Is a cruise contro a good item to have or is it one of those items that is not used very much. The cost is about £180 not a fortune but still a reasonale amount.

What do other uses think?

Having had it on my last 2 cars i wouldn't be without it. Great on motorways up and down to England, and it's great to use in the avg speed traps / roadworks. means you can concentrate on driving and not keep checking you haven't crept up to 55.

Also use it on the 40/50 limit dual carraigeway's that are prone to speed traps.

I never thought it worth having, but would miss it now

great for roadworks, but I find my economy suffers slightly with it.

great for roadworks, but I find my economy suffers slightly with it.

Agreed - haven't got cruise on my Octavia, but the Touran I had before was harder on fuel with cruise on than it was with it off

great thing to have when you drive on the highways of central europe.....

Definitely get it! I'd not had it before the Octy, but wouldn't be without it now. As has already been said, its great for roadworks, speed cameras, generally cruising...

Never had it before and wouldn't want to be without it now.

Another fan - as above great for avoiding speeding fines and when on a long run.

One of the most useful add ons in my opinion

If there was 1 thing I missed on the MK1 I had it was cruise Got it on the MK2 and boy, does it feel good

Fully agree its well worth the cost, it makes driving less stressful as it's one thing less you need to worry about.

Most people who hate it don't read the road far enough ahead, which is why they are constantly on and off the cruise control, read the road and you rarely have to touch it, i have driven from Dover to Birmingham (round the M25) without having to come of cruise control before! (although not very often!) this is a distance of 225 miles.

The time you don't want it on is when you are using twisty single carriageways or going over a lot of hills, then it will use more fuel than a half decent driver who is driving economically.

Good to have on long stretches that have plenty of speed cameras (pass 10 on my way to work!)

I wouldn't buy a car without it now.

It makes long Motorway journeys much less tiring and you can move your right leg about more to avoid aches and pains.

I don't find it less economical to use cruise. In fact the opposite because without CC my speed tends to creep up on Motorways, if I start off around 80 after a while I realise I'm doing 90.

The only downside with CC is other drivers getting under your feet going up hills and then they're pushing you going down the other side. On some stretches where there a lot of hills you can end up overtaking someone 4 or 5 times. By which time they are probably thinking you are a nutter who is trying to annoy them by speeding up and down. Of course it's really them that are slowing down and speeding up - you've been doing exactly the same speed for donkey's miles.

I'm gonna buck the trend and say, for me personally, its a complete waste of money. I had it as standard so it didn't cost me anything but i've never used it apart from playing around. Don't see the point of it unless you live somewhere flat, like Holland! The car sticks solidly to whatever speed you set so will accelerate heavily uphill to maintain speed and brake going downhill and not use momentum, hence increasing fuel usage. I don't find it that difficult holding my foot steady on the accelerator and after 15 years of driving it just feels wierd and slightly daft to have my right foot doing nothing.

First car i've ever had it on and would now only pay for it if I wanted to take into account any bonus points when trying to sell it on. Unnecessary in the UK.

I've had 5 cars, this is my first with cruise.

I will never buy another car without it.

Cruise control doesnt normally operate the brakes

I think he means engine braking - not sure too many people think cruise control is clever enough to operate the brake pedal - that would be auto-pilot !!

As I drive on the continent regularly for business, and speeding is frowned upon rather a lot (read: expensive when caught and more likely than ever, plus points are going to be linked or have been linked to the UK), I just cant risk it - driving for a good few hours (yes I know 2 hourly breaks etc), it does not really use a lot more fuel if used appropriately.

You can 'take over' from CC by nudging the accelerator ever so slightly, without accelerating, which eases the CC off very slightly, or push past someone to make a bit of a safe overtaking move and then let it drop back to whatever the speed limit is within margins of error

Very handy for avg speed cams and road works too, and when driving at night at high-risk days when the local traffic officers are ensuring NSL is adhered to.

The higher fuel use is an issue, but you can easily flick off the CC and manually take over going uphill, and bring the car up to CC speed going downhill, then resume again. That way you keep the fuel economy nicer if you want to

It's a must have for me now. Very useful and helps make motorway slogs more manageable for me. While I agree it's not as economical as your own foot while going uphill, I feel on a 3hr trip that the system keeping you exactly at your specified speed will even things out. If I'm not using it, I find I'm more likely to vary my speed more and the speeds creeps up, as do my chances of getting in trouble

At the end of the day, it's a personal choice - if you think you'll make use of it, get it

Steve

Wouldn't be without it. We Have it on Octavia and our Fabia VRS

I think he means engine braking - not sure too many people think cruise control is clever enough to operate the brake pedal - that would be auto-pilot !!

Engine braking is minimal if not non-existant on a diesel anyhow

As for auto pilot there was a famous urban myth

"Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November, 2000, Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having motored onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed, and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie."

Use it all the time.

"Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November, 2000, Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having motored onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed, and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie."

I got to say it.....Only in America...

In Belgium its illegal to have it on in certain places.Do'nt tell them as i have it on most of the time, would not be without it and with dsg.