AUTOMAKERS descended on New York for the city’s annual auto show this week with vehicles ready to do more than just respond to drivers’ commands. However, the question of whether drivers want their cars to take charge remained unanswered.

The path to fully autonomous driving will still take years to reach consumers, but car manufacturers demonstrated this week that they are now able to offer buyers several levels of so-called active safety features — in which the car takes over driving in certain instances. And they plan to introduce even more advanced semiautonomous capabilities in the coming months.

Tesla Motors made a splash when it recently announced plans to add automated highway driving features, which it calls autopilot, to its Model S sedans by the summer. But such capabilities are coming to a range of vehicles sooner than many realize.

Volvo plans to introduce a version of its XC90 this spring that will essentially provide similar autopilot capabilities at lower speeds. Intended for traffic jams, its “pilot assist” system allows the sport utility vehicle to take over both the steering and throttle to follow the car in front of it at speeds up to about 35 miles per hour.