adaptive cruise control

25 August 2026

Activation of Adaptive Cruise Control

The MG IM5 comes with semi-autonomous driving capability with Adaptive Cruise Control.

One feature of the Funky Cat I liked was the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and the Smart Cruise Control (SCC).

ACC would keep the car at a desired speed, but would adjust the speed to maintain a safe distance from the car in front. SCC would also keep the Funky Cat in the lane.

Though I liked the feature, I didn’t use it as much as I would have, in the main as it significantly negatively impacted on the battery life.

Now with the bigger battery on the MG IM5 I was keen to try out the ACC. However it wasn’t clear when driving the car what I needed to do to initialise ACC. I had to go and read the manual and even then it took a while to find the right page with the right information.

The adaptive cruise control system is activated by fully pulling down the shift lever. The settings can then adjusted with the paddles on the steering wheel.

On a short run I did get it working, but am expecting to use it on my next long motorway journey.

30 November 2023

It’s getting cold out there

It’s November and the weather is getting colder this week. The Funky Cat was telling me this morning that it was 0℃ outside.

I did appreciate using the app to heat the car this morning, so it was nice and toasty when I got inside, and that the windscreen was clear.

What was less appreciated was that certain features were unavailable. I couldn’t use Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Smart Cruise Control (SCC) was also not available. In addition the front assist sensors weren’t working, so was told that wasn’t going to work either. I am not sure if this was the frost or even mud.

Obviously these aren’t critical systems, in previous cars I never had them, and you shouldn’t really rely on them either when driving. Will need to see if they are back online later. Will keep an eye on it, just in case it is something other than the cold weather.

I also think the cold is impacting on the battery and I am as a result getting a reduced range. I mentioned in another post how, even with a 100% charge, the car was predicting just a 147 mile range. Today it was only 141 miles.

21 October 2023

ACC not activated

I have been using the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on the Funky Cat quite a bit. I quite like using ACC when travelling through urban areas with a 20mph speed limit. It keeps me within the speed limit and obviously slows me down when there is traffic.

I did though have an issue with it yesterday when it failed to activate. I don’t know the cause, but with all the rain we’ve been having, I wondered if there was water on the sensors, which would mean that it wouldn’t function properly.

It wasn’t an issue I just had to drive without it.

I checked later on my journey and it was working again.

Maybe one to watch, just in case it happens again.

23 September 2023

Smart Cruise Control

I have been using the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on the Funky Cat quite a bit. Unlike traditional cruise control, as well as maintaining a constant speed without using the accelerator, it will also change the speed to ensure that the Funky Cat maintains a safe distance to the car in front.

I didn’t realise that there was a Smart Cruise Control functionality with the Funky Cat. It was only after reading a post on the Facebook that I realised that I could use this option. Under Smart Cruise Control the Funky will maintain the car in the centre of the lane it is in, as well as maintaining a consistent speed and a safe distance.

So driving back home on the M5, I decided I would try it out.

Essentially it did work. As I drove down the M5 I was pleased how it functioned. I certainly kept within the speed limit, at a safe distance from the car in front, and it kept me within the lane. Changing lanes worked fine, it would turn off and then turn itself back on.

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the autonomous driving capability, but did appreciate how it helped to keep my car in lane.