Cruise Control, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Chevy Super Cruise

With the 2024 Silverado 1500 almost here, we have a lot of customers coming in and asking about its highly anticipated features—particularly its smart driver assistance features. Chevrolet offers the traditional Cruise Control, its Adaptive Cruise Control, and the new Super Cruise all on the Silverado. That’s right: for the 2024 Silverado 1500, Super Cruise will be available on the High Country luxury trim!

But with three features that have such similar names, customers understandably mix them up—and it’s important to us that drivers understand exactly what unique benefits each of these features brings. If you’re looking for a Chevy Silverado for sale near Fishers, IN, and want to work with a dealership boasting experts on this great light-duty pickup, Blossom Chevrolet is here to help.

Each of the three features we discuss here today—Cruise Control, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Super Cruise—all allow the driver to take a slight break from being completely in command of the vehicle. You’re likely familiar with Cruise Control from any vehicle you’ve driven or maybe even from a previous generation of the Silverado 1500. However, Adaptive Cruise Control and Super Cruise are two features of which drivers are less familiar. Here’s a look at what each of the three systems has to offer to help you decide which are right for your needs and driving habits.

Cruise Control

Cruise Control is the most basic of these three systems. It allows you to set the desired speed at which you’d like to remain. The vehicle will then maintain that speed without you having to keep the pedal to the metal.

If you drive long stretches on open roads with minimal traffic, this can be a great feature to use. When your work or adventures call for several hours-long trips on open highways with barely another vehicle in sight, constantly putting your foot on the gas can cause you to cramp up—and when the roads are truly that open, there isn’t much need to keep your foot over the pedal continuously.

Just remember to follow the speed limit. Your Cruise Control might allow you to set your desired speed OVER the speed limit, but that won’t get you off the hook for a ticket if you get pulled over. The “Cruise Control let me do it” excuse hasn’t absolved anyone of a traffic violation, and it won’t make an exception for you.

Adaptive Cruise Control

Adaptive Cruise Control takes Cruise Control functionality and builds upon it. One gripe people sometimes have with Cruise Control is that, if and when other vehicles appear, you need to press on the brake—and then, when traffic speeds back up, you have to press the gas again.

If you’re looking for more of a streamlined, hands-off (or feet-off) experience, Adaptive Cruise Control could be for you. In addition to setting a desired speed, you’ll also set a desired distance you’d like to keep between your vehicle and the one in front of you. The system will prioritize keeping a safe distance. If it can maintain your desired speed while maintaining this desired gap, it will reach your designated top speed. However, if it senses you are getting too close to the vehicle in front of you, it will slow down autonomously.

What’s nice about this system is that not only can it come to a total stop if necessary, but it also detects when traffic in front of you picks back up and will automatically accelerate for you, endeavoring to reacquire the positioning you asked of it at the start.

This is an excellent feature for those who spend a mix of time on open highways and in more congested areas. If the stop-and-go nature of putting your foot on the gas (then brake, then gas, and so on) exhausts you, Adaptive Cruise Control can provide a nice relief. Once you are on open roads with not another vehicle in sight, it operates just like regular ol’ Cruise Control.

Super Cruise

Super Cruise—the most advanced of these systems—is something you’ll have the option to add if you get the High Country trim of the 2024 Silverado 1500. It builds upon Adaptive Cruise Control, so it also contains regular Cruise Control functionality; in fact, in order to use it, Adaptive Cruise Control must be activated, as must Forward Collision Alert. Super Cruise will not work if Teen Driver Mode is turned on, however, as teens should learn how to be hands-on before enjoying hands-free technology.

Super Cruise is Chevy’s semi-autonomous hands-free driving technology. In addition to maintaining your desired speed and distance from other vehicles, it will also take over steering and braking for you. It does this by relying on a combination of real-time cameras, GPS, sensors, and a LiDAR map. (That’s fancy terminology for a system that uses laser technology to map out areas, including details like elevation and terrain. It is a truly great gift from the finest minds in automotive innovation.)

Currently, Super Cruise is compatible with over 400,000 roads in the US and Canada. In order to use it, you will need to have an active OnStar subscription. Once you have it, the system will steer for you, making sure you stay in your lane and follow navigation inputs. You will still need to keep your eyes on the road, however; you can’t take a nap while driving.

General Safety Guidelines

These smart driver assistance features can relieve drivers of fatigue—especially those who have to drive long distances for work. However, no driver should consider these a replacement for safe driving habits.

It is always your responsibility to follow traffic guidelines. Your Super Cruise system will not brake or steer to abide by a stop light or other sign or to get around an obstacle. It is up to you to take over when these situations arise.

You must always remain attentive and take over steering, braking, or acceleration if necessary. It’s also important to only use Super Cruise on compatible roads; these are the only roads the system knows how to read. Additionally, use common sense and don’t use these systems when conditions are less than ideal. For example, don’t use any of these on wet or icy roads or when driving through a construction zone.

Check Out the Top-Tier Tech of the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500

The Chevy Silverado 1500 is a quality light-duty pickup truck that we’re proud to carry. It’s an excellent vehicle for DIYers and explorers alike. If you have long drives ahead of you, the three systems covered here can make lighter work out of grueling trips. If you aren’t quite sure which one is right for your driving habits, speak to a member of our sales team; they’ll be glad to learn about your vehicle needs and steer you in the right direction.

We have new Silverados arriving regularly and are genuinely impressed with the updates Chevy has in store for the 2024 model. Per usual, it will have a thoughtful array of trim options, several solid engine options, the beloved Multi-Flex tailgate with its six functionalities, and tons of great infotainment features. If you want to work with a Chevy Silverado dealer near Fishers that offers great prices and a huge inventory, visit Blossom Chevrolet today and pre-order your 2024 Silverado 1500.

There are a lot of great destinations within driving distance from Fishers, like Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, not to mention countless gorgeous national parks and hiking trails. Having a Silverado 1500 equipped with smart driving technology will make the drive much more enjoyable as you explore this great corner of the country.