Ford has begun rolling out the most recent model of its hands-free superior driver help system (ADAS), BlueCruise 1.2, and to this point the critiques have been largely favorable. We requested and have been granted the mortgage of a 2023 Mustang Mach-E, outfitted with BlueCruise 1.2, so we may check out the system ourselves. 

After spending per week within the Mustang Mach-E, overlaying roughly 1,000 miles, together with conducting the InsideEVs 70 mph vary check, we observed a considerable enchancment over BlueCruise 1.0. The enhancements weren’t restricted to the brand new options, but additionally to how properly the Mustang Mach-E maintained its place within the lane, lowering the quantity of lane wandering (typically known as “ping-ponging”) that we noticed with BlueCruise 1.0.

Ford BlueCruise 1.2 with Lane Change Help

Fingers-free with driver monitoring

Ford’s BlueCruise is a hands-free freeway driving help system. It depends on freeway mapping and can’t function in hands-free mode on roads that are not pre-mapped. At present, Ford has over 100,000 miles of pre-mapped highways within the US and is including extra miles of highways for the “Fingers-Free Blue Zone” each month. 

The system has cameras that monitor the driving force’s eyes to verify they’re centered on the highway. We examined this out on a number of events and the monitoring was very efficient, even once we regularly closed our eyes to simulate if somebody was slowly falling asleep, and the system by no means failed to supply its audible and visible alerts to look at the highway. 

There are 5 ranges of autonomy as established by the Society of Automotive Engineers and Ford’s BlueCruise is taken into account a stage 2 ADAS. Stage 2 ADAS techniques require the driving force to remain centered on the highway and be ready to intervene always.

At present, Mercedes is the one automobile producer to have a stage 3-certified car on the highway in North America. 

Lane Change Help

Along with bettering the prevailing system, BlueCruise 1.2 provides three new options. The primary, and most noticeable, is Lane Change Help. 

Lane Change Help permits the car to execute a lane change by itself whereas driving in hands-free mode. So long as it is protected to take action, the driving force merely wants to make use of the flip sign to let the system know what lane they need to enter, and BlueCruise will do the remainder. 

We discovered Lane Change Help to work extraordinarily properly. The lane modifications have been easy and mimicked how a human would execute a lane change. If the system detects that there is not sufficient room to securely execute the lane change it’ll cancel the request and show not potential after about ten seconds. 

We additionally favored how BlueCruise accelerated into the brand new lane, as a human usually would. Not all of the techniques we have examined that provide lane altering appeared to have that dialed in as correctly as BlueCruise does. The system will even recommend a lane change when the car in entrance of you is transferring slower than your set velocity in and if the visitors in neighboring lanes is transferring quicker. It is solely a suggestion although, and won’t make an automated lane change by itself as GM’s Tremendous Cruise can. 

Predictive Pace Help

One other new addition to BlueCruise 1.2 is Predictive Pace Help. With predictive velocity help, BlueCruise will modify the velocity downward if it detects the curve within the highway is just too sharp for the velocity the car is at present touring at. 

This characteristic will most definitely be the least used of the brand new additions to BlueCruise, however could make for a safer hands-free driving expertise at freeway speeds. We have observed with BlueCruise 1.0 that the system will usually notify the driving force they should have interaction the steering wheel when touring on highways and a curve within the highway is approaching. 

Predictive velocity help is aware of when the car is approaching a curve, as a result of it has the mapping data, and can determine if it might probably proceed in hands-free mode on the identical velocity, or if it must decelerate slightly till the curve is accomplished.  

Ford BlueCruise 1.2 introduces three new options

In-Lane Repositioning

The third new characteristic in BlueCruise 1.2 is In-Lane Repositioning. In-lane repositioning will mechanically scoot the car over to the opposite facet of the lane when it detects one other car approaching too shut for consolation subsequent to you. You stay in your lane, however as an alternative of the standard lane centering, the car slides over to permit a couple of extra ft of area between your car and the car subsequent to you that is encroaching in your lane. 

We have been fairly stunned at how properly this labored, and the way usually the system employs in-lane repositioning. It did not simply do it for big automobiles, like tractor-trailers, it additionally executed the maneuver when a passenger car wandered slightly too shut you the lane we have been driving in. 

Verdict

BlueCruise 1.2 improves upon an already superb driver help system which was not too long ago rated the perfect ADAS by Shopper Studies. In-lane wandering, our greatest grievance with BlueCruise 1.0, appears to have been almost eradicated with BlueCruise 1.2, and the addition of the three new options, significantly lane change help, makes the system even higher.

The New 2023 Mustang Mach-E with the BlueCruise choices has 1.2 put in within the car and current Mach-E automobiles will start to obtain 1.2 by an OTA replace quickly. 

We do have to notice, nevertheless, that we encounter one troubling potential difficulty.  One evening once we have been coming into a building zone and our lane was being closed, the system failed to acknowledge that and issued no warnings in anyway. The car was about to drive instantly right into a barrier in hands-free driving mode earlier than we grabbed the steering wheel and shortly maneuvered to the lane to our proper. 

We perceive that scenario is not one which BlueCruise ought to be capable of negotiate by itself, and why the driving force must be alert and able to assume management of the car. However in that occasion, we’d anticipate the car to supply audible and visible warnings as we approached the obstruction within the lane, and that merely did not occur.