This week, Ford is going hands-free in the F-150 and adding a massive screen to the Edge, while Genesis reveals its second crossover, the GV70, Toyota gives the Camry more appeal while lowering the price of the hybrid, and Volvo makes service an app breeze.
Ford has just announced that its hands-free driving system, Active Drive Assist, will arrive in late 2021 as an option (or standard on top-trims) on the all-new Ford F-150 and the Mustang Mach-EV. Taking on Cadillac’s Super Cruise, ADA lets drivers go hands-off on what Ford says is about 160,000 km of two-lane North American highways the automaker has mapped. Thanks to over the air updates that number can grow and the software can be improved over time. Sensors monitor the driver to make sure that they’re paying attention at all times, because, like its competitors, the system is hands-free, but the driver still needs to be ready to take control. Ford said that it expects to install the hands-free driving tech in more than 100,000 vehicles in the first year, which would quickly make it the widest-available system of its type.
The second crossover from the luxury Genesis brand made its debut last week, the fifth model in the company’s lineup is the GV70, and it’s a handsome crossover. At least from most angles. Wearing the new and large Genesis grille as well as the quad head and taillights that represent the brand’s latest design language. Inside is an interesting oval-shaped dashboard that sits below a massive widescreen infotainment system display. A Sport model will also be available that comes with a unique bumper treatment and dark chrome finishes. Though powertrain information isn’t yet available, expect the GV70 to arrive next year as a 2022 model, and then expect to see loads of them.
Toyota has restyled its Camry sedan for 2021, with some small tweaks outside and a revised interior that include 7.0 or 9.0-inch floating-look touchscreen infotainment displays. And both have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The interiors have new finishes as well, including seat fabric and trim piece changes, while Toyota Safety Sense driver assistance features now include emergency steering assist as well as oncoming vehicle and pedestrian detection at left-hand turns. The cost of the standard car is up slightly, $630 to start from $27,250, but hybrid buyers will find that option more affordable than before with the Hybrid LE trim $760 lower than 2020 at $30,790. With 21 variants including AWD options, the Camry tops out with the XLE V6 starting from $41,990.
Volvo is rolling out a new valet service that lets customers use an app to schedule service appointments and contactless pickup and delivery with their retailer. The Volvo Valet app lets customers track their vehicle from the physically distanced handoff, give notification when it has arrived at the dealer, and will let them know when the vehicle is ready to be returned. A Volvo store employee will pick up the vehicle at a location convenient for the owner and will return it to you contact-free. Volvo calls it a more comfortable, safer way to handle vehicle maintenance.
For 2021, the Canadian-built Ford Edge is getting an update that includes interior refinement including one of the largest screens around. The Edge will get a standard 12.0-inch portrait-mode infotainment screen on all models that includes the latest version of Ford’s Sync software, Sync 4A. It allows wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the screen supports multi-tasking and splitting the screen into multiple windows. It also allows for conversational voice recognition through cloud connectivity giving you easier options to search for points of interest and allowing improved SMS and email speech typing. The cloud services also give the new Edge traffic and hazard information, plus parking and gas price data.
Keyword: News Roundup: Hands-Free Fords, Genesis Crossover, Volvo Valet, More