Elantra 2017 Limited offers FCW & AEB plus other advanced safety options.

I see on the Hyundai site that Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking are optional in the Elantra 2017 Limited model. Consumers Union highly recommended these two features in particular. I wonder if anyone here has these features? Are they trickling down from higher end Hyundai models? I wonder if the tech is reasonably mature and the hardware implementation reliable at this point? FCW ad AEB do seem highly desirable if they work as advertised.

Forgot to add the link:

They are trickling down from the higher end cars. I have it on my Genesis, but most every car maker now offers it in some form. It was also announced that 20 car maker agreed to make it standard on the 2022 models.

I use the adaptive cruise control often. It will apply the brakes, HARD, if needed when the car in front slows down. Here is a video of how it works. You can also see it in the VW ad on TV showing how it stops a car. From everything I've read, it is reliable.

I see that you have to buy two option packages to get it. IMO, it is worth it, but that is me. I like a fully loaded car. I drive about 22k miles a year and I want to do it in comfort. A '76 Ford Pinto will still get me places, but just not as much fun.

You also get a couple of other nice goodies in those packages. If you have more than one driver, the memory is nice to have.

They are trickling down from the higher end cars. I have it on my Genesis, but most every car maker now offers it in some form. It was also announced that 20 car maker agreed to make it standard on the 2022 models.

I use the adaptive cruise control often. It will apply the brakes, HARD, if needed when the car in front slows down. Here is a video of how it works. You can also see it in the VW ad on TV showing how it stops a car. From everything I've read, it is reliable.

I see that you have to buy two option packages to get it. IMO, it is worth it, but that is me. I like a fully loaded car. I drive about 22k miles a year and I want to do it in comfort. A '76 Ford Pinto will still get me places, but just not as much fun.

You also get a couple of other nice goodies in those packages. If you have more than one driver, the memory is nice to have.

It will take you back to speed as long as you don't come to a dead stop for more than a few seconds. Even then, you just push the "resume" button and it starts you.

What you are setting is the maximum speed. It will follow the car in front at a safe distance and vary speeds depending on the car in front. If the car in from leaves or goes above you set speed you just continue at that speed.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I can see how the adaptive cruise control would be a real convenience on a daily basis.

By the way, I see that the 2017 Elantra Limited comes with 17" wheels standard. Any thoughts about wheel/tire sizes? I've read some criticism of

17" rims with skinny tires. Also what do you think about the six speed automatic transmission? My Elantra has a 5 speed manual which has worked very well for me over the years, but I'm tired of the constant shifting in traffic and ready to try an automatic.

Manual tranny is nice once in a while, especially on the back roads that are twisty and hilly. After a half hour or so, the fun become work. Now the trend is to 6 speed for better mileage with an overdrive ratio. I've not owned a stick shift for decades now. Automatics are efficient, smooth, reliable compared to the 2 speed Power Glide of 1955.

As for low profile tires, they look good, handle well, but they don'[t take the pot holes as good as a higher profile.

Thanks Ed. I'm looking forward to the reviews of the 2017 Elantra this Fall. In general there's a lot of cool car tech coming. Perhaps some of the advanced safety gear could be made available as add on "kits"?

Apparently they are out and on the street already. I see ads by dealers selling the 16 models still so I guess the dealers have both to sell. I suspect Hyundai may be trying for a sales record for the 17s.

A car "driven" by software has a lot of advantages from a manufacturing sta ndpoint. You'd be able to use the same hardware in a wide range of models a nd price points then turn the features on or off as required by software ch anges.

Once you get the power train completely electronic, the software will be in distinguishable from the hardware. The software will be the hardware. I thi nk this will bring about the fully modular/generic car. What this means is that it's going to be dirt cheap to manufacture cars in the future. This is disruptive technology at it's finest. :)

I did some additional research and learned that there's a PZEV version available (I'm in California). "Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle" sounds like a good thing. Is there any reason not to choose the PZEV version over the others?

I suspect that in California you don't have any other choice. It most likely is the only one meeting the CARB standard.

I did some additional research and learned that there's a PZEV version available (I'm in California). "Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle" sounds like a good thing. Is there any reason not to choose the PZEV version over the others?

I don't know of any reason not to. Car makers have to sell a certain portion of PZEV vehicles in order to sell cars in CA. The good part is that you are polluting less. I suspect we will see more of them in the future.