Ford Mustang Mach-E to feature next-gen SYNC system
Vehicles soon will prompt their owners to make a regular phone call, work out at a favoured time, or stop off at a much-loved coffee shop – if those activities are part of their regular routine.
Making its debut in the all-new, all-electric Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s next-generation SYNC technology actually learns from driver behaviours to make smart suggestions. It combines conversational speech recognition, internet search results and machine learning intelligence to make time-saving recommendations based upon previous journeys.
“We’ve worked obsessively to make sure that owning a Mustang Mach-E is the most personal, most connected driving experience achievable,” said Jan Schroll, connectivity manager, Ford of Europe. “The next-generation SYNC is the smartest version yet and will continue to get smarter the longer you own your car. It is designed to know what you need – and when you need it – so you can just sit back and enjoy the drive.”
Personal touch
The code for Ford’s next generation of SYNC has been written from the ground-up to bring Ford’s human-centric design philosophy right to the heart of driver experience. It enables more than 80 vehicle settings to be customised in the Mustang Mach-E, from cabin temperature and seat position to ambient lighting, making for a highly personalised in-car experience.
The system can even identify individual drivers by their smartphone or key fob and apply their settings as they approach the vehicle – before they get in – so each family member can instantly experience their own unique cabin, driving and entertainment experience.
The system employs a machine learning algorithm to better understand drivers’ habits over time. Go to the gym every Friday? Call home on the way back from work? The next-generation SYNC system will learn each owner’s routines to make the right navigation and communication suggestions at the right time, enabling drivers to concentrate on the road.
Inside the Mustang Mach-E, the next-generation SYNC system features a 15.5-inch full HD touch display. The large, user-friendly console is simple to read at a glance, while the interface has been pared back to deliver information in an organised, easily digestible way. Familiar pinch, zoom and rotate touch controls are all present, while the signature dial at the bottom of the screen makes for quick and tactile adjustment of the volume for music or conference calls.
Navigating the SYNC interface has been reimagined so drivers never are more than a touch or two away from any application, information or control they need. The large screen and card layout allow multiple applications to be displayed simultaneously, so receiving a call while navigating no longer means missing a turn as the directions disappear from the screen.
Ready, set-up, go!
With the Mustang Mach-E, owners will be able to pre-configure their new vehicle ahead of delivery using the new Remote Vehicle Setup feature. Owners simply create a personalised profile to save their favourite settings and frequent locations such as their place of work or a supermarket, and – for added peace of mind – identify nearby charging stations.
Setup can be done online or using FordPass, the Ford owners companion smartphone app, to customise vehicle settings such as daily departure times, preferred cabin comfort settings and battery charge levels, among other options. 1 Mustang Mach-E drive modes also can be personalised: choosing between Active, Whisper or Untamed will adjust the vehicle’s responsiveness on the outside, while on the inside the vehicle sound and ambient colours can be customised to match.
The personalisation profile is stored in the cloud, so when the owner picks up the keys and first pairs their smartphone with their Mach-E, all settings are pushed to their vehicle – no more frustrating first-time setups, drivers can just get in and go. Future over-the-air updates will also allow for personalisation of radio presets prior to delivery.
Mach-E owners also can use their smartphone to unlock their vehicle. With the Phone-as-a-Key feature enabled, the vehicle will instantly recognise who is approaching, unlock the doors and enable their individual driver preferences and settings. 2 If the driver’s smartphone battery runs dry, they can simply enter their personal passcode onto a keypad on the car door.
Conversational assistant
The next generation of SYNC delivers advanced conversational speech recognition allowing drivers to focus on driving instead of remembering set commands. The system understands natural, everyday speech in 15 European languages, enabling owners to talk to their vehicle just as they would a passenger, letting them control everything from entertainment and navigation features, to cabin environment and phone calls.
To provide the best responses to commands and questions, the next generation of SYNC complements on‑board intelligence with results from internet searches, ensuring that requests for the nearest restaurant or closest chemist are as accurate and up to date as possible.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both pre-installed at no extra cost and, now with cable-free connectivity, owners can benefit from safe and effortless access to their favourite smartphone apps and contacts using their voice or the vehicle’s touchscreen. 3
The large display means that Apple CarPlay or Android Auto can appear on the screen at the same time as other next-generation SYNC apps such as navigation or radio, enabling drivers always to remain in complete control and within quick reach of key features.
Connectivity is further enhanced with SYNC AppLink, with supported apps such as what3words, Waze and Webex delivering deeper integration between vehicle and smartphone.
In charge
The next generation of SYNC promotes confidence on the go for electric vehicle drivers by advising where and when to charge during journeys, as well as providing access to real-time charging station availability and pricing.
Intelligent Range technology provides drivers with up-to-date information about their electric vehicle’s range, based on factors including traffic, terrain, weather and even data from other Ford electric vehicles using the roads ahead. If the vehicle range changes significantly, a notification highlights the new range estimate and explains why it changed.