ordering guide says CRUISE CONTROL WITH BRAKING FUNCTION???
 

in the ordering guide for canada (or europe... not sure which it was, found on this forum).... it shows a feature "cruise control with braking function"....

this sounds new!! is this like the new cruise control systems in other cars where it will keep distance in front of you AND brake the vehicle if necessary? is it as advanced as the MB system which does full automatic brake and go in stop and go traffic?

anyone know anything about this feature?

thanks.

very happy to hear that it seems this feature will be in 2008 models. i assume that's new??

I just checked the PDF for the Canada '08 guide and don't see "active cruise" anywhere. It must be for Europe. It sounds like a great addition though but since Canada doesn't have it, it's likely the US won't either. :(

That is used during downhill where the car will not go over the set cruise speed. Applying the brakes as you go downhill will cancel a conventional cruise control. This feature prevents the cruise control from switching "off".

It's different from Active Cruise Control. Hope that make sense. ;)

this option is not new at all !!!

it was available on FX35/45 and mercedes benz s class and alot of cars more .. its a shame that bmw x5 just got this option ..

umm...

i think it means when you decelerate using the cruise control, the brakes will intervene depending on how much you're telling the car to decelerate (like the one on the 3ers)

so if you're going 65, and you're pressing the stalk down (following that floating ticker thingy on the gauge down to 20) then the brakes will help slow the car down, not just using engine braking and the loss of momentum

xnsf, that is correct. This "brake function" is now standard on all new BMWs with cruise control. It is _not_ radar assisted active cruise control.

In the "old" cars, if you had cruise control set to 80mph and knocked it down to 50mph, you had to wait for the car to slow down - which could take so long you would have to hit the brakes. Now, if you do the same, the car will brake (quite heavily!), including the brake lights coming on, and get you down to the new speed much more quickly.

It means that you can drive the car using cruise control without touching the pedals even when there is traffic around - down to speeds of around 20mph when the cruise control no longer will work. ACC works down to 0mph, and uses radar to track the car in front to make the decisions for you. With standard cruise, you will still crash in to the car in front unless you tell the car to stop.

Three things available from BMW:

- Active cruise control: As described by LeMansX5 above, ie. radar detector that senses the distance in front of the car and adapts (accelerates/brakes) in order to maintain the sepcified distance. Not availabel as an option to X5 according to my knowledge.

- Cruise control with brake function: Presets speed, that in case it is lower than the actual, it brakes the vehicle to achieve that speed. ie. you set at a 100, you drive/overpass so you reach at 120, recall the preset speed and the vehicle brakes. Std. cruise control option for the 4.8X5.

- Std. Cruise control: As normal and without the brake function. Available in other BMW models and past X5 (E53).

Like all options, it depends on your geographical region. This is an option on the X5 in the UK.