How does innodrive work and is it worth it?

 

I had it on my Taycan and got rid of it, if you want to go the exact speed limit may be useful, but who drives a Porsche that way lol. Only useful if you don't know how to drive. If you want a self driving car just get a Tesla.

 

innodrive….. run away from this option.

 

Maybe take a look through these threads at the end of this post.

What I have found is that early iterations of Innodrive on 992 were not well executed. Also, you can turn off the portion that will follow the speed limits so it won't slow down based on what the navigation *thinks* the speed limit is supposed to be or the car saw a speed sign.

I don't really want the Lane Keep Assist (LKA), I would like ACC at times and want Active Lake Keep (ALK) on longer drives. I sure as hell don't want the car hitting the brakes because it thinks the posted speed limit should be followed when traffic flow is going faster, which could cause an accident. I went back and forth on this and added it to my order to get ACC and ALK.

Look through these two threads and proceed accordingly:
Porsche InnoDrive option - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums
992 adaptive cruise/innodrive/lane keep assist - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

 

i have innodrive. honestly don't feel like i've figured it out. or it isn't what i expected. the one interesting thing is that it will slow you down for off, on ramps, and certain turns. however, it can stomp the gas or brakes when it gets confused. much like ACC. that said, late at night with innodrive i can get on the highway, set it, and never touch the gas until i turn into my neighborhood. even after a couple highway changes. it will speed up and slow down as needed for interchanges. it can be set to change speed when it sees a new speed limit sign (see below about that). or it can be set to select the new speed only if you move the stalk to accept. this is how i have it set. you can hold the stalked to adjust speed in 5 mph increments or tap to go by 1s. very similar to setting a cruise control. so if it things the speed limit is 65 it will go to 65. hold the stalk a moment and it sets to 70 or 75. very easy.

i put it on for a canyon run once. set the car into sport plus. it steers for your but you have still have to drive. so essentially it feels like someone is tugging the wheel slightly while you drive. i turn this off. it will run the gas and brakes but not as smooth as i would. makes a jerky ride. rather than coasting it will tap the brakes. i did it just to test it out. for a canyon runs i am in sport plus and manual mode.

if you want LKA and ACC then check PID since it saves a couple bucks. honestly probably the only reason to get it. you can make it function essentially like ACC if you like that. traffic sign recognition doesn't work great, misses signs all the time. picks some up 50% of the time. on my drive home there is a section that goes from 65 to 45. PID will recognize the 45 and slow me down. then about 100' later it will go back to 65 because the sign recognition didn't actually work. when i go to to the office it still thinks the speed is 65 even after i've passed a few 35 mph signs.

haven't use traffic jam assist since i am never in heavy traffic.

i only turn it on when i want to use it. i got it because this is my daily and i do a lot of highway driving at the end of the day. also have it for road trip interstate and highway driving that is long and straight. my wife's car has ACC and LKA which is where i first used those features. great for long, dull drives. figured worse case, if i don't use PID, i got those items for less.

 

Love it. It goes a bit further than the standard cruise control, by integrating into the system/software road information to speed up, or slow down depending on the road. For example, I had Innodrive active when entering a traffic circle. The system anticipated that i was entering the traffic circle and automatically slowed the car down enough to gauge traffic in the circle, before entering the traffic circle at a speed appropriate for the circle, and finally, when I exited the circle, the car accelerated automatically to my pre-set speed. It will do the same when exiting a highway off ramp, ie, will slow the car down automatically from highway speeds depending on the curve radius of the off ramp. Pretty advanced technology.

That said, i don’t use it every day, but use it when on roads i am not use to, and especially at night…and it will anticipate sharp bends in the road without having to do anything.

 

I would skip it. The Porsche and Audi systems slow the car down very aggressively when there is a speed limit change. This is especially annoying when you have it set to 75 or higher in a 65 mph zone and then the speed limit changes to 55 mph. Also, this is a car to drive yourself, not to have the computer do it for you.

 

I take delivery of my car with Innodrive next week and will be driving it from ATL to IL once I get it so I'll know more then.

I have a GLC with Mercedes version of Innodrive and had an A4 with Audi's version of it and I like them. But how much potential value you'll get likely depends on how you are going to use your car. If it's not going to be a road tripper - I wouldn't bother. I don't see the value in even ACC let alone an intelligent ACC like Innodrive for most day to day driving. However, I do intend to road trip my car and I have come to greatly appreciate systems like it when driving say - through one lane construction zones on I-80 in IL and OH where the traffic can randomly alternate between 60 to 30 to 50 and all over the dial. Setting an ACC system in these zones to the speed you want to drive at and then dropping the following distance back can make these zones a lot less stressful to pass through because the car will maintain the distance on it's own.

I'm actually excited by @dudeoverthere 's comments that it can be set to not automatically adjust speed based on what it misreads signs - I positively HATE using my GLC in Georgia on I-75 where the "Minimum Speed Limit 45" signs confuse the system and rapidly slow the car from 80 to 45 if I'm not watching for it. If Porsche's system is "dumber" than the Mercedes and Audi systems and can ignore the "alternate speed limit" signs that some state's post (Minimum Speed, Truck Speed, Unladen Swallow Speed... etc) then to me, the system will be worth every penny.

But I also only see value in these systems for Highway driving only, I wouldn't bother with them on backroads and side roads, on those I'd keep the system off and just enjoy the drive.

 

Innodrive: Not everyone needs it, nor will use it. But like a lot of options on cars, it’s nice to have when the occasion arises. Personal taste, and use only when you think you can benefit from it.

But if money is a concern, and looking to cut costs, then leave it off your build list. However, I can think of a number of other options that I would drop from my build list before Innodrive.

 

I’m glad I got it. Works perfect for road tripping to Laguna or Sonoma or one of our local tracks, but especially on the way home in LA rush hour traffic worth every penny. If your not driving on the freeway much probably not needed.

 

I use it on long straight freeway journeys and glad I added it. Makes it more relaxing though you need to keep your hand on the wheel. As mentioned it improved considerably from 2021 models onward.

If your car is a daily driver then I think it is a useful option to have. If your car is a weekend car and "you know how to drive" then less useful.

Depends on your driving pattern I would say. There is room for both.

 

@Radiationman it's a checkbox in the pcm to ignore signs. you have to be paying attention to the new speed limit prompt to accept it. otherwise it is a hard brake when slowing down. whereas a natural driver would normally coast to meet the new slower speed.