Ford Kuga Debuts New Blind Spot Assist Tech
Photo: Ford
The new Ford Kuga debuts a new technology that makes collisions with vehicles in your blind spot even easier to avoid. Following on the success of the Blind Spot Information System, the new Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist will counter-steer if a vehicle is hanging out undetected in the Kuga’s blind spot.
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“Many drivers will at some point have been caught by surprise when another vehicle seemingly ‘appears out of nowhere,’” said Ford Motor Company’s Glen Goold, Kuga chief program engineer. “Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist is like having an extra pair of eyes in the back of your head, helping prevent just a second’s lapse in judgment from escalating into something more serious.”
Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist checks your blind spot for vehicles 20 times per second up to 92 feet behind the Kuga between speeds of 40-124 mph. If there’s a vehicle in the blind spot or approaching from the rear, the system applies a slight force to the steering wheel to warn against changing lanes. Ford says the system can prevent collisions with vehicles approaching at a closing speed up to 18 mph.
Kuga launches Intersection Assist feature
Photo: Ford
The new Ford Kuga also marks the global debut of Intersection Assist technology. Intersection Assist uses the Kuga’s front-facing camera and radar to detect if a collision is imminent with an oncoming vehicle. This would help mitigate or prevent collisions in instances where, for example, a driver turns left at an intersection and into the path of a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
Though Lane-Keeping System with Blind Spot Assist and Intersection Assist both debut on the Kuga, expect both technologies to roll out across the Ford lineup in the years ahead. The Kuga recently earned a top score in the European New Car Assessment Program’s Assisted Driving Test and earned the 5-Star Safety Rating last year.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.