BMW's self drive >> Tesla Autopilot

kolosy · 05-18-2023, 10:31 AM

I rented a model X for kicks ahead of a road trip (wife needed the X5, and I'm trying to keep miles down on the rest of the fleet). 3 hour drive, mostly highway. I've used the X5's self drive stuff on roadtrips a lot, but this was my first time trying Tesla's. I've gotta, say it's pretty terrible. Now, don't get me wrong -- it's got a lot more features. It works off highways, detects traffic control and all that, but it does it so inconsistently that you're better off having the limited but more predictable feature set of the BMW.

On the way it:
- Kept not recognizing that I was holding the wheel (I was, but unlike BMW's capacitive stuff, they're using force feedback of some sort so need input to the wheel to detect your presence. If I have to provide input to the wheel, what exactly is the point then?)
- Repeatedly saw red lights on access roads as if they were on the highway itself, slamming on the brakes
- Insisted on changing lanes, all the time (eventually I realized that you can turn that off, but there was no rhyme or reason to it)
- Forgot to accelerate back up to set speed when cars moved out of the way

Oh and my favorite -- if it decides that you've not been holding the wheel too much, it puts you in the penalty box. BMW does too - it just shuts off the self drive and makes you re-enable it. Tesla decided to take that a step further. It disables it for _the entire drive_. Now, practically that means you have to come to a stop and put it in park for a minute. Couple that with the fact that it's terrible at detecting whether you're actually holding the wheel and you get having to pull off on the shoulder of the highway just to do this fun reset.

Yes, BMW's has its shortcomings but it feels more predictable and ends up making for a more relaxed long drive.

G30M · 05-19-2023, 04:01 PM

thanks that sounds pretty annoying!

thecakeisalie · 05-19-2023, 11:01 PM

The biggest thing I don’t like on the BMW system is that it loses lane lines and tries to exit the lane way more than the Tesla system - sometimes after a bump in the road, sometimes on curves. At least the version on the current M3s/3 series/i4 cars. The rest is quite predictable and is smoother than I expected.

05-18-2023, 10:31 AM	#1
kolosy Colonel 1832 Rep 2,374 Posts Drives: over potholes Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chicago iTrader: (2)	BMW's self drive >> Tesla Autopilot I rented a model X for kicks ahead of a road trip (wife needed the X5, and I'm trying to keep miles down on the rest of the fleet). 3 hour drive, mostly highway. I've used the X5's self drive stuff on roadtrips a lot, but this was my first time trying Tesla's. I've gotta, say it's pretty terrible. Now, don't get me wrong -- it's got a lot more features. It works off highways, detects traffic control and all that, but it does it so inconsistently that you're better off having the limited but more predictable feature set of the BMW. On the way it: - Kept not recognizing that I was holding the wheel (I was, but unlike BMW's capacitive stuff, they're using force feedback of some sort so need input to the wheel to detect your presence. If I have to provide input to the wheel, what exactly is the point then?) - Repeatedly saw red lights on access roads as if they were on the highway itself, slamming on the brakes - Insisted on changing lanes, all the time (eventually I realized that you can turn that off, but there was no rhyme or reason to it) - Forgot to accelerate back up to set speed when cars moved out of the way Oh and my favorite -- if it decides that you've not been holding the wheel too much, it puts you in the penalty box. BMW does too - it just shuts off the self drive and makes you re-enable it. Tesla decided to take that a step further. It disables it for _the entire drive_. Now, practically that means you have to come to a stop and put it in park for a minute. Couple that with the fact that it's terrible at detecting whether you're actually holding the wheel and you get having to pull off on the shoulder of the highway just to do this fun reset. Yes, BMW's has its shortcomings but it feels more predictable and ends up making for a more relaxed long drive. __________________ Current '21 DG X5MC (wife), '11 E90 M3 (track), '11 Cayenne Turbo (tow) Recent Past '22 BG G82, '12 E92 M3 ZCP, '08 E93 M3, '18 F80 ZCP, '04 E46 M3 I think I have an M3 problem.
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05-19-2023, 04:01 PM	#2
G30M Major General 5315 Rep 5,126 Posts Drives: M550i; retired - M340i Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Australasia iTrader: (0)	thanks that sounds pretty annoying!
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05-19-2023, 11:01 PM	#3
thecakeisalie Private First Class 107 Rep 171 Posts Drives: ‘23 G80x Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: California iTrader: (0)	The biggest thing I don’t like on the BMW system is that it loses lane lines and tries to exit the lane way more than the Tesla system - sometimes after a bump in the road, sometimes on curves. At least the version on the current M3s/3 series/i4 cars. The rest is quite predictable and is smoother than I expected.
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