Photo: Ford (via Consumer Reports)
Consumer Reports has rated Ford BlueCruise as its top-rated driver’s assistance system, topping the publication’s last-year pick of GM’s Super Cruise and the Tesla Autopilot system, which has fallen further behind in the rankings over the past few years.
The pick also pushed Tesla’s Autopilot toward the middle of the pack, with the outlet saying it’s because of its few changes to basic functionality since first coming out.
“After all this time, Autopilot still doesn’t allow collaborative steering and doesn’t have an effective driver monitoring system,” writes Consumer Reports’ senior director Jake Fisher. “While other automakers have evolved their ACC and LCA systems, Tesla has simply fallen behind.”
Tesla Cabin Cameras During Autopilot Need to Do Better: Consumer Reports https://t.co/DF06zaKYNF
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) December 23, 2021
Of the things that put it ahead, the outlet notes that BlueCruise makes it extremely clear when users can go hands-free, and it has a direct driver monitoring system that requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road at all times.
Safety experts at the publication have pointed to the driver monitoring system as the most important part in a driver assistance system, and it says only Ford and GM have systems meeting the publication’s strict criteria for these systems.
Autopilot ranked 61 out of 100 overall. In the Capabilities and Performance score, it received 9/10. Keeping Driver Engaged was 3/10; Ease of Use was 5/10, Clear When Safe to Use was 3/10 and Unresponsive Driver was 4/10.
The advantage Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta has over these other vehicle assistance systems? Autopilot with FSD beta can navigate on any road using camera vision, and not just a pre-determined route or highway system.
Tesla has fallen in Consumer Reports rankings across the board over the last couple of years, with the Ford Mustang Mach-E last year beating the Tesla Model 3 as the top EV, and the EV automaker’s flagship sedan being suddenly removed as a top pick two years ago due to a safety feature change.
