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I recently bot a Niro PHEV EX for my wife and now have a few days of familiarization. I will compare the autonomous driving features to my Tesla S which I have driven some 20K miles.
Note first that the standard EX now includes the SCC Smart Cruise Control and the Acitve LKA lane keeping assistant. For a car that costs so much less than a Tesla M3 I am very impressed with the capability. Keep in mind that the self driving feature on the M3 costs $5,000.
The SCC for me is every bit as capable as the Tesla with one exception.
At 6 MPH it disengages so the driver is always responsible for not rear ending the car ahead. In the Tesla I can read the paper when in a traffic jam without concern - no 'hands on the wheel' reminders. Kia went the cutout route as other car builders have done for liability reasons for now. No better way to assure that the driver understands their ultimate responsibility.
The active LKA feature works just like the Tesla although in both cases it is designed for highways and not byways. Tesla is actually better on the byways but that is not really as good thing as it encourages misuse.
Note that both Hyundai/Kia and VW have selected Aurora as their autonomous driving partner. Aurora is led by guys many think are the best minds in that technology. So Tesla has real competition on the road right now. I do not think either the stock market or the car buying market yet really understands this.
As a footnote as a technology investor I think Nvidia is the place for investment now not Tesla. When and if Aurora goes public I would invest.
All IMHO. Brian
Note first that the standard EX now includes the SCC Smart Cruise Control and the Acitve LKA lane keeping assistant. For a car that costs so much less than a Tesla M3 I am very impressed with the capability. Keep in mind that the self driving feature on the M3 costs $5,000.
The SCC for me is every bit as capable as the Tesla with one exception.
At 6 MPH it disengages so the driver is always responsible for not rear ending the car ahead. In the Tesla I can read the paper when in a traffic jam without concern - no 'hands on the wheel' reminders. Kia went the cutout route as other car builders have done for liability reasons for now. No better way to assure that the driver understands their ultimate responsibility.
The active LKA feature works just like the Tesla although in both cases it is designed for highways and not byways. Tesla is actually better on the byways but that is not really as good thing as it encourages misuse.
Note that both Hyundai/Kia and VW have selected Aurora as their autonomous driving partner. Aurora is led by guys many think are the best minds in that technology. So Tesla has real competition on the road right now. I do not think either the stock market or the car buying market yet really understands this.
As a footnote as a technology investor I think Nvidia is the place for investment now not Tesla. When and if Aurora goes public I would invest.
All IMHO. Brian