A cruise control method for a vehicle includes receiving a set speed and determining a commanded axle torque to maintain the set speed on a road that is flat. The method further includes commanding a propulsion system of the vehicle to produce the commanded axle torque to maintain the set speed and applying a fading memory filter to the commanded axle torque to generate a filtered torque command. The method further includes determining an arbitrated torque command as a function of the filtered torque command and command the propulsion system of the vehicle to produce the arbitrated torque command. Also, the method includes determining that a slope of the road is greater than a predetermined slope threshold, setting a temporary set speed, and commanding the propulsion system of the vehicle to maintain the vehicle at the temporary speed.