[alexder]

Hi,
I would be very interested to know what are current driver's impressions of the Driver Assistance systems in new X5 - like Adaptive Cruise control, Emergency Braking system, Rear Cross Traffic alert etc.
It's very hard to try those during test drive, so any impressions, opinions, experiences and anything else would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by alexder

Hi,
I would be very interested to know what are current driver's impressions of the Driver Assistance systems in new X5 - like Adaptive Cruise control, Emergency Braking system, Rear Cross Traffic alert etc.
It's very hard to try those during test drive, so any impressions, opinions, experiences and anything else would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

So far, I've found the BMW driving assistance features to work very well, with the exception of Steering Intervention, which can intervene if the vehicle thinks you are leaving your lane. It can intervene unexpectedly and forcefully steer the vehicle in a direction that is not optimal or expected. Most here recommend shutting it off. I have it shut off and use a less intrusive steering wheel vibration to warn me of lane departure without a signal - this works nicely.

I've tested the Reverse Assistant backing out of my garage and it works quite well and as advertised. Nice feature if you need to back out of a space or driveway that has tight quarters and not a lot of room to steer.

I've tested driving assistance yesterday, on the highway, for the first time. My first attempt to use it was in the far right lane, which I do not really recommend. The vehicle utilizes ("sees") the painted lane markers on the left/right and works to steer the vehicle between them. The far right lane has breaks in the right shoulder paint for exits (some newer highways leave straight but broken dashes across the exits to help vehicles using these types of autonomous/assist features not get confused). If you're on a highway that has not had these updated painted stripes across the exit or if the painted stripes/lines are faded, that makes it more difficult for the system do stay engaged.

In any case, I tried the far right lane first. The X5 would disengage the driving assistance when I came to an exit. It did a very nice job of handling this situation and handed off the driving gracefully, making me aware of the issue and getting me back to steering.

On the way home, I used the middle lane, which is best suited for driving assistance. The vehicle drove the entire way back on the highway (about 15 minutes) with no issues and the driving assistance stayed engaged the entire time. I used the control on the steering wheel to set my desired speed. I used another control on the steering wheel to set the desired "follow distance" in the event I came upon a vehicle going slower. Once set, it all just worked.

That being said - there is room for improvement. You could feel the X5 do what I call "nudge steering". Constant adjustments that worked just fine. But it's different than the smooth steering input of a human. So, it felt different, but I got used to it easily. I think BMW can smooth this out a little more and refine it still.

I'll admit, it's unnerving at first to let the vehicle do the driving. I had one thumb resting on the wheel. But you get used to it and it's pretty nice actually. I could absolutely see using this on longer highway trips that I do from time to time.

As the driver, you need to be aware of the limitations and use the systems accordingly. For example - you drive into a work zone where there is a lane shift and old lines and new lines conflict... you will need to disengage the system - which is easy to do: tap the brake or start steering or press the steering wheel button to turn off drive assistance.

I am still pretty new to systems like this - but that's been my experience so far.

[lumpydog]

I'll add - do your homework on how these systems work before you try them.

Some videos that will help:

- This is a good BMW Video on Assisted Driving
- Here is one on Steering and Lane Control Assistant
- Here is one on Active Cruise Control

[mynewx5]

Originally Posted by lumpydog

I'll add - do your homework on how these systems work before you try them.

Some videos that will help:

-

- https://bmw.scene7.com/s7viewers/htm...63506028_en-US
- https://bmw.scene7.com/s7viewers/htm...63506182_en-US

Is that the Sunstone Metallic in the video which doesn't allow you to order ACC due to the reflectivity of the color?

[alexder]

Thank you so much for the review - very encouraging to know that the systems work well .
I have a question about Reverse Assistant - does it do a good job in detecting cross moving vehicles? Does it only work when you are moving or does it also work when you are in reverse, but not moving yet?
Thanks

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by mynewx5

Is that the Sunstone Metallic in the video which doesn't allow you to order ACC due to the reflectivity of the color?

Yep.

[Xeno]

One footnote to lumpydog descriptive post.

There are two modes of driving assistance, one of which does not involve any steering intervention. One can select one of the two options by pushing the mode button on the left side of the steering wheel.

I used ACC maybe twice and yesterday I took my hands off the steering wheel, but the yellow lights came up probably less than 10 seconds later.

In terms of rear cross traffic alerts which were discussed in another thread, I was stopped at one intersection with limited vision. I activated the 3D camera and while there were no audio alerts, I could see red on the side I was monitoring until the way was clear.

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by alexder

Thank you so much for the review - very encouraging to know that the systems work well .
I have a question about Reverse Assistant - does it do a good job in detecting cross moving vehicles? Does it only work when you are moving or does it also work when you are in reverse, but not moving yet?
Thanks

Others will have to contribute here - I just haven't used the feature enough to have encountered your use cases. I'd love to know this as well.

[mnewnam]

Lump summarized it nicely... I just completed a 6 hour drive with a couple stops. I used ACC most of the way and assisted driving in traffic. They work amazingly well. With driving assistant you just need to have a hand on the wheel. A finger would do it but you really need to have your hand on there in case the car does something wonky. I noticed when left exit lanes would start it will start following that line for a split second and then correct.

Towards the end of the trip it was dark and I was a little drowsy. We had maybe 45 mins left. I got a little caffeine and turned on driving assistant the rest of the way. It handled the roads extremely well even with faded lane lines in some areas. There were two areas for about 15 seconds where it turned off the assistant and then back on when it could properly recognize the lanes. It's a relief bc if my reaction time isn't what it should be, the car will handle the situation.

While limited I think they are amazing safety features and capable in what they were designed to do. We've taken 3 road trips in it and they really help to reduce the stress of long trips.

It also is kinda cool that the NAV system knows what lane you're in and indicates where you are on the prompts or an arrow from the lane you're in to where you need to be. Once you make the move it updates to show you're in the right lane. The lane recognition system must be tied in.

[PhatBoyG]

Originally Posted by mnewnam

It also is kinda cool that the NAV system knows what lane you're in and indicates where you are on the prompts or an arrow from the lane you're in to where you need to be. Once you make the move it updates to show you're in the right lane. The lane recognition system must be tied in.

Oh, something new to try - I haven't seen it do that yet!

[mnewnam]

Originally Posted by PhatBoyG

Oh, something new to try - I haven't seen it do that yet!

Lol. I noticed it the first time a few weeks ago when I was on beltway 8 approaching the hardy toll road. Nav indicated I needed to get off and had this big red arrow from the left lane that I was in to the right lane. Once I made the move two lanes over it updated to show I was in the right lane. On my way home I purposefully changed lanes back and forth as I approached an exit it was directing me to and the red arrow moved with me to indicate the lane I was in. It was really neat.

[PhatBoyG]

Originally Posted by mnewnam

Lol. I noticed it the first time a few weeks ago when I was on beltway 8 approaching the hardy toll road. Nav indicated I needed to get off and had this big red arrow from the left lane that I was in to the right lane. Once I made the move two lanes over it updated to show I was in the right lane. On my way home I purposefully changed lanes back and forth as I approached an exit it was directing me to and the red arrow moved with me to indicate the lane I was in. It was really neat.

Sounds really excellent, can't wait to try it in Dallas where lane selection is everything if you want to avoid costly detours (time, and tolls) due to being in the wrong lane at the wrong time (why does that sound like an action movie, You were in the wrong lane at the wrong time!).

[alexandreduong]

Hi is your experience with driving assistance pro or plus?

Can anyone provide feedback on the pro is it still 10 seconds?

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by alexandreduong

Hi is your experience with driving assistance pro or plus?

Can anyone provide feedback on the pro is it still 10 seconds?

Me: Plus

[Charles549]

Originally Posted by lumpydog

Me: Plus

I do frequent long distance interstate travel and find the driver assistance features significantly reduce fatigue. It wouldn't seem so but it really does. The added safety is no small thing. Learn the system thoroughly and enjoy. I have experience with other makers implementation of this feature and I do believe there may be some minor tweaking BMW can do to improve the function. I am also curious about the 'Pro' version compared to the 'Plus' I have on my X5.

The easy to use backup assistant that becomes available once you shift into reverse is excellent, amazing even. If BMW can eventually get the tech in their vehicles to match the spectacular engines and drivetrains they may well start a new religion.

[roadkillrob]

I have pro and actually have been looking forward to some traffic to try it out, basically need to find some stop and go type traffic below 37 miles per hour on a major highway to see how it handles the full hands off the wheel driving!

I will say my experience with the standard assistance is like lumpydog, it works well, doesn't love breaks in the road, was on a lesser backroad and on a curve there was a street to the right and it tried heading towards a pole mid curve that i had to catch! It will let you take your hands off a little, like above maybe 10 seconds on the highway, it is actually longer at lower speeds it allows, but haven't been able to go full hands off in traffic yet.

[techc]

Adding to lumpydog's excellent summary, according to the owner's manual, the car uses a combination of inputs from the car in front of it and the lane markings to maneuver at speeds less than 43.5 mph.

A few days ago I was just on my way back from a ski trip and was driving through some winding mountain roads in terrible weather (heavy snow w/ fog). It was a not-so-well-maintained one-lane road with heavy traffic on both sides. It was pitch dark, too (except for the lights on vehicles, of course) so I could barely see the lane markings myself. I engaged ACC w/ steering intervention and to my surprise the system worked incredibly well. (I didn't know that it would try to follow the car in front at the time.)

The car keeps a nice and comfortable distance while steering pretty much just like a human would (probably because it was just "mimicking" what the human driver in the car in front was doing). The only problem is when the car in front switches to a different lane, or even makes a turn, the X5 would follow suit without giving any warning...

[roadkillrob]

I just had a chance to try the traffic jam assist part of the Pro system, worked well for me, was under 40 mph and the lights on the wheel turned green and full hands off for about 5 miles just following traffic with no need to touch the wheel. Worked well similar to higher speeds just without a need to touch the wheel - still a little light ping ponging in the lane not too bad, but like when you first learn to drive and you don't look far enough down the road, so you steer too much - feels a bit like that, like when my son learned to drive, a little too much steering compared to what a human would do, but otherwise works excellent and didn't try to hit any Jersey Barries like Tesla's like to do.

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by lumpydog

I've tested driving assistance yesterday, on the highway, for the first time. My first attempt to use it was in the far right lane, which I do not really recommend. The vehicle utilizes ("sees") the painted lane markers on the left/right and works to steer the vehicle between them. The far right lane has breaks in the right shoulder paint for exits (some newer highways leave straight but broken dashes across the exits to help vehicles using these types of autonomous/assist features not get confused). If you're on a highway that has not had these updated painted stripes across the exit or if the painted stripes/lines are faded, that makes it more difficult for the system do stay engaged.

Update: I was wrong about the right lane not being well-suited to the X5’s autonomous driving capabilities. I tried the system again on the way to a company meeting yesterday. It was a two lane stretch that lasted about 45 min. I engaged the system in the far right lane... and, it worked really well. During the drive, it “handed back” steering responsibility only once. The X5 handled exits WAY better and there was a LOT of other traffic noise - vehicles exiting, changing lanes, etc ... and when the right lane painted boundary disappeared to the right, leaving only the left dotted line as guidance, the X5 tracked very well and did not get confused,

The X5’s camera system was able to sort out the idea that the lane it is traveling in needs to accommodate for exits, while continuing on straight.

During the 45 minute time frame that I had driver assistance enabled... it was nice to have my feet off the accelerator/brake and only a thumb/finger loosely on the steering wheel. This is really amazing technology - i’m surprised there isn’t more conversation here about it...

[ven7782]

I am too scared to use the assisted driving feature. May be because the vehicle is so new and I don't trust the BMW tech yet. The other day I tried to use the Park assist feature and it failed miserably under poor lighting conditions.

[PhatBoyG]

Just something to add to the conversation, I've found that by setting a destination in the navigation system, and allowing it to track the course, the steering assist asks me to get involved less often when the lane markings are less than ideal. I think it allows it to make a better choice since it knows where I'm headed.

I recall reading that navigation data is taken into account by the driving assist systems.

[Xeno]

That's interesting. I read that using nav informs adaptive drive, but did not know about driver assist.

To the previous post, assisted driving features of the G05 have worked well for me but I have only done one parallel and one perpendicular parking so far.