Ford is determined to counter GM’s Super Cruise with its own hands-free highway management, and that means a fairly extensive range of real tests needs to be done. The carmaker revealed that last year it led the “mother of all road trips” for its upcoming BlueCruise system, sending five Mustang Mach-E crossovers and five F-150 trucks on a combined 110,000-mile journey through the USA and Canada.
The goal was, to no one’s surprise, to determine how BlueCruise handled a wide range of realistic road and traffic conditions. Ford had already taken 500,000 miles of development test, but it was shorter, now-focused dry runs. The road trips helped Ford look for changes in everything, from road signs to weather, while cross-country.
BlueCruise will reach Mustang Mach-E and F-150 models later in the second half of the year 2021 via a software update, although you will need the Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep package. Like Super Cruise, it depends on looking for ‘pre-qualified’ highway sections and confirming that you pay attention to the road. You can really get your hands off the wheel, but you need to be ready to intervene if you leave the BlueCruise ready area or experience an unexpected problem.
The feature can cost you. BlueCruise is an extra cost feature on the Mustang Mach-E in CA Route 1, First Edition and Premium trim levels, and you can get the necessary Co-Pilot360 package standard on the F-150 Limited. For every other owner, however, look at at least $ 600 plus hardware costs to add the hand-off mode. You might want to look at your typical driving time to decide if you can justify Ford’s semi-autonomous technology.