Ford Motor Company has introduced BlueCruise 1.5, the latest evolution of its hands-free highway driving system, featuring an all-new Automatic Lane Change capability. Available first on the 2025 Mustang Mach-E, this update aims to offer a smoother and more intuitive driving experience, helping drivers stay hands-free longer during highway travel.
The Automatic Lane Change feature, developed by Ford’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) team, enables BlueCruise 1.5 to automatically maneuver around slower traffic without driver input. For example, if you are driving at a set speed of 70 mph on the highway and encounter a semi-truck traveling at 55 mph, BlueCruise 1.5 can seamlessly initiate a lane change to maintain your preferred speed.
Enhanced Driving Experience with BlueCruise 1.5
BlueCruise 1.5 is designed to ensure a safe and natural driving experience by carefully considering traffic conditions. It avoids merging with lanes where vehicles are moving much faster and refrains from entering right-hand lanes with off-ramps or inconsistent lane markings, which could require driver intervention.
The system keeps drivers informed throughout the process. Before an automatic lane change occurs, BlueCruise 1.5 provides visual and audio alerts, displaying the reason for the maneuver on the driver’s information display screen. If drivers wish to cancel an upcoming lane change, they can do so by tapping the turn signal in the opposite direction or holding the steering wheel in place. For those who prefer not to use this feature, Automatic Lane Change can be disabled in the Driver Assistance settings.
Built for Hands-Free Convenience
Ford’s internal testing reveals that on a typical drive, BlueCruise 1.5 can automate up to 45% of lane changes, allowing drivers to enjoy more time in hands-free mode. With this new feature, the updated software helps make highway travel smoother and more efficient, particularly on long trips where drivers can take advantage of the system’s ability to handle routine lane changes.
The BlueCruise journey began with the introduction of BlueCruise 1.0 on the Mustang Mach-E. Over time, Ford rolled out subsequent updates like BlueCruise 1.2 and 1.3, adding new capabilities and improving performance in challenging driving scenarios, such as curves and narrow lanes. Now, the 2025 Mustang Mach-E will be the first model to experience BlueCruise 1.5, with additional model updates to follow.
A Smoother Ride for All Occasions
BlueCruise is popular among drivers for both daily commutes and longer road trips. In the U.S. last year, about 77% of BlueCruise trips lasted under 20 minutes, while for longer highway trips over an hour, drivers used the hands-free system more than 50% of the time. The introduction of BlueCruise 1.5 aims to make these journeys even more enjoyable and stress-free, ensuring that drivers can focus on the road while letting the vehicle handle the complexities of highway traffic.
As the 2025 Mustang Mach-E prepares to hit the market, Ford’s latest BlueCruise update marks another step toward a more advanced and user-friendly hands-free driving experience.
