The difference here is that I would choose this speed, instead of it being set only by the manufacturer.
It is also OK if the car had both limits, a manufacturer max and a lower max speed configurable by the driver.
On an EV it will. Well, it uses the regenerative braking but I could clearly see the flow of regenerative energy going back to the battery while on cruise control and going down a hill. (This was on a Nissan LEAF.)
The point is that it should be configurable by the driver and easy to enable and disable. Like the parking lights.
It has features like:
- Maximum speed limiter
- Maximum speed warning
- Audio volume limit
- No seat belt audio mute (i.e. if someone hasn't buckled up, the infotainment unit won't play audio)
- Cannot disable safety features inc.: Stability Control, Traction Control, Daytime Running Lights, Forward Automatic Braking, etc
I actually found this to be far more intuitive than cruise control with a minimum speed, because I just kept my foot constantly depressed on the accelerator, and the car never went above the maximum. But when I needed to slow down slightly, e.g., for a car in front of me, I could lift off the pedal and let the car natually slow down.
Conversely with minimum speed cruise control it always feels to me as if I'm zooming along and constantly need to disable it/etc.
You got it, that's what I want.
My (otherwise terrible) 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid did this. It would brake (thereby recharging its battery and improving mileage) whenever the speed went above the cruise-control setting -- usually due to hills, not due to over-zealous automated acceleration.
I suspect most electric and hybrid cars do the same today, but I have no data and have not googled it.