[GoChill]

I am seriously considering a new Cadenza and am trying to decide on the technology package.

First on the smart cruise control can you turn off the distance setting ie smart cruise and just use it as a normal cruise control?

Second what do people think of the technology pkg? Is it worth it?

Personally, I don't care about 19" wheels, lane departure warning or rain repelling side windows. I think I would really like the blind spot warning and I am not sure if I would love or hate the smart cruise.

Thanks for any opinions,

GoChill

 

[aloukienko]

I love smart cruise control... I'm using it on highway and traffic...also tech package a must if you want white package which gives you for free nice plush on headliner, cool looking white leather and important to my opinion wooden inserts around door controls...
However if you consider black interior it doesn't look bad even without wooden inserts but on beige its ugly to me...like cheap plastic inside expensive interior.

 

[GoChill]

Thanks for the reply but can you also disable smart cruise and just use it as a normal cruise control?

 

[aloukienko]

No, you can't disable it....you only can chose what distance to keep from 4 positions...but why would you want to do that?

 

[GoChill]

Just wondering in case I don't like the feature. I just can imagine in traffic or something someone cuts into my lane and the car slams on the brakes to maintain distance. Maybe in practice it's not like that. Maybe I would love the feature and never want to turn it off.

Thanks for the input.

 

[aloukienko]

I had the same thought before and sometimes distance we keep is shorter than SCC allows but think what happened if someone cut you on regular cruise control...you either brake yourself ...or keep shorter distance for a while...or crash if you didn't pay attention...
I don't say SCC is perfect but it's really good...however you can't rely on it 100%...so in weird condition it's better to take driving under your control )
I used SCC under different heavy conditions and it is failed only once by showing error on screen with alarm sound after which I took it under my control...other cases rain/shine...high speed / low speed, cutting, changing lines it worked smooth...with some nerves though if you keep it on shortest distance...as body doesn't believe it completely...
So far it's the best SCC I tryed...
By the way Autohold is the best too...much more smooth that I had on BMW 750 ) so I'm using it all the time now

 

[GoChill]

FWIW, I found out there is a way to disable the Smart Cruise Control. Just activate cruise by hitting the cruise button. Then press and hold the smart cruise button (the range setting button) for 3 seconds. The display in the center of the speedometer will say conventional cruise mode. To switch back hold the range button down for 3 seconds and it will toggle back to smart cruise, the display will show SCC mode.

I haven't tested this part yet but the dealer said he believes after restarting the car the system will always default back to smart cruise mode.

As aloukienko said I don't know that you would ever want to disable it but it turns out that it is possible.

GoChill

 

[EscalonJon]

FWIW, I found out there is a way to disable the Smart Cruise Control. Just activate cruise by hitting the cruise button. Then press and hold the smart cruise button (the range setting button) for 3 seconds. The display in the center of the speedometer will say conventional cruise mode. To switch back hold the range button down for 3 seconds and it will toggle back to smart cruise, the display will show SCC mode.

I haven't tested this part yet but the dealer said he believes after restarting the car the system will always default back to smart cruise mode.

As aloukienko said I don't know that you would ever want to disable it but it turns out that it is possible.

GoChill

Thanks GoChill!

That's what's so cool about this forum...there is so much to learn. We are getting some good guys that are willing to share their knowledge.

This is great info that may never be know if we were each left to our own experience.

John

 

[sequoia]

technology or not--

Being an old guy, I was not interested in the tech. package, and because I have a dog and cat, not interested in the white interior. I can see value in the blind spot feature but the other stuff seemed like fluff to me. The car has plenty technology in the regular Premium package. I chose the car because of the nice, quiet ride, aggressive looks and the tons of stuff that came with the basic Premium package. All the other things included in the two available packages might have value for some but you certainly won't think you bought a car without futuristic stuff when you drive a Premium Cadenza.

 

[Kingpin]

Being an old guy, I was not interested in the tech. package, and because I have a dog and cat, not interested in the white interior. I can see value in the blind spot feature but the other stuff seemed like fluff to me. The car has plenty technology in the regular Premium package. I chose the car because of the nice, quiet ride, aggressive looks and the tons of stuff that came with the basic Premium package. All the other things included in the two available packages might have value for some but you certainly won't think you bought a car without futuristic stuff when you drive a Premium Cadenza.

A quiet car is important. I consider my cars as my "escape" from everything else, I love driving and it's like a therapeutic thing to me haha. But how quiet is the Cadenza? is it as quiet as say the... buick verano?

 

[jburns]

Being an old guy, I was not interested in the tech. package, and because I have a dog and cat, not interested in the white interior. I can see value in the blind spot feature but the other stuff seemed like fluff to me. The car has plenty technology in the regular Premium package. I chose the car because of the nice, quiet ride, aggressive looks and the tons of stuff that came with the basic Premium package. All the other things included in the two available packages might have value for some but you certainly won't think you bought a car without futuristic stuff when you drive a Premium Cadenza.

Being(probably) an older guy, I was interested in the tech package. I have dogs and cats too and strongly agree with you on the white interior.

Here's my take on the major tech features, after a scant 500 miles or so. Blind spot feature is great. Non intrusive warning lights on the outside mirrors mean you won't be tempted to turn it off. The system only sounds an audio alert if you turn on your turn signal in the direction of a vehicle detected in your blind spot. Pretty much perfect implementation.

Adaptive cruise control is also amazing. One those things that you don't think you need or want until you try it, and then wonder how you drove without it. I'm confident, if the car had a 200 gallon gas tank, I could drive from Wilmington, NC to Bakersfield, CA on I-40 without touching either the accelerator or the brake. It really is that good. I followed a car up the exit ramp to a stop sign. The cruise was set to 72. It kept the distance from the car in front all the way to a full stop.

The lane drift feature is a different animal. It didn't last the entire first day before I turned it off. It really is over sensitive and the only warning is audio pings that quickly get irritating. On a long interstate trip I might use it, but for everyday driving around, nope.

That's the big three. Lots of other neat little features that make this car, at any trim level, a pleasure to drive.

 

[[email protected]]

The lane drift feature is a different animal. It didn't last the entire first day before I turned it off. It really is over sensitive and the only warning is audio pings that quickly get irritating. On a long interstate trip I might use it, but for everyday driving around, nope.

On my stepdads M45, the lane drift feature is a little more unique. It will actually brake the inside wheel (not drifting) to bring the car back over to the center of the lane.... It's the WEIRDEST feeling when it does it but I guess could ultimately save your life.

Dinging... That would just piss me off, lol.

 

[aloukienko]

I agree that just warning is annoying more than helpfully in many situation when you try to move close to the lane to avoid some obstacles...
However, I hope KIA move on to the next step on lane departure warning ...to active assist when it can actually keep the car in the lanes....then you can drive on highway without touching wheel ...but I mean actual steering assist and not braking...as braking could be annoying and heavy on mpg and brake wear...
especially this is already available on some other luxury brands...
Common KIA...you can do it!!!!

 

[kSeven]

I agree that just warning is annoying more than helpfully in many situation when you try to move close to the lane to avoid some obstacles...
However, I hope KIA move on to the next step on lane departure warning ...to active assist when it can actually keep the car in the lanes....then you can drive on highway without touching wheel ...but I mean actual steering assist and not braking...as braking could be annoying and heavy on mpg and brake wear...
especially this is already available on some other luxury brands...
Common KIA...you can do it!!!!

It's going to be a while before we see these things end up in a Kia IMO. Considering what it's competitors come with, how it's priced, etc...it wont happen soon. The tech will have to become more mainstream.