BlueCruise 1.5 Review - Mach-Lee

[cknasaboy]

Great review! A massive bummer that BC1.5 won't/can't come back down to earlier model years. Really seals the deal for me - probably won't renew my sub after this year is up, and will go after a Comma.ai instead

(Lets be honest, I was gonna do that anyways cause I love a gadget)

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[MikeGB]

Mach-Lee while my '22 was in for repairs the dealer loaned me a '24 with what I believe had 1.4 BC. It slowed down too early and too much going into a round-a-bout and accelerated before hitting the apex of the turn. Did 1.5 correct that?

 

[rreddy3]

Great review!

What do you think is stopping Ford from using BC on more than just Insterstates?

Because the tech is basically camera based, what does the “mapping” even do?

BC is not limited to interstates. It is also available on some non-interstate divided multilane highways in northern Virginia. I suspect that is the case elsewhere.

 

[ChehRob]

res traffic circles: my '23 starts speeding up far too fast on traffic circles, but have never risked seeing how fast it wants to go.

 

[Bonehead]

Excellent review. Since getting my '25 GT two months ago, I've been enjoying the upgrade to 1.5, especially since my '21 only had 1.1. The only note to add is that an automatic lane change can be cancelled either by a light touch on the blinker stalk in the opposite direction or a tug on the steering wheel.

My only quibble is that I have noticed some instances of automated lane changes occuring without being warranted; i.e., when the lane I'm in is actually more open than the one the system moves me into.

Also, a note about BC in general - there have been occasions when I've accidentally turned BC on in residential or city traffic just by pressing more of the base of the thumb part of my palm on the steering wheel, which sometimes happens when I'm adjusting my seating position, which is quite disconcerting.

 

[Mach1E]

BC is not limited to interstates. It is also available on some non-interstate divided multilane highways in northern Virginia. I suspect that is the case elsewhere.

You have to squint real hard at this map to find anything that isn’t interstate.

Other than trial/error there seems to be no good way for the car to even tell you BC is available on the road you are on.

 

[moethelawn]

Nice review!

Yeah, it's too bad there won't be any updates to the older models. I definitely won't renew my subscription because of that. From when I got my car (23 Job 2 that already came with BC 1.3), it means there won't be an improvement and at that point it should have been a feature baked into the car. If there was continuous improvement, then I would be ok with paying a subscription. I understand that sometimes improvements means the need for updated hardware and it's not the end-all solution. It just kinda sucks in my standpoint. If they end up backporting it to the older models, then I'll reconsider it.

 

[rreddy3]

You have to squint real hard at this map to find anything that isn’t interstate.

Other than trial/error there seems to be no good way for the car to even tell you BC is available on the road you are on.

Squinting is not required. Open the map on Ford’s website. Place thumb and forefinger on map to move map, spread those two fingers to enlarge map. It’s simple. The car displays a BC is available message on the IPC. Push the ACC button to engage. It’s simple.

 

[AZBill]

You have to squint real hard at this map to find anything that isn’t interstate.

Other than trial/error there seems to be no good way for the car to even tell you BC is available on the road you are on.

I have a SuperCruise equipped vehicle and it works even on 2 lane, non-divided highways, while trailer towing.

Some questions about BC 1.5 (SC has these features):

- Does it work on interchanges?
- Does it automatically change lanes for merging traffic (on ramps)?
- Does it automatically change lanes for disabled cars on the apron?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

while my '22 was in for repairs the dealer loaned me a '24 with what I believe had 1.4 BC.

BlueCruise 1.4 is specific to Ford Lightnings.

 

[Mach1E]

Squinting is not required. Open the map on Ford’s website. Place thumb and forefinger on map to move map, spread those two fingers to enlarge map. It’s simple. The car displays a BC is available message on the IPC. Push the ACC button to engage. It’s simple.

I don’t drive on the highway much, so maybe I missed the BC available message, what does it look like?

What Ford SHOULD do is include the BC map in the built in NAV.

I’m not exactly going to Ford.com while driving. Either way, our BC available roads are pretty pathetic.

 

[rreddy3]

I don’t drive on the highway much, so maybe I missed the BC available message, what does it look like?

What Ford SHOULD do is include the BC map in the built in NAV.

I’m not exactly going to Ford.com while driving. Either way, our BC available roads are pretty pathetic.

I will try and take a picture of the message.

I’m not sure if or how the Navi may indicate a BZ road. Something to observe and see what if anything it’s doing. This is as opposed to whatever the IPC is displaying.

I agree, I wouldn’t be fooling around with Ford.com while driving. That’s for the passenger/navigator.

You can see Blue Zone routes on Ford.com with the planning feature. Add the start point and destination and it will show available (or not) BZ mapped roads. Personally, I would not plan a trip around BZ route availability but it might be useful to know ahead of time what’s available.

From what I understand, GM’s system has a lot more coverage. In comparison, you’re right, Ford’s coverage is limited.

 

[Mach1E]

I will try and take a picture of the message.

I’m not sure if or how the Navi may indicate a BZ road. Something to observe and see what if anything it’s doing. This is as opposed to whatever the IPC is displaying.

I agree, I wouldn’t be fooling around with Ford.com while driving. That’s for the passenger/navigator.

You can see Blue Zone routes on Ford.com with the planning feature. Add the start point and destination and it will show available (or not) BZ mapped roads. Personally, I would not plan a trip around BZ route availability but it might be useful to know ahead of time what’s available.

From what I understand, GM’s system has a lot more coverage. In comparison, you’re right, Ford’s coverage is limited.

I wonder if the notification is a BC 1.3 update?

 

[Mach-Lee]

FYI if you want to view the interactive BlueCruise coverage map, it's on this page: https://www.ford.com/technology/bluecruise/

Ford only allows hands-free to operate on roads that are a) protected access freeways (no intersections) and b) pre-mapped with high resolution data.

Mach-Lee while my '22 was in for repairs the dealer loaned me a '24 with what I believe had 1.4 BC. It slowed down too early and too much going into a round-a-bout and accelerated before hitting the apex of the turn. Did 1.5 correct that?

I wanted to test that with BC 1.5, but ran out of time (perhaps a 2025 owner could chime in). The excessive slowdowns on curves with adaptive speed assist was a major gripe of mine with BC 1.3, which, along with the erroneous speed sign detections, makes that feature unusable.

 

[Ninjaguy]

I

FYI if you want to view the interactive BlueCruise coverage map, it's on this page: https://www.ford.com/technology/bluecruise/

Ford only allows hands-free to operate on roads that are a) protected access freeways (no intersections) and b) pre-mapped with high resolution data.



I wanted to test that with BC 1.5, but ran out of time (perhaps a 2025 owner could chime in). The excessive slowdowns on curves were a major gripe of mine with BC 1.3, which, along with the erroneous speed sign detections, makes that feature unusable.

I notice in my 25 with 1.5 that it slows down a little more than I'd like going into corners on hands-on adaptive cruise. It doesn't slow in blue cruise but all the roads mapped for it where I live are straight freeways. There's no untoward acceleration in corners that I've driven thus far on adaptive cruise.

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