Ford has dramatically expanded the range of cars offered with its ‘hands-off’ autonomous driving system, BlueCruise.
Using a combination of radars and cameras, Ford’s BlueCruise system works much like any other advanced adaptive cruise control – as offered by the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and many more – but with the added ability for drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel.
The tech was previously limited to the Mustang Mach-E, but the Kuga, Puma and electric Puma Gen-E will now be offered with special BlueCruise Edition trims that come with the system already activated.
It will be active as standard – side-stepping the requirement for a £17.99 per month subscription – and comes with a Driver Assistance Pack. The latter is required for BlueCruise to function, bringing adaptive cruise control, a blindspot warning system, automatic lane change system and a 360deg camera.
Watch: Autocar drives ‘hands-off’ in UK with Ford BlueCruise
The system can only be activated in pre-approved ‘Blue Zones’ on motorways. Ford claims more than 84,000 miles of road across 16 European nations are currently approved for its use. Key routes covered by BlueCruise include the M25, M1 and M6.
Activating BlueCruise does not hand over total authority to the car’s computers, because the driver must keep their eyes on the road at all times and be ready to take control back at a moment’s notice.
The cheapest car to come in the BlueCruise trim is the Puma Gen-E, which, after being discounted by £3750 through the government’s Electric Car Grant, will cost £31,545.
A combustion-engined Puma BlueCruise Edition is £33,995, while a Kuga BlueCruise is £41,995.
These cars will be visually distinguished from regular Pumas and Kugas by exclusive Vapor Blue paintwork with a black roof, black mirror caps and black alloy wheels.