Although the next Ford Fiesta is essentially based on the same engineering architecture as the current model, Ford is loading the new car – due to go on sale in the second half of 2017 – with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technologies to maintain its appeal as Europe’s best selling B-segment car.
The next generation Fiesta is described by Ford as the ‘world’s most technologically advanced small car’.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The car, due to enter production in July 2017, is the first Ford with ‘Pedestrian Detection’ that can help prevent collisions at night. It also comes with ‘Active Park Assist’ with brake interventions to prevent low-speed bumps when parking hands-free.
Darren Palmer, Global Vehicle Line Director for B Class Cars told a media briefing in Cologne this week that the company is planning to roll out a host of ADAS features available on its upscale Ford Edge to the next generation Fiesta. A number of first-in-segment ADAS enhancements are planned. An anti-collision system that can identify pedestrians and activate autonomous braking at 40 metres from impact is one example and the enhanced tech is a first for Ford. “This is the first Ford to offer pedestrian protection that can help prevent collisions even at night and it is supported by advanced sensor technologies capable of monitoring up to 130 metres ahead,” says Palmer.
The system uses light from the Fiesta’s headlights at night to pinpoint pedestrians ahead.
The system is designed to reduce the severity of some frontal collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians, or help drivers avoid some impacts altogether. A wider camera angle helps to better track pedestrian movements, Palmer points out, and this is combined with software enhancements.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataAs well as the front radar and camera, there are also additional sensors and cameras on the side and rear of the car to provide 360 degree coverage for a range of ADAS systems.
Also offered for the first time on Fiesta is Ford’s Active Park Assist with Perpendicular Parking, which helps drivers find suitable spaces and park hands free nose-to-tail and side-by-side with other cars. It also comes with an enhancement that means the technology – for the first time – can now apply the brakes if drivers do not respond to system guidance and proximity warnings while performing forward and reverse manoeuvres, and a collision with a parked car or obstacle to the front or rear is imminent.
“For some drivers our automated parking technologies deliver a ‘future shock’: they remain so advanced that customers using them for the very first time can be a little awe-struck,” says Palmer. “Brake interventions for Active Park Assist can prevent distracted drivers from having low speed parking bumps, and make parking in tight spaces even less stressful.”
Further features available for the first time on Fiesta and offering enhanced functionality include:
- Traffic Sign Recognition, which is now able to monitor multiple speed limits that apply to individual motorway lanes displayed on overhead gantries, and update the display if the driver changes lane
- Auto High Beam, which Ford says now performs more effectively in situations where a central barrier divides opposing carriageways, and can detect oncoming trucks to avoid dazzling drivers positioned above the central divide. A new soft-ramping feature improves comfort for drivers at night with soft transitioning between high- and low-beam
Ford also says that Fiesta is the first car in its segment in Europe to offer Cross Traffic Alert, which warns drivers reversing out of a parking space of vehicles that may soon be crossing behind them.
The feature is among 15 Fiesta driver assistance technologies in total, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Adjustable Speed Limiter, Blind Spot Information System, Distance Indication, Driver Alert, Lane Keeping Aid, Lane Keeping Alert and Forward Collision Warning.
See also: New Ford Fiesta delayed until July 2017
Ford to step up AV testing in Europe in 2017
Ford 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine to feature cylinder deactivation
Ford’s Fields trusts Trump administration to follow ‘right policies’
