Ford has announced a set of autonomous drive technologies that are coming to future vehicles including selected Mustang Mach-E SUVs.
The Active Drive Assist (ADA) feature will be available as part of the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package which you can configure when you buy. It’ll work on 100,000 miles of divided highways in all 50 US states and Canada for now.
You’ll receive the feature at a Ford dealer or via an over-the-air update – it’s expected in the third quarter of 2021 so it’s still over a year away.
We’ve known that ADA technology would be offered on the new Mach-E since the reveal back in November, but this info drop brings us a bunch of new details. Ford’s Hands-Free Mode enables you to drive on certain sections of pre-mapped, divided highways to drive with your hands off the steering wheel.
You will still need to pay attention to the road though – an infrared driver-facing camera tracks eye gaze and head position to ensure drivers are paying attention either in Hands-Free Mode as well as hands-on Lane Centering Mode, which works on any road with lane lines.
If you aren’t paying attention – you’ll get visual prompts to either return attention to the road or resume control yourself.
Ford says its test drivers have racked up more than 650,000 miles testing the autonomous features in the Mach-E such as Adaptive Cruise Control and Blind Spot Information System with Cross-Traffic Alert.
Mustang Mach-E’s Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 standard package also includes two enhancements to Ford’s Lane-Keeping System: Road Edge Detection and Blind Spot Assist. There’s also Active Park Assist 2.0, a new version of Ford’s well-used self-park tech.