BlueCruise 1.3 First Drive

[Mach-E VLOG]

While we were in Detroit, Ford let us drive a Mach-E with BlueCruise 1.3 on it. It was only a short drive (less than 20 minutes), so it was hard to really judge it, but it seemed really smooth.

For many of us that have 1.0, new features in BlueCruise 1.2 include Lane Change Assist and In-Lane Repositioning. What changes in BlueCruise 1.3? No new features, but it disengages a lot less. That's really hard to test in a short drive, but the Ford rep said that is a huge difference in 1.3.

We didn't get any new details on the rollout other than it was coming soon.

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[ArthurDOB]

I have BC 1.2. It's hard to tell what exactly is different when you're watching someone else drive. It definitely appears to have been a refinement of what already exists in 1.2. I suspect those with 1.2 should not expect a big change from what they already have.

 

[available_username2]

My understanding is 1.2 has lane change assist, which changes lanes for you when you signal. 1.3 has automatic lane changes, which in addition will identify if you need to change lane when stuck behind a slow car, and will then do it for you.

 

[Mach-E VLOG]

I have BC 1.2. It's hard to tell what exactly is different when you're watching someone else drive. It definitely appears to have been a refinement of what already exists in 1.2. I suspect those with 1.2 should not expect a big change from what they already have.

And it was still hard to tell in that short drive on roads that I had never driven. I can't wait to try this on my normal routes. There are certain areas where I know it will revert to hands on mode and if 1.3 fixes that, it will be a huge improvement. The Ford rep seemed to indicate that will likely be the case.

 

[ArthurDOB]

And it was still hard to tell in that short drive on roads that I had never driven. I can't wait to try this on my normal routes. There are certain areas where I know it will revert to hands on mode and if 1.3 fixes that, it will be a huge improvement. The Ford rep seemed to indicate that will likely be the case.

Let's hope. I enjoy your videos!

 

[generaltso]

My understanding is 1.2 has lane change assist, which changes lanes for you when you signal. 1.3 has automatic lane changes, which in addition will identify if you need to change lane when stuck behind a slow car, and will then do it for you.

I don’t think 1.3 does that.

 

[Mirak]

And it was still hard to tell in that short drive on roads that I had never driven. I can't wait to try this on my normal routes. There are certain areas where I know it will revert to hands on mode and if 1.3 fixes that, it will be a huge improvement. The Ford rep seemed to indicate that will likely be the case.

Yup, I think that's about the only way to actually do an A2A comparison. I've got a few curves in my area where it always disengages. Hopefully BC1.3 can take curves now.

 

[Mirak]

My understanding is 1.2 has lane change assist, which changes lanes for you when you signal. 1.3 has automatic lane changes, which in addition will identify if you need to change lane when stuck behind a slow car, and will then do it for you.

Nope. BC1.3 does not add automatic lane change functionality. All we know for sure is that it is five times better than BC1.0.

 

[samev]

How does BC1.3 give you back "time" like Erik kept mentioning?

If it disengages above 80mph, it would in fact cost me precious time to stay below 80.

 

[mpshizzle]

One concern I have is the automatic slowing for curves.

There's a section of freeway where I live where BC 1.0 always wants hands on for the curve (oddly it's only south bound. The same curve on North bound is always hands Free).

So will 1.3 just stay hands Free in that situation? Or will it slow down to stay hands free? I hope it's not the latter, because I can see slowing down on that curve inducing road rage in those around me

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

We didn't get any new details on the rollout other than it was coming soon.

Soon is much better than soon™.

 

[RKinWA]

While we were in Detroit, Ford let us drive a Mach-E with BlueCruise 1.3 on it. It was only a short drive (less than 20 minutes), so it was hard to really judge it, but it seemed really smooth.

For many of us that have 1.0, new features in BlueCruise 1.2 include Lane Change Assist and In-Lane Repositioning. What changes in BlueCruise 1.3? No new features, but it disengages a lot less. That's really hard to test in a short drive, but the Ford rep said that is a huge difference in 1.3.

We didn't get any new details on the rollout other than it was coming soon.

Looks great. Is BlueCruise independent of the PowerUp version of SYNC? Hope so, since I will forever be stuck on 3.5.3, it would be nice if I could at least have the new BlueCruise

 

[MBCook]

3.5.3 isn’t the Sync version. It’s sort of a number representing an amalgamation of everything.

You’ll need to get further updates first.

Have you checked to see why you’re stuck?

 

[Mach-Lee]

One thing I haven't seen discussed much is if BlueCruise 1.2 or 1.3 handles stop and go traffic at slow speeds better. 1.0 is a little slow to notice cars slowing down and can abruptly brake. I'm used to it, but it alarms passengers. Wondering if they've made any improvements to the cruise radar filtering to help smooth out the initial brake application. I deal with this every day, constantly getting jerked.

Another aspect is sometimes it accelerates too quickly and ends up having to brake even harder when people slow down 2 seconds later. Then other times, it's too slow to catch up with moving traffic ahead and you get cut off. Wish they would relax how fast it accelerates from a stop, and increase how fast it catches up with cars ahead.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

One thing I haven't seen discussed much is if BlueCruise 1.2 or 1.3 handles stop and go traffic at slow speeds better. 1.0 is a little slow to notice cars slowing down and can abruptly brake. I'm used to it, but it alarms passengers. Wondering if they've made any improvements to the cruise radar filtering to help smooth out the initial brake application. I deal with this every day, constantly getting jerked.

Another aspect is sometimes it accelerates too quickly and ends up having to brake even harder when people slow down 2 seconds later. Then other times, it's too slow to catch up with moving traffic ahead and you get cut off. Wish they would relax how fast it accelerates from a stop, and increase how fast it catches up with cars ahead.

What do you have your follow distance set to? The behavior you describe is consistent with a follow distance of one bar in my experience. If you're using one or two bars, I'd try increasing it to three or four... I change my settings often for this reason. In bumper to bumper stop and slow-go traffic I set it to one bar. On the freeway if traffic is moving well it's three or four bars.

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