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Visual and audible alerts will let you know when it's time to take control of the wheel or when the driver should return their gaze to the road ahead. Lincoln BlueCruise is a subscription-based driver assistance feature that allows drivers to operate the vehicle hands-free on compatible roads (Blue Zones). BlueCruise-enabled vehicles can keep themselves centered in the lane, maintain safe speeds and distance, and change lanes when the driver activates the turn signal and determines it is safe to do so. Lincoln BlueCruise is a high-tech system that employs multiple sensors and existing driver assistance technology to allow a hands-free driving experience. Most highways in the United States and Canada, also known as freeways, interstates, and expressways, are compatible with the system and referred to as "Blue Zones". Drivers can check the interactive map to view the over 97 percent of major highways compatible with the system.
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If you look away, whether that's to watch the scenery, play with the infotainment system, or anything else, the system will demand your attention back. Ignore the escalating series of beeps and visual warnings, and eventually, ActiveGlide will deactivate altogether. While the Lincoln Aviator hasn't changed a whole lot, its updated looks and BlueCruise technology could make its facelift a worthy upgrade for current Aviator owners looking to freshen up their ownership experience. While the second-generation Aviator is still a relatively new model, having first launched in 2020, its design was starting to age.
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And frankly, ActiveGlide sounded like a drugstore shave product on its best day; the name won't be missed. The 2025 Lincoln Aviator has slimmer, wider headlights with hockey stick-style LEDs extending into the now much larger grille. While it might not seem like a huge change at first, comparing the new against the outgoing model makes the differences seem night and day. The Lincoln models listed above currently use the BlueCruise 1.2 version of the hardware and software.
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This is still a Level 2 system, and the driver is still responsible for its safe operation. Currently, there is no car, SUV, or truck available on the market which can drive itself without demanding human involvement. Although the race to have a fully autonomous car go to market is still ongoing, many automakers are getting close. No, your car won’t be able to take you to the market while you kick back and read a book, but some cars can be driven hands-free under certain circumstances. It doesn't, though, give you a live readout of what vehicles ActiveGlide's sensors have identified around the Navigator, unlike Tesla's Autopilot and its dynamic interface.
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The indicator for ActiveGlide being operational is a smaller steering wheel graphic, offset to the side. Again, this is not autonomous driving, where by definition the vehicle would be able to operate itself without a human being involved at all. What it is, though, is a way to alleviate some of the tedium and mental workload from longer journeys and highway traffic jams. Adding to that is the way ActiveGlide is presented in the instrument cluster and head-up display. Super Cruise has a dedicated light bar embedded in the steering wheel, which flashes different colors according to the various stages of the system's operations. Lincoln, however, uses graphics, icons, and colorful highlights in the Navigator's regular instrument cluster instead, and I think it could be making better use of them.
Where that system requires you to keep your hands on the wheel, applying torque so that the car knows you're still supervising and prepared to take over, ActiveGlide Hands-Free uses an attention-monitoring camera instead. BlueCruise will automatically change lanes when the driver activates the turn signal and senses that it is safe to do so. Lane Change Assist helps mitigate potential hazards while changing lanes due to blind spots or driver error. I'm of the opinion that true autonomous vehicles are still quite some way out, and I'm not alone in that pessimism. These Level 2 assistance systems aren't so much precursors to driverless cars, as they are — when treated sensibly — limited ways to alleviate stress in certain situations and settings. Used appropriately, I've found they can definitely help there, though the key is communication between vehicle and driver as to who, exactly, is doing what at each moment in time.
Most new models come with a complimentary 90-day subscription with the option to extend it to two- or four-year plans. Hands-free driving allows for greater freedom of movement, but the driver should be ready to take over at a moment's notice. An infrared camera monitors eye and head position, and the system will alert the driver to keep their eyes on the road.
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Lincoln ActiveGlide (Ford BlueCruise) First Drive: Hands-Free Highs And Lows - SlashGear
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Posted: Fri, 04 Mar 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Ford’s BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving technology that takes driver-assist a step further. The BlueCruise hardware allows the driver to operate the car on the highway while taking their hands completely off the wheel. BlueCruise is a subscription-based service, which you can activate through the Lincoln Way app.
Sometimes ActiveGlide would demand I take over the steering duties as we entered a turn on the highway, only resuming once we were through. The system, Lincoln tells me, is designed that way, with a fairly conservative approach to what cornering it can safely handle. I'm a big fan of Super Cruise, and I was mightily curious to see how Ford and Lincoln's system compared. In my experience with various Cadillac models, I've found I end up road trips feeling fresher and less mentally tired.
Potentially confusingly, Lincoln refers to both its hands-on and its hands-off systems under the ActiveGlide brand. For the former, the small wheel graphic has two hands gripping it; for the latter, the hands are gone and there's a tiny "Hands-Free" legend above it. There were times, as I peered at the display trying to make sure which system was in play, when ActiveGlide started complaining that I was paying insufficient attention to the road ahead. It's mounted in a bar behind the steering wheel, and uses infrared emitters and an IR camera to track the position of both your head and your eyes. Taking your hands off the wheel of a near-6,000 pound 2022 Lincoln Navigator when you're in 70 mph traffic requires no small amount of confidence, but that's just what Lincoln ActiveGlide encourages you to do.
There's something disconcerting, initially, at taking your hands off the wheel, especially when you're in highway-speed traffic. Your fingers hover just over it, waiting for that twitch or jolt which will confirm your fears that the car simply can't be trusted to control itself. This new 1.2 version of BlueCruise comes with a host of small updates and refinements, including new programming that helps space your car out from others on the freeway, but the headliner is the addition of hands-free lane changes. I picked out a stretch of MI-5 running through Farmington Hills, Mich., as my predefined route. It's a relatively short limited-access highway that is reduced to a surface street at each terminus, providing opportunities to see the system engage and disengage at predictable intervals. The race to make cars fully autonomous may still be ongoing, but with technology like BlueCruise, it’s safe to say that automakers are getting close.
These are controlled-access highways that allow drivers to operate a car sans hands. When the car is driven out of the zone, the system disengages and the driver must put their hands back on the wheel. Lincoln BlueCruise allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel and let the vehicle take over acceleration, braking, and steering in the lane on compatible roads. Drivers must keep their eyes on the road, and a driver-facing camera helps provide alerts and redirect driver attention to the road so they can take control of the vehicle when necessary. Standard on the 2022 Navigator Reserve and Black Label trims, Lincoln pitches ActiveGlide as a convenience feature, and it builds on the automaker's existing adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane centering, and speed sign recognition.
Ford recently announced that BlueCruise 1.3 will arrive in the 2021 to 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles and then roll out. The upgraded system improved performance when driving around corners and stayed engaged five times longer than the BlueCruise 1.0 system. Although the BlueCruise feature is expanding, not every Lincoln model comes with it. For the 2024 model year, all Lincoln Navigator and Nautilus trim levels will be equipped with the hardware. Interestingly, the seven-seat Aviator will not be equipped with the safety feature. The latest version of Ford's BlueCruise highway self-driving suite is currently percolating through the company's lineup.
While I'm still involved with the process of driving, it's generally easier overall. In addition to BlueCruise, the Aviator now comes with an extensive list of standard features. For instance, it now includes a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, as well as heated and ventilated first row of seats, adaptive suspension, and a Class III tow package.
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