Automotive

New features set free in 2017 Ford Escape

New features set free in 2017 Ford Escape
The 2017 Ford Escape is in showrooms from May
The 2017 Ford Escape is in showrooms from May
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The 2017 Ford Escape is in showrooms from May
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The 2017 Ford Escape is in showrooms from May
The 2017 Ford Escape is available with new 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines
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The 2017 Ford Escape is available with new 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines
The 2017 Ford Escape's 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines kick out 179 hp and 245 hp respectively
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The 2017 Ford Escape's 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines kick out 179 hp and 245 hp respectively
The 2017 Ford Escape's 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines are both available with Ford’s intelligent four-wheel-drive system
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The 2017 Ford Escape's 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines are both available with Ford’s intelligent four-wheel-drive system
The 2017 Ford Escape is available with adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, enhanced active park assist, a lane-keeping system and a driver fatigue alert system
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The 2017 Ford Escape is available with adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, enhanced active park assist, a lane-keeping system and a driver fatigue alert system
The 2017 Ford Escape has Ford's Auto Start-Stop technology, which shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a standstill, starting it up again in under half a second when it's time to move off
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The 2017 Ford Escape has Ford's Auto Start-Stop technology, which shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a standstill, starting it up again in under half a second when it's time to move off
Sync Connect allows drivers to locate their vehicle via an app
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Sync Connect allows drivers to locate their vehicle via an app
Sync Connect allows drivers to lock and unlock their vehicle remotely
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Sync Connect allows drivers to lock and unlock their vehicle remotely
Sync Connect allows drivers to start their vehicle's engine remotely
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Sync Connect allows drivers to start their vehicle's engine remotely
Sync Connect allows drivers to check their vehicle's fuel level remotely
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Sync Connect allows drivers to check their vehicle's fuel level remotely
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The 2017 Escape will be the first Ford to feature Sync Connect when it goes on sale next month, providing drivers with remote access to their vehicle via a mobile device. In addition, though, it is being offered with two new engines and the first major roll-out of Ford's Auto Start-Stop feature.

As we previously outlined, Sync Connect allows users to remotely locate, unlock, lock and start their car, as well as check its fuel level. It also allows users to start their vehicle's engine remotely, so that it is warm and defrosted when they get in on cold mornings.

For security, Sync Connect is enabled via a two-step verification process, which Ford says helps to protect the user's personal information. It is available at no cost for five years, although one thing Ford has flagged up since we last covered Sync Connect is that, to use it, you'll have to be a member of the FordPass mobility service.

In addition to Sync Connect, the Escape has a number of new driver-assist technologies. Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support use sensors to regulate the vehicle's speed in traffic and a there's a lane-keeping system that can both alert drivers if they start to drift out of their lane and automatically correct the steering if required.

Sync Connect allows drivers to start their vehicle's engine remotely
Sync Connect allows drivers to start their vehicle's engine remotely

Data from the lane-keeping system is also used to inform a driver fatigue alert system, which detects when a driver is tired and provides a visual warning, as well as steering-wheel vibrations. The Escape's enhanced active park assist system, meanwhile, provides steering assistance for both parallel and perpendicular parking, as well as when exiting tight parallel parking spots.

The new Escape also marks the "first high-volume appearance" of Ford's Auto Start-Stop technology, although some other carmakers already offer something similar. The feature shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a standstill, starting it up again in under half a second when it's time to move off. The aim of this is to reduce gas-use and emissions.

Finally, new 1.5-l and 2.0-l EcoBoost engines are offered with the Escape. They kick out 179 hp and 245 hp respectively and are both available with Ford's intelligent four-wheel-drive system.

After launching on the Escape next month, Sync Connect will feature on the new Ford Fusion later this year and then be rolled out to the rest of the Ford lineup. Prices for the 2017 Ford Escape start from US$23,600 on the Ford website. Registration for the FordPass service and use of its app are free of charge.

Source: Ford

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2 comments
2 comments
Mel Tisdale
I hope that Ford is keeping a link between the line engineers for their individual models and the autonomous driving team. When the autonomous vehicle experiment is eventually abandoned, as surely it must, there are features that could go on to form an advanced driver assist package. For example the driver fatigue warning system of vibrating the steering-wheel could easily be connected to the sat-nav. Feeding a saw-tooth shaped pulse to the appropriate vibrator could inform the driver of which exit to use at a junction, when to keep straight on, or even when to slow down. These could be in addition to those autonomous driving features that would make for a less stressful driving experience if used as assistance to a human driver. If the autonomous driving team kept in mind the need to provide driver assistance should their autonomous driving project be canceled, such features would be in place and ready to take over at short notice and it will not be the monumental waste of time that it currently is.
piperTom
It shuts off when it comes to a stop? What about air conditioning? That gone while I wait at a light, too?