Love how you can set the number of car lengths to follow the car in front of you from 1-4 cars. I usually leave it at 3 car lengths.

All of these options can be disabled if wanted.

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I seriously considered the Mazda 6 before buying the Mustang. It's one of the best looking sedans ever IMO (especially in "Soul Red") and drives like a car 3x the price. Also every Mazda owner I know is loyal to the brand.

Ground Speed said:

I seriously considered the Mazda 6 before buying the Mustang. It's one of the best looking sedans ever IMO (especially in "Soul Red") and drives like a car 3x the price. Also every Mazda owner I know is loyal to the brand.

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My GF is hoping to buy a 2017 CX-5 Touring next year, I am as excited for that as the GT. They look amazing.

awmustang said:

The collision warning system in the 2017's was disabled when you selected track mode (premium car). It's likely the same would be true of this system.

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Let's hope so . . . though that still doesn't fix the kinds of street situations mentioned that far more people are likely to encounter. Makes me wonder if it'll be set up differently on non-premium cars.


Norm

TTA365 said:

I don't know about you, but from time to time, have raced up upon the ass end of another car to make a lane change. Not saying it is right or safe, and do not condone the manuever, but it happens.

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Let's hope the feature cannot be turned off for the sake of everyones safety, you'll quickly learn to not do that again after a SAFETY feature has to correct your driving

All jokes aside, these safety features that actively do something only really do their thing if the situations asks for it, like driving up to something TOO quickly.

So as long as you do not do anything TOO crazy or TOO stupid the safety will only do it's job when you want it to.

My previous Volvo let me turn off "city safety". Would assume most cars let you turn it off including the Mustang. Time will tell.

Zelek said:

I have this on my Mazda 6. You'll sometimes get the warning if you're approaching a car too fast. It will start to brake and then apply more pressure if you aren't braking by that point till your car stops. 99% of the time, I never see it.

Adaptive Cruise is the greatest thing ever in that car though. Love how you can set the number of car lengths to follow the car in front of you from 1-4 cars. I usually leave it at 3 car lengths.

All of these options can be disabled if wanted.

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I love the ACC usually have it on 3 also, its a very clever system, driving in Europe used it lots.

They are like four leaf clover. They give you better luck, and I love 'em

Double said:

Let's hope the feature cannot be turned off for the sake of everyones safety, you'll quickly learn to not do that again after a SAFETY feature has to correct your driving

All jokes aside, these safety features that actively do something only really do their thing if the situations asks for it, like driving up to something TOO quickly.

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You're expecting far more courtesy on the part of other drivers than exists in many of the more densely-trafficked areas of the U.S.

Around here (East Coast near Philly) it's fairly common for traffic in the lane you want to move over into to speed up to close the gap so that you can't. And then it's them that get pissed off if they don't speed up enough and you manage to make the lane change in spite of their efforts to deny it. This isn't just on the Interstate highways either, any time there's 2 lanes going in the same direction it'll happen.


Norm

From the 2018 Drivers manual

Note: The pre-collision assist system turns off when using Track AppsTM or when you switch off your stability control system.

Personal experience with both systems

My '16 has the collision alert that only beeps, and wife's VW has the automatic braking. In both, there are definitely some different scenarios that can occur based on relative speeds. Both are more likely to go off if the speed differential is larger, aka you are going 60 and someone is making a 5mph turn right in front of you, vs. you are going 40 and someone is making a 15mph turn in front of you. Ford's Collision alert only beeps at you, and goes off every time I make the previously mentioned lane change, and it can be ignored. I can't guarantee it's the same with the VW as the '18 Mustang, but in the VW, it will beep before it brakes just like my '16 GT, and if you don't intervene quickly, it will brake HARD. I'm talking 100% brake force, ABS is going off, even if you were going 5mph. Also, it cuts the gas pedal, so you cannot fight it. It has beeped, but never braked, in the "fast lane change" scenario, but if the car was going enough slower than you or you waited long enough, it would. But you would have to be driving extremely aggressively to get it to intervene, and it'd be your aggressive driving causing the accident anyway...

With both cars, in this "lane change" situation, or similar, you can usually trick it anyway, by just aiming the car away from the slower moving thing. For example, if someone is making a right turn in front of you, get in the left edge of the lane and aim at the open half of the lane that they aren't using to turn. Neither system will intervene.

The only time the VW has made a situation MORE dangerous is that it will autobrake if it senses you are backing out into someone. While in a parking lot scenario, this could be helpful, when it is dangerous is when you are backing out of a diagonal roadside space. You have looked in your lane, and it is clear for long enough to pull out, there is a car in the distance, and there is traffic in the far lane, going the other direction that does not affect you. You start to back out, because you are not entering the oncoming traffic in the far lane. It will lock the tires on you halfway out of your parking place because it senses traffic on the other side of the road, potentially stopping you in the your lane, where that car that was off in the distance is now quickly approaching, and you can't move.

However, it has also saved our butts a few times. It can sense, faster than any human, the immediate change in velocity when the car in front is already braking, but then brakes much harder. Both the Ford and VW do this very well, and both will brake harder than you are to attempt to avoid an accident. The VW has braked extra when my wife was stopping normally at a red light, and the person in front of her decided to lurch on the brakes to let someone in. The Mustang has beeped at me when slowing on the interstate, I was braking medium-hard in a major slow down, the cars in front of us stopped abruptly because they were slamming into each other, the beep informed me that I needed to be braking with maximum force instead of just medium.

So, all that to say, I recommend getting any collision warning system available, leaving it on during daily driving activities, but knowing how to turn it off when you need to. A normal "fast lane change" scenario is not so tight that the system will intervene, and if it is, then you are within inches of making it, and really shouldn't be driving that crazy anyway...