So I had a chance to drive home a Tesla Model X P100D for an overnight test drive and wanted to share my comparison thoughts between the two systems.
I had always been curious of how BMW's Driving Assistance Plus performs against Tesla's AP2.
My initial thoughts after returning the car, is that Tesla does half of the functions better, while BMW performs better with the other half; bear with me as I try to explain them in contrast
Lane recognition (Steering correction/ adaptive cruise):
Tesla > BMW
Tesla: only needs one lane marking to function and does it well, even in side-streets, highways, and common roads. Unlike BMW, when approaching an intersection, or a break in lane markings, Tesla continues functioning.
Tesla's also has an advantage in displaying other cars present in three lanes on its display (left lane, right lane, and present lane), it will also show a real time animation of these cars while they move beside you, make lane changes or movements in relation to the lane markings. Tesla's system works in well in residential, regular streets, exit ramps, twisty roads, and intersections. I have full faith in using it when I'm not on the freeway. Telsa can correct steering beyond at least at a 45 degree angle, maybe more, and BMW would deactivate steering controls around 30-40 degrees I think.
BMW: In my observations, I believe BMW needs at least two of the three factors present in order to remain active. It needs either two lane markings, or one lane marking and a car to follow at a minimum to remain active. While BMW does not have an animated display to show cars around you, it does have the advantage of having the Head-up Display, which greatly improves driver awareness of the system's status. Unfortunately, I feel like I can only use the autopilot function in non-freeway roads about half of the time, or less compared to Tesla.
Following Distance:
Tesla > BMW
BMW has 4 settings for distance, Tesla has 7 as I can recall. The advantage here is that Tesla's numbered settings is set to seconds in reaction time, rather than distance in car lengths. Tesla seems to recognize cars ahead much further
Automated braking while following:
BMW>Tesla
Telsa's auto braking function is very abrupt and unsettling; at-speed, it actually feels like its slamming on the brakes. BMW's braking appears to be more gradual and braking force is more evenly applied.
Driver steering input:
BMW > Tesla
Biggest annoyance for me, would be Tesla's autopilot system shutting off completely when I have to take over steering input, even for minor corrections. BMW will allow you to take over, and automatically resume without a need to re-activate it.
System self-deactivation:
BMW > Tesla
When Tesla's system loses the recognizable lines, or if the road/exit's steering angle is too much, the steering wheel would jerk very strongly and deactivate. This definitely gets the driver's attention, but also feels dangerous. I can imagine that other drivers are thinking I am drunk with the erratic steering inputs that occur when system deactivates. What's really annoying, is that you have to manually re-activate the system again, every time you take over the steering- it does not resume itself, while BMW does.
BMW does a better job at notifying the driver with sound and flashing red lights when the same occurs, and there is no sudden jerk in steering input. I've also noticed that having both hands on the steering wheel will help BMW's system become available in many cases if its not "green"
Traffic/ stop and go:
Tesla > BMW
Almost equal for both, but a slight advantage to Tesla for its animated visuals of cars that are coming into your lane, which gives the driver confidence that the system recognizes it. Another advantage for Tesla would be that it does not require input if traffic stops more than 15 seconds, while BMW requires you to press resume cruise control, or pressing the gas to resume.
Timed steering wheel input requirements:
BMW > Tesla
Both steering input requirements comes on under 30 seconds for both BMW and Tesla. (longer in stop in go traffic, but both equal)
Barely brushing the steering wheel in the BMW is great, it can be a finger touch, or touch of the palm would reset the "hands on the steering wheel" requirements.
Tesla actually requires you to slightly wiggle the steering wheel a bit to re-engage it. Telsa's warnings or indicators are also not as noticeable as BMW's HUD - or animated hands on the instrument panel. Tesla has a faint flashing white line on top of the display and a small text box, and the warning sound doesn't catch my attention as much as the BMW's
Worst part about Tesla's system is that the system would deactivate
"for the rest of the trip" if you fail to reactivate it and it immediately starts slowing down to a stop and flash its hazard lights. This safety feature if fine, but BMW does not punish me like a child, the way Tesla does. You would need to put the Tesla in park, open the door, and drive again before the autopilot system can be activated again.
Low speed- cruise/AP:
BMW > Tesla
Maybe its just me, but I had a hard time trying to activate or re-activate the system when I was accelerating from 0 mph to below 35 mph. BMW seems to allow me activate adaptive cruise control function + steering anytime its available.
Tesla also limits your cruise control speed to 5mph max over any posted speed limits of 25 mph, and 35 mph.
Lastly, if you have your foot on the accelerator while the system is activated, a message pops up saying that the braking function is deactivated while your foot is on the accelerator (even if just a little bit).
Self parking:
BMW > Tesla
Some reason the Model X only shows the backup camera and PDCs when parking- so its very difficult to gauge if the self parking feature is going hit anything since the driver has no other visuals than the rear camera.
BMW on the other hand has both the top-down view and rear-view cameras available, with the optional 3-D when self parking. Both systems, you have to pass available parking space for it to recognize it, but Tesla does not have a dedicated parking button to start this feature, you have to go shuffle through the giant iPad screen to activate it.
I truly enjoyed the overnight test drive with the Model X P100D, but for the price it lacks some of the basic, creature comforts that a cheaper priced BMW has. Things such as steering wheel heating, an easy to control command center (iDrive), ergonomics, gesture control, etc.
Enhanced Autopilot 2 is a $3000 option (at purchase) and $5000 after the fact, while BMW's Drivers Assistance Plus is $2200, which currently cannot be retrofitted.
My take away with the Tesla, is that its a fantastic appliance that you can drive! Its one expensive appliance for sure, but it really lacks the feeling of driving a car because it feels like its more of a utility, or just a mode of (very advanced) transport.
I would love to hear your thoughts on either semi-autonomous self-driving systems.