According to MasterDrive, an advanced driver training company in South Africa, using cruise control correctly has the potential to reduce your fuel consumption by 20% for the duration that the feature is active.
Cruise control is a useful ability that keeps a car moving at a prescribed speed without the need for driver intervention, and on newer models, adaptive cruise control will even keep a safe following distance between two vehicles and slow down or speed up a car when needed.
However, it will only bring fuel savings when used in the appropriate conditions, this being on flat, constant surfaces where there is little change in elevation or speed, said MasterDrive.
Petrol, diesel, and hybrid vehicles are at their most efficient when cruising at consistent speeds on open, level roads, which is what cruise control was designed for.
When not to use cruise control
While cruise control is a handy feature that can take strain off a driver as well as save fuel, it’s not always the best option.
For instance, activating cruise control on uneven roads will use more fuel than if a driver was to control the speed manually.
“On inclines, cruise control is slower than a driver to react to gradient changes,” said MasterDrive.
“When a driver reaches the top of a hill, they decrease their pressure on the accelerator much faster than what cruise control can sense a change in the gradient.”
Over time, using cruise control on mountainous roads can cause a noticeable increase in consumption.
Similarly, cruise control must never be activated in moderate-to-heavy traffic or wet weather as it increases the potential for something to go wrong.
In these scenarios, constantly adjusting, stopping, and restarting cruise control as traffic slows down and speeds up will result in higher fuel usage than if the driver was to control throttle inputs themselves.
Cruise control also allows the driver to lower their attention levels and they might therefore not be able to get the car to a complete stop if traffic quickly starts piling up, which could lead to severe accidents.
Keyword: Cruise control can lower fuel consumption by 20% – If used correctly