When I went to San Francisco last month in our long-term 2010 VW GTI I used the Cruise quite a bit. You see, during the MotoGP weekend it seemed like half of all California Highway Patrol units were on the job from The City to the Monterey Peninsula. I even saw for the first time CHP shooting laser on
I-280 on the run down the hill from Burlingame! I used the cruise a lot to avoid getting a citation, so I gained some familiarity with the GTI's stalk cruise.
It's got a master switch on top that you flip back and forth. I never cancelled cruise operation using this, but I think it would be awkward. And for the speed setting and resume you press on that rocker switch on the end of the stalk.
It all works fine, but Blind Operation (without looking) is a bit challenging, especially for speed setting.
I prefer the tap up/tap down cruise stalk on our GTI's luxury sister, the departed long-term Audi S5. Doing that on the GTI's stalk activates the turn signals.
Why are they different -- product differentiation??
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 10,900 miles
Murtman says:
04:17 PM, 08/ 9/10
VW has had this setup for a while. I don't really mind it on my '08 Rabbit. Disabling it is as easy as tapping the brake or touching the clutch. Speed setting just takes a tap of the crescent shape button on the side, up for faster down for slower. I set mine at 70 and just relax when I'm on the interstate.
questionlp says:
04:25 PM, 08/ 9/10
VW and Audi have had different cruise control stalks for a while. I am quite used to the one in my 2004 A4 (which is the same as the standard cruise control stalk in the S5) and was a bit perplexed when trying to use the stalk in a 2004 VW Jetta.
mike475 says:
04:48 PM, 08/ 9/10
A lot of people used to complain that old set up (Audiin this case) was confusing and VW listened. Pople were saying that at night you hit hi-beam instead of cruse control in attempt to turn it off and it could be a hazard on two carriageway ways.
I think it works fine either way, but I used to flash my hi-beam a lot more in 2007 Rabbit/Golf compared to 2010 GTI.
anonimo says:
04:52 PM, 08/ 9/10
My Cayman S uses a design--frustratingly--similar to this, while I find the Audi cruise stalk in my Q5 far more intuitive. Sometimes I think companies tweak even the most common-sense designs just to be different... even brands all under the same corporate umbrella in order to avoid the parts-sharing stigma. Just plain silly--at least when it adversely affects ergonomics.
zcalvert says:
05:03 PM, 08/ 9/10
You cancel by sliding the on/off switch toward "off" until you feel the resistance of the "off" detent. not terribly complicated.
I realize you guys are constantly switching between varied cars, but this - like any cruise system - becomes second nature quickly.
mikeolan says:
06:53 PM, 08/ 9/10
Once you get used to it VW's setup isn't awful if you're a hands-at-9-and-3 type person (think about when you use cruise control though), as it's always in reach of your fingers.
The problem is that if you're clumsy (say, moving your hands from the bottom of the wheel) , you can tap it at the wrong angle and activate the turn indicator unintentionally. Making it worse, it's one of those tap-for-3 ordeals.
bodyblue says:
05:01 AM, 08/10/10
Too fussy and too much going on for the turn signal stalk IMO. I like it on the wheel and once I got used to it I like the Toyota style stalk on the right hand side of the wheel quite a bit. MOPAR now uses the same unit as Toyota. But I also think there is too much going on on the steering wheel anyway on newer cars. Not everything has to be at your fingertips......
mrb5091 says:
05:05 AM, 08/10/10
What do the three light settings mean? On, Automatic, Off? Or High, Low, Off?
dg0472 says:
06:14 AM, 08/10/10
They mean push back for high beams, forward is low beams, and pull towards the wheel to flash high beams.
wizard8873 says:
06:38 AM, 08/10/10
too much on one stalk. would be better to just have a seperate one for it, like the R8 that you show.
travelingman79 says:
08:51 AM, 08/10/10
Please give me BMW's stalk. Same position as the Audi's but a lot less complicated with no on/off business to bother with. Forward to the detent sets or increases by 1 km/h; past the detent is 10 km/h. Backward does the same thing but decreases speed. Up or down cancels, and button on the edge resumes.
cello_one says:
10:44 AM, 08/10/10
I suppose the VW setup is a little better than the GM stalks... but who at VW decided to hire a 1980s GM engineer for the control stalks? At least it doesn't do the windshield operation as well I suppose...
ddark13 says:
01:29 PM, 08/10/10
btw i have a vw cc with the same setup and if you hold the stalk down or up you can adjust the speed setting in 1 mph increments (dunno if this was already mentioned but it took me awhile to figure it out)
jpr18 says:
05:28 PM, 08/10/10
I use that setup every day in my Jetta and it is perfect....very intuitive and easy to use. My favorite by far. I usually leave it in the on position, then just tap down to set, quick tap right to cancel (or brake), and easy to modulate speed.
_markvgti_ says:
09:06 PM, 08/12/10
This setup is probably to save costs by reducing the number of stalks on the steering column by one. My Mark V GTI had a separate, lower stalk for the cruise control functions like your Audi S5.