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Comment by sillystuff | Hacker News Reader

Changing the names to better reflect the reality of the product might help set safer expectations by Tesla owners. But, as a pedestrian and cyclist, I don't think it is enough.

All car makes including Tesla that are offering advanced cruise control (e.g., lane following), should be required to geofence the feature with other conditions like weather taken into account too. If Tesla, Volvo, Ford, etc., have a product that works at an acceptable level on simple straight highways during daylight and clear weather conditions, then those are the only locations and conditions the advanced cruise control devices should be allowed to operate in.

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This is already integrated, at least in my Hyundai Kona Electro.

Lane holding assist and adaptive cruise control only works for speeds up to 170 km/h (which is also very near max speed for the electric version, to be honest), while you are holding the steering wheel and are giving active input and only if the weather is good enough.

Failing to hold the wheel for some seconds or only "resting" your hands on it will trigger optical and visual warnings and will disable the assistance systems if you fail to act.

I've also experienced that heavy rain or snow have disturbed the car so much that it wouldn't allow to activate the assistance systems due to the weather conditions.

So, for some car brands it's already there.

I just ordered the Kona EV (expecting delivery next week). What are your thoughts on it?

As for the 'security' features you mentioned, my 2015 Mazda CX-5 did the same (just not sure about the weather as I don't remember driving it in very bad weather except for a snow trip but I didn't put any of those things on). Couple seconds no pressure, beep. A few more and disabled lane assist. It also warned me of driving fatigue by analysing my driving and other stuff. I always felt it was helping me by making me a 'better driver' and not actually trying to control the car.

> I just ordered the Kona EV (expecting delivery next week). What are your thoughts on it?

I'm very, very happy after 2.5 years of having (leasing) it. I've got a pre 2020 model though, these are the points that are not good imho:

- Got the big battery (64 kWh) but the internal charger is a small one (4.5 kW), so loading on normal wallboxes takes a long time. Newer models got a bigger charger (11 kW, I think), which is great. I can charge at work though, so no big deal for me most of the time as the car is standing around all day anyway.

- Charging network data is outdated (EU model), so I don't use the internal navigation to find charging points. Lead me to non-existent chargers twice, won't happen a third time. That's sad because the integration is nicely done with "find a charging point along your route" when the battery level gets too low. Good idea, bad execution.

- Android Auto is only available via a wired connection. So you're fiddling around with USB cables in your center console, then there's not a real good place to lay your smartphone down (with the usb cable sticking out! got an angled one now, still not perfect), something always dangles around in the middle there.

- There's a little "the car is in D, be careful"-icon in the display. It stays on, even when you're driving 160 km/h on the Autobahn. I KNOW IT'S IN D. Would prefer to get that clutter out of the display, but that's a minor point.

Besides that I think it's a great car. Lots of things have improved with the 2020 model, too, I think. The bigger charger (by default?!), Bluelink for remote connectivity, also I prefer the look of the newer models with the smooth front.

I still have 2.5 years left till the end of my lease but I can totally see myself getting another Kona then.

Also: The "Eco" drive mode normally provides you with enough acceleration for everything. But I'm guilty of sometimes using the "Sport" mode to embarass tailgaters or highly motorized cars. "Sport" mode is also great to shock people and push them in the seats who have never driven an electric car before. :-D

Enjoy the car!

I don't really understand the point of constant lane assist if you have to be providing active input at all times?

As manicdee said it prevents you from drifting out of the lane.

Also "active input" is possibly a bit of a stretch. The system checks whether you are providing some force "against" the motion of the steering wheel. It's not trying to steer away, it just tests if somebody is actually having a "strong" (another stretch) grip on the wheel.

> As manicdee said it prevents you from drifting out of the lane.

Which is a perfectly good feature. But a system that just does that sounds like it's a safety backup system, not something that makes driving easier.

> Also "active input" is possibly a bit of a stretch. The system checks whether you are providing some force "against" the motion of the steering wheel. It's not trying to steer away, it just tests if somebody is actually having a "strong" (another stretch) grip on the wheel.

Okay, this gives me an entirely different impression then. To me "active input" means I'm following the lane. If I just have to keep a grip then I don't have to do the work and there's a clear value.

Yeah sorry, English is not my native language, sometimes I'm missing the right words and descriptions.

You can let loose of the steering wheel and will keep you in the lane, too. But only for a few seconds...

When you are scanning mirrors and checking over your shoulder the car will steer itself without drifting out of the lane.

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