Tech Brew takes GM’s hands-free highway driving tech on a road trip

Setting aside promises of fully autonomous vehicles, many of today’s vehicles are equipped with driver assistance technology aimed at making trips safer, less monotonous, and more enjoyable.

These Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly common across all types of makes and models. Tech Brew recently had the opportunity to test out GM’s ADAS, Super Cruise, after the automaker offered a chance to get behind the wheel of its 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST for a few days.

Super Cruise 101: GM introduced Super Cruise in 2017 and has expanded its availability over time. It has been available on 400,000 miles of major highways in the US and Canada, and GM now is in the process of expanding it to some 750,000 miles, including smaller highways.

The system is enabled by an array of radars, cameras, GPS, and lidar map data. There also are internal cameras that use infrared lights to track whether the driver is paying attention.

That’s important, because Level 2 systems require constant supervision by the driver. The technology enables partial automation—the system can steer, accelerate, brake, and change lanes. But the driver must be prepared to take over at any time.

Super Cruise’s features include on-demand lane changes, automatic lane changes, collaborative steering, and hands-free trailering, among others.

The system, which is now available on 20 models, is available through GM’s OnStar connectivity service. It costs between $2,200 and $2,500 for a three-year subscription. After that period, users have the option to reup for $25 a month or $250 a year.

Take the wheel: My journey began on a sunny Saturday afternoon in October at my home in Detroit. My destination was Port Huron, a small city in Michigan’s Thumb region that’s known as the Maritime Capital of the Great Lakes.

I opted to take the scenic route along M-29, a two-lane highway that runs along the St. Clair River.

I departed with the Silverado’s battery charged to 98%, or an estimated 440 miles of range—plenty of juice to get me to my destination. The infotainment system provided an estimate that the battery’s charge would be 77% by the time I got there.

To engage Super Cruise, I turned on the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control feature via a button on the steering wheel. Once you’re cruising, you can activate Super Cruise via another button on the bottom left of the wheel. A blue light on the steering wheel indicates you need to center the vehicle in the lane; green means Super Cruise is on.

Initially, I kept my hands hovering over the steering wheel, too nervous to fully relax. But by the second time I engaged the system, I felt comfortable enough to remove my hands and rest them in my lap.

I kept my eyes on the road, as the system requires, but could feel myself settling into a more relaxed driving posture. As I continued down the highway, the wheel moved as the system made small adjustments to remain centered.

A buzz and a message in red on the instrument cluster let me know when the system was disengaging and instructed me to put my hands back on the wheel. This happened numerous times, and can be the result of a number of factors—construction, adverse weather, lack of mapping data, etc. In some cases, it reengaged almost immediately.

I took over as I was approaching Port Huron, where I found that the battery range had held up almost exactly as estimated. I had about 383 miles of range to get back home.

I engaged Super Cruise once I was back on the interstate and tried out the system’s on-demand lane change (enabled by activating the turn signal) and automatic lane change (which passes slower-moving vehicles) features, which worked seamlessly.

Things got a little dicier as I got close to Detroit and it started to rain. Amid traffic congestion, heavy rain, and limited visibility, the system repeatedly disengaged. A couple of times, I preemptively took back control because the conditions were nerve-racking.

I asked Super Cruise spokesperson Aimee Ridella about this, and she said the system operated as it’s supposed to in such circumstances. Bad weather is a common reason Super Cruise disengages.

“If Super Cruise can’t see the lane lines, it’ll hand back control,” she said. “We do err on the side of caution.”

Reviews of Super Cruise have been largely positive, and my impression was no different. Being able to take my hands off the wheel on long stretches of highway made for a more pleasant experience. But it’s important to be clear that these systems are not autonomous and do require the driver’s attention.

Last year, Consumer Reports ranked Super Cruise second only to Ford’s BlueCruise out of all available ADAS. CR noted that the two systems employ driver monitoring systems to keep drivers’ attention on the road, a feature that its safety experts deemed “key to the safety of any ADA system.”

In a statement, Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing, said that the technology represents “an important advancement that can help make driving easier and less stressful.”

“But they don’t make a car self-driving at all,” he added. “Instead, they create a new way of collaboratively driving with the computers in your car. When automakers do it the right way, it can make driving safer and more convenient. When they do it the wrong way, it can be dangerous.”