New Ford Puma BlueCruise Edition can drive itself (almost)
Britain’s best-selling car is now available as a special edition featuring Ford’s BlueCruise autonomous driving software
The new Ford Puma BlueCruise Edition has just been unveiled. This boasts the brand’s latest autonomous driving tech that’ll allow drivers to take their hands completely off the wheel across the majority of the UK’s motorway network.
Prices for the Puma BlueCruise Edition start from £33,995 for petrol cars, and £30,545 for the all-electric Ford Puma Gen-E with the £3,750 Government Electric Car Grant applied. Petrol models come as standard with Ford’s 1.0-litre Ecoboost mild-hybrid petrol engine, which is available in two configurations – 123bhp and 153bhp – and is mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox. All Gen-E models are powered by a 166bhp electric motor, as well as a 47kWh battery providing 248 miles of range.
BlueCruise Edition cars can be identified by their exclusive Vapour Blue paintwork, as well as their standard-fit 18-inch alloy wheels. On the inside, the semi-self-driving Puma gets matching two-tone black and Nordic Blue upholstery, as well as a camera mounted above the infotainment system, which works as part of the BlueCruise self-driving system.
Speaking of which, BlueCruise is currently the only Level 2+ autonomous driving software approved for use on UK roads. Utilising a variety of cameras and sensors around the car, BlueCruise can accelerate, brake and steer hands-free, provided the driver is watching the road ahead – the aforementioned camera makes sure of this, shutting the system off if the driver isn’t paying attention.
For now, BlueCruise only works on the motorway, with Ford having mapped out 95 per cent of UK motorways as so-called ‘Blue Zones’ for this purpose. However, Blue Zones do account for 84,000 miles of road across 16 countries in Europe, meaning drivers will be able to benefit from hands-free driving if they plan to take their Puma further afield.
The Puma BlueCruise Edition is available to order now, also coming with an included subscription to Ford’s Connected Navigation, which brings real-time traffic updates over the air. The Ford Mustang Mach-E has been available with BlueCruise in the UK since 2023, however, the top-selling Ford Kuga will now also receive a BlueCruise Edition alongside the Puma. Ford tells Auto Express that other Puma and Kuga models may receive BlueCruise as a feature at some point down the line, too.
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