Founder. Environmentalist. EV Enthusiast. Dad.

I just drove 110 miles on LFA (Lane Follow Assist) and Smart Cruise control in the Hyundai Kona EV and I’m impressed (a Tesla owner reviews the Kona)

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I actually prefer the lane change method compared to the V8 software on the Tesla, however, V9 in the Tesla is superior but it should be for nearly 3x the price!
The Kona system is also superior to Jaguar’s iPace at nearly 3x the price! 😂
 
My initial thoughts:
  • When LFA disables itself (e.g. lack of lane lines etc), the only clue that it’s done it is the little green steering wheel disappears from the HUD (if equipped) or the main dash. No warning noise is frankly dangerous in my opinion although may actually be safer as it forces you to concentrate more!
  • The steering wheel requires your movement to ensure you’re awake and paying attention (fine) but it’s not very sensitive so you can be holding it and it starts to moan at you unnecessarily. Similar happens in the Tesla to be fair.
  • It doesn’t have auto lane change like the Tesla does but actually, the Hyundai method is smoother (at least than V8 of a Tesla). As you indicate to move lanes the LFA system disengages and you have control until you cancel the indicator, it then auto switches back on LFA when it senses the lane lines etc again, similar in the new Nissan with ProPilot. In the Tesla it does the whole movement but you need to hold the indicator down whilst doing it but for some reason the Tesla will often moan it needs hands on the wheel at that exact moment or it simply takes longer to do the lane change (probably for the best as it’s checking it’s safe). In V9 of the Tesla it doesn’t require you to hold the indicator down during the movement, you can use the Autopilot stalk to start the movement instead by simply tapping it, it also now uses more sensors to check for blind spots and approaching cars in all lanes. However, for the price point compared with the Tesla the LFA system in the Hyundai is great.
  • LFA works above (far higher) the listed speed in the manual – tested on private roads.
  • It moves around the lane slightly more than the Tesla but not by much (I wouldn’t worry and it could be just me over thinking it).
  • Smart Cruise Control weirdly seems to be 1-2 mph lower than the speed you set. e.g. set it to 70mph and it will do 69mph… Not sure if a bug?
  • Blind spot monitoring is good and the visual + audio signals are great.
  • The HUD is superb at showing what is going on (lane lines, LFA activated, speed limit, speed set, navigation etc) I miss not having it in my Tesla 🙁

Disclaimer: The photo above wasn’t taken by me nor was the camera blocking my vision.

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