One of the key reasons for running Ford‘s new Focus was to try out the Driver Assistance pack that costs an extra £750 on our Titanium specification hatchback.
While that’s a reasonable slice of cash for an option, I’m impressed by the amount of kit included – seven separate safety systems in total. On paper, it’s really a duty of care no-brainer. The systems include Active City Stop, which senses at speeds under 20mph that a car ahead has stopped and automatically applies the brakes, and a pair of motorway-orientated systems in Lane Departure Warning, which vibrates the steering wheel if the car drifts towards a white line, and Lane Keeping Aid, which gently applies steering to keep the car in lane. Other systems are less intrusive, with Traffic Sign Recognition, which displays on the dashboard the last two road signs the car has passed, Auto High Beam, which dips headlights when it senses oncoming traffic and automatically reignites the high beam when they pass, and blind-spot monitoring, as well as the Driver Alert fatigue monitor. Hopefully we won’t need to test any of them in anger, but over the next half-year, conclusions will be drawn.
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