During the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 last month, Ford openly spoke about transitioning into being a mobility company as much as an automaker.
Well, a month later and Ford has a brand-new vehicle which showcases is strengths in both areas, seemingly representing the best of both worlds.
Over the weekend in Barcelona leading up to the Mobile World Congress, the company debuted its new Kuga SUV, equipped with its new Sync 3 connectivity and entertainment system.
In addition to touting a 120 PS 1.5-liter TDCi diesel engine under the hood, the Kuga is packed with innovative driver-assistance technologies, including hands‑free parking in spaces alongside other cars, a bolstered Active City Stop collision-avoidance feature, adaptive front lighting for optimized visibility in low light, hands-free liftgate and intelligent all-wheel drive.
About the parking, the Kuga will empower drivers with new perpendicular parking functionality in addition to the semi-autonomous Active Park Assist technology.
"New Kuga offers cutting-edge new features and technologies that will help drivers stay connected, comfortable, safe and stylish on the road," Joe Bakaj, vice president of Ford of Europe's product development, said in a company press release statement. "The sophisticated redesign has given Kuga a fresh and modern feel, while Sync 3 enables drivers to communicate with their vehicle and connected devices in seamless ways that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago."
Via Sync 3, drivers will be able to get what they want quicker via simplified voice commands. Sync 3 supports five languages in addition to English.
All they have to do is push a button and bark out orders like, "I need a coffee," "I need gas," or "I need to park," letting the intelligent system help them with their issues.
"Whether you are craving your morning cappuccino on your daily commute or covering the cost of a journey by transporting a package, Sync 3 brings to life innovative new ways of staying connected on the move," Christof Kellerwessel, chief engineer of Ford of Europe's electronic and electrical systems engineering, said. "Designed to complement modern smartphones, with an intuitive 8‑inch touch screen, Sync 3 understands more natural speech, is faster, and offers an easier-to-read graphical interface."
Ford will release the Kuga later this year.
