New Ford Mondeo revealed
Ford has now revealed the latest incarnation of its popular estate the Mondeo.
The Marque has announced that the new Ford Mondeo will be its first car globally to offer a new pedestrian detection technology that could help reduce the severity of accidents or help drivers avoid them altogether.
The new Mondeo goes on sale later this year as a four-door hybrid, five-door or estate in dealerships across Europe. The high-powered diesel will be available in early 2015.
Ford's new Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection can identify people in the road ahead, or who could cross the vehicle's path, and automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not respond to warnings.
The system processes information collected from a windshield-mounted camera, and radar located in the bumper, and checks it against a database of "pedestrian shapes" to distinguish people from typical roadside scenery and objects.
Ulrich Koesters, vehicle line director, Ford of Europe said: "The new Mondeo is the most technologically advanced Ford vehicle ever introduced in Europe. Features like Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection add safety and security for drivers in busy urban conditions."
The system is part of the Pre-Collision Assist, which can autonomously apply the brakes to help prevent rear-end collisions, right up to the vehicle's maximum speed.
Ford also announced the all-new Mondeo will offer a new high-powered 2.0-litre TDCi diesel engine featuring twin sequential-turbocharging and delivering 207bhp and 450Nm of torque.
Radar technology also enables the new Distance Indication feature and Adaptive Cruise Control technology. Distance Indication provides an intuitive visual interface to inform the driver of the time gap to the vehicle ahead. Adaptive Cruise Control automatically maintains a chosen distance from the vehicle ahead.
In addition, the forward-facing camera supports Lane Keeping Aid, which applies steering torque to guide the all-new Mondeo back in to lane if unintended drifting is detected; and Traffic Sign Recognition, which provides the driver with the latest detected speed limit, cancellation signs and overtaking regulations via the instrument cluster display.
by: Rebecca Chaplin