From Herbie the Love Bug and the Johnny Cab from Total Recall to KITT from Knight Rider, self-driving vehicles have long been the stuff of science fiction. That’s rapidly becoming science fact as cutting-edge tech finds its way into a new generation of cars, trucks, and SUVs. Automated driver-assistance systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and blind spot monitors represented the first wave of in-vehicle automation, and things don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Sophisticated new ADAS like adaptive cruise control, parking assist, and traffic sign detection are rapidly changing today’s auto market while opening the door to true hands-free tech.
Where does the industry stand as of early 2025? We’ve compiled a short guide to some of the current hands-free options on the market, from those offering partial driving automation to cutting-edge systems that can automate most aspects of your daily drive. We’ll also trace the history of these systems and explore the five levels of hands-free driving tech as outlined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). A sentient sedan or wisecracking station wagon might still be a ways off, but you might be surprised to learn just how far some brands are pushing the boundaries when it comes to hands-free driving.
Hands-Free History
It all started in 1986 when Carnegie Mellon University debuted the Navlab 1. The retrofitted Chevy van was packed with an IT department’s worth of equipment, including five racks of hardware, three workstations, and an early supercomputer. While the Navlab 1 was limited to a top speed of 20 mph, it employed much of the same equipment as today’s self-driving vehicles, including cameras, radar, and LiDAR sensors. Carnegie Mellon continued to refine the technology over the next decade and made headlines in 1995 when the Navlab 5 completed a successful 3,100-mile journey dubbed “No Hands Across America.” The U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) spurred autonomous innovation in the early 2000s with the DARPA Grand Challenge, which saw some of the nation’s top universities compete to claim a hefty prize and prove the feasibility of self-driving tech.
Lexus was the first major automaker to dive into the world of self-driving tech, but the 2006 Lexus LS 460 was a far cry from many of the semi-autonomous vehicles that are now making their way into the market. The luxury sedan was equipped with an active lane-keeping assist feature that could automatically correct the LS 460’s course if it started to drift between the lines. This lane-keeping tech and a host of other systems would soon begin to permeate the market, but lacked the true hands-free capability that defines some of today’s more advanced self-driving vehicles.
Waymo has been another leading name in the push towards self-driving cars, launching a driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, starting in 2020. While it represents an impressive leap forward, Waymo’s vehicles are still remotely monitored and can even be remotely controlled in certain conditions. General Motors’ subsidiary Cruise was the second to enter the robotaxi market, launching its own driverless service in San Francisco in 2022, but has since been shuttered by GM.
Five Levels of Hands-Free Driving
Before we start to explore some of the industry’s current hands-free driving systems, we should take a moment to define a few terms. While hands-free driving tech might be pretty groundbreaking, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has already provided a handy framework designed to help categorize current hands-free offerings. Released in 2014, the six-level classification system ranges from entirely human-operated Level 0 vehicles all the way up to fully autonomous Level 5 models.
While this system should prove helpful when classifying emerging self-driving systems, it’s a little ahead of its time. Level 3 vehicles are just starting to make their way into the market, and while there are some robotaxi services offering Level 4 services in select markets, no one has yet managed to crack true Level 5 capability. In addition to the technical challenges of developing a fully autonomous vehicle, there are legal and regulatory hurdles. Lawmakers and government agencies are largely taking a wait-and-see approach to legislating around self-driving tech. While there is no federal ban on autonomous vehicles, most states have enacted laws to govern their use, including strict safety and insurance requirements.
Level 0: Vehicles at SAE Level 1 include no automated driving features, leaving the operator to handle everything from steering and braking to operating the steering wheel.
Level 1: At Level 1, vehicles include a few automated features, but their scope and functionality tend to be limited. Level 1 vehicles include tech like lane-keeping assist or adaptive cruise control, which have both become increasingly common in today’s market.
Level 2: This level opens the door to partial driving automation, with the vehicle handling steering, braking, and acceleration duties under certain conditions. While this tech tends to make for a more relaxing ride, drivers are still required to keep their eyes on the road and, in most cases, their hands on the wheel. Most current automated driving systems are limited to Level 2 tech.
Level 3: A vehicle with Level 3 hands-free tech can automate most aspects of the driving experience, though its use tends to be limited to highways and other select areas. As with Level 2 tech, some driver engagement is still required, though Level 3 systems will largely allow drivers to remove their hands at their discretion.
Level 4: There’s a massive gulf between Level 3 self-driving tech and current Level 4 offerings, and it all comes down to the driver. While a vehicle with Level 3 tech requires a real person behind the wheel, Level 4 vehicles can navigate through a city, make stops, and even stop for fuel without any human intervention. This makes Level 4 self-driving tech perfect for automated robotaxis, which are beginning to become more popular in some urban areas.
Level 5: Level 5 represents full automation in all areas under all conditions. It might sound like a small improvement over Level 4 tech, but today’s hands-free systems lack the decision-making skills needed to ensure a safe ride for passengers, pedestrians, and other vehicles on the road. Harsh weather conditions, including snow-covered roads or heavy rain, can interfere with the network of sensors, cameras, and radar that underpin all self-driving vehicles. Until these issues are addressed, it’s unlikely that Level 5 tech will have its breakthrough moment.
Current Hands-Free Systems
If the idea of letting your car do some of the driving appeals to you, where do you look for a model that provides such capabilities? Here’s a rundown of the market’s current offerings and their capabilities.
Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot
SAE Level: 3
Coverage: Select highways in California and Nevada
As of late 2024, Mercedes-Benz is the only automaker that has been granted approval to deploy its Level 3 hands-free tech on (some) U.S. roads. Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot represents the first true Level 3 system on the market, though getting the chance to experience it yourself depends on your zip code. The hands-free tech can only be used on designated highways in California and Nevada, and is currently limited to a top speed of 40 mph. The system, available on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz 2024 S-Class and EQS sedans, is limited to daytime use and requires drivers to be attentive and ready to take the wheel at a moment’s notice. These limitations aside, the Mercedes-Benz tech does represent a promising evolution in the self-driving market.
Jeep/Ram Hands-Free Active Driving Assist
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 125,000 miles across the US and Canada
Jeep/Ram’s Hands-Free Active Driving Assist is fairly limited in scope and coverage, but it’s a promising start for the SUV and truck-focused brands. Hands-Free Active Driving Assist can perform on-demand lane changes and is free for the first three years of ownership, but drivers will have to select from a few limited trims to gain access.
Ford/Lincoln BlueCruise
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 130,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada
BlueCruise might only be rated at Level 2, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The hands-free system, which is steadily working its way into many Ford and Lincoln models, is the best Level 2 offering on the market with a stellar 84/100 rating from Consumer Reports. Lauded for its capabilities and performance, driver engagement, and clarity, BlueCruise gives drivers the opportunity to travel at up to 80 miles an hour. The system’s Lane Change Assist feature can easily detect surrounding traffic and seamlessly perform a lane change after receiving confirmation from the driver. Ford is also in the early stages of developing its own Level 3 hands-free tech through its Latitude AI division, but there’s no word on when that system might make it to market.
Toyota/Lexus Teammate
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 200,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada
Toyota/Lexus’ own Level 2 hands-free system features all the expected goodies like on-demand lane change and an Awareness View that displays a wide range of data gathered from the cameras, LiDAR, and radar. However, it’s Teammate’s longevity that really makes the tech such a great value. While many other systems average around three years of free coverage followed by a subscription-based plan, Teammate is free for the first ten years of ownership. It’s a nice gesture on the part of Toyota, and one that’ll make drivers feel less nickel-and-dimed by their vehicle.
GM Super Cruise
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 400,000 miles of divided and non-divided highways in the US and Canada (750,000 by the end of 2025)
Super Cruise might represent one of the most well-rounded options on our list. Not only did the hands-free system rank a close second to BlueCruise on the Consumer Reports list at 75/100, but it also takes the crown in terms of coverage with the ability to operate on more than 400,000 miles across the U.S. and Canada. BlueCruise is available on a wide range of GM models and features automatic lane change, on-demand lane change, and even a trailering function. GM had announced plans for a next-generation hands-free system called Ultra Cruise, but has since announced that future improvements will remain under the Super Cruise banner.
Nissan/Infiniti ProPilot Assist 2.X
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 200,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada
Nissan and its luxury-focused Infiniti brand boast a new ProPilot Assist 2.X system that can be used at speeds as high as 85 mph. Cameras and radar keep an eye on the road, opening the door to on-demand lane changes and other features that are sure to make your next ride a little more relaxing. Unlike some of its competition, the driver must keep their hands on the wheel to perform an on-demand lane change, but ProPilot Assist 2.X’s Route Assist feature wins the system a few points by automatically notifying the driver when it’s time to exit or change lanes.
BMW Highway Assistant
SAE Level: 2
Coverage: 130,000 miles of divided highways in the US and Canada
BMW’s Highway Assistant uses a suite of cameras and short- and long-range radar to give drivers a modern hands-free experience. The system is packed with all the expected self-driving features, but its most sophisticated feature would have to be Active Lane Change. While other systems allow a driver to initiate a lane change using the turn signal stalk, Highway Assistant leverages the vehicle’s eye-tracking cameras to deliver a true hands-free experience. Simply look towards the lane you want to merge into, and Highway Assistant handles the rest. BMW has also pioneered a new Level 3 system called Personal Pilot L3, but it’s currently limited to the German market.
Some brands have rolled out ADAS offerings that almost meet the definition of hands-free, but lack a few important features that keep them from earning the designation. Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems are a good example. While the names clearly imply some sort of hands-free tech, both systems actually require the driver to keep their palms firmly planted on the steering wheel to take advantage of the automated system. Tesla seems to be moving in the wrong direction with its hands-free tech, replacing Autopilot’s previous radar sensors with a new camera-based system that’s confounded some engineers and scientists, including YouTube icon Mark Rober. Hands-free technology has become the auto industry’s newest arms race, and while full self-driving vehicles might still be a little ways off, they’re becoming more viable with every passing year. Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot system is a promising sign of things to come, and could be the first step towards a fully automated future where the steering wheel becomes a relic on par with the window hand cranks, carburetors, or vinyl roofs of yesteryear.
