It absolutely does not bring it to a full stop. It will slow down until about 25-30 MPH and then just cut out which is so annoying in traffic. It says on the OBD "Cruise Control De-Activated" or something like that. The weird part is that it slows down until that point and then as soon as it cuts out the brakes stop kicking in so you need to be ready to catch it! It also requires that you re-set it to get it to start working again. It will not resume on its own at all. That is more associated with BMWs "Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go."

 

I have used this adjustment to make the distance between cars the shortest, but it always leaves about 4 car lengths in front of me which is too much! I thought I may have had it reversed, but when I tried adjusting in the opposite direction it got even worse- about 5-6 car lengths. It got to the point where people were constantly passing me. So I have been overriding it by long pressing on the distance adjuster button and that puts it back in manual cruise mode.

 

The four car lengths is about right at 40 to 45 mph. I've always gone by the rule of thumb of one car length for each ten miles per hour (guess that should be adjusted to 1 1/2 car lengths in mini scale) and the system seems to fit that scenario. Didn't know you could override it by long pressing the distance control button. Thanks for that info. One other note, I have been under system braking down to about 10 mph when car in front of me took its time turning into a parking lot and it didn't release. Don't know why the difference but I will rarely use it to that extreme in the real world.

 

Is yours an auto or manual? Mine is a manual so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

Auto. I think you just solved the mystery.

 

Yeah, I mean the ACC on the manual is pretty cool in that you can shift up and down without it deactivating (which- all my other manual cars would cancel the cruise once you hit the clutch), but I guess it cuts out much sooner to avoid any stalling.

 

One Super Dave Safety Length.

 

Sorry to open the thread up again, but I'd really like to know how many feel this is a worthwhile option on a Mini. Part of me says yes, while th other says "why"?

 

I currently have a 2015 f56 with the active driving assistant and a new 2016 outback 3.6R with the Subaru eyesight system and after using the eyesight system the active driving assistant is embarrassing.


Eyesight offers forward collision warning with auto braking to a stop. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go that drives in traffic to a stop and resumes. Lane departure warning with a lane keep assist system. Blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert.


The mini active driving assistant only offers a forward collision warning system that attempts to brake the car (although can not bring it to a complete stop). Adaptive cruise control that sets the gap too wide and does not offer stop and go traffic capability (mine cuts out below 30 when slowing down in traffic) and which cuts out frequently in the sun. And no lane or blind spot system at all. The mini does include auto high beams but they are gimmicky and I rarely use them since I'm in the city most of the time.


My advice is to skip it because it will really make you believe that the driving assistance systems on the market are not that assisting, when in reality the active driving assistant is just a basic system that costs a lot of money ($1000 plus you need fully loaded which adds up).


But that's just my two biased cents and I always get every option on a car so I guess it doesn't really matter either which way.

 

Agreed. Driving Assistance systems can be very useful, but MINI's implementation is a little lacking (single camera vs. Subaru's two camera system, or camera+radar like BMW/Audi use) - it's just not sophisticated enough where I would put a whole lot of trust in it to make it worth it.

 

Thanks all ... very helpful review!