‘It’ll Even Change Lanes For You’: How Ford Is Beating Tesla At Its Own Game

A Ford Mustang Mach-E owner documented the vehicle’s BlueCruise feature in action and was wowed by its capabilities. TikTok user Jessica Lynn Strom (@jessicalynnstrom) was smitten with the driver’s assistance program in her Ford, but is it better than Tesla’s Autopilot?

“Okay, so the car is driving itself. It is in BlueCruise mode,” she says, showing off her EV’s steering wheel and dash cluster. Indeed, the vehicle indicates that its “hands-free” driving feature has been activated at 65mph.

“Obviously, you have to pay attention to it, but we’re gonna initiate a lane change here in a second. And it will change lanes by itself … just as soon as it is obviously safe for us to do so,” Strom says.

While she speaks, the car is cruising on the highway by itself, with the driver’s hands still off the steering wheel. Once there aren’t any cars adjacent to the Mach-E, the person behind the wheel taps the turn signal stalk. This prompts the electric vehicle to smoothly change lanes.

Further along in her clip, she praises the efficacy of the U.S. automaker’s self-driving tech, even if it does feel a bit bizarre to her. “This is so weird, but it’s very cool, but obviously you still have to pay a lot of attention,” she clarifies.

The TikToker goes on to say that the car’s monitoring system is adept at recognizing if drivers are remiss in their road-watching duties. “Be very, very safe, and it will ping you if you’re not looking at the thing. It has, like, controls to see if your eyes are there, but yeah. It is very cool.”

How Does BlueCruise Work?

Ford’s website indicates that BlueCruise is available on over 130,000 miles of select North American highway routes. These are referred to as “Blue Zones” where the car’s navigation system allows BlueCruise to be activated.

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The automaker says a car’s dashboard will alert drivers when they enter a Blue Zone and can activate the feature. From there, “Simply tap the Adaptive Cruise Control button on your steering wheel.” If folks in the driver’s seat want to take manual control of the wheel, BlueCruise won’t be deactivated.

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In terms of tech, Ford’s BlueCruise system uses a combination of cameras, GPS data, and onboard radar. This amalgamation of data informs the system to assist commuters on their drives once BlueCruise is engaged.

Although the driver in Strom’s clip cued the Mach-E to make a lane change, Ford says BlueCruise also comes with “Automatic Lane Change.” Which means that those behind the wheel needn’t touch the car’s steering wheel or use the turn signal for the car to switch lanes.

Is BlueCruise Better than Tesla’s Autopilot? 

According to Consumer Reports, Ford’s active driving assistance system is the best of the best, a detail the manufacturer was quick to tout in this 2023 write-up. The piece reports that despite Tesla once being “an innovator in ADA” that its “Autopilot system remains in about the middle of the pack.” Consumer Reports went on to assess other driver assistance features from additional manufacturers like Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar/Land Rover, Hyundai, Nissan, and Lucid, ranking GM’s Super Cruise technology above Tesla’s as well. 

The Consumer Reports analysis did have one caveat: “Cars that can truly and safely drive themselves remain a long way off.”

Senior Director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, Jake Fisher, highlighted that there’s a difference between ADAs and self-driving features. The former functionality isn’t “self-driving at all,” according to Fisher. “Instead … [ADAs] create a new way of collaboratively driving with the computers in your car. When automakers do it the right way, it can make driving safer and more convenient. When they do it the wrong way, it can be dangerous.”

It’s hard to argue against Fisher’s last comments regarding the potential dangers of self-driving systems, especially with class-action lawsuits filed against Tesla for its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and Autopilot systems.

 

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