Gadgetory

technology plays a vital role in our lives regardless of whether it's a simple smartphone or a more complicated personal computer we use it every day from making grocery lists to interacting with relatives and now vehicles have become the next frontier for integration of human and machine technology Ford was kind enough to invite us to the annual Canadian International Auto Show hosted here in Toronto they wanted us to check out how technology continues to evolve within the automotive sector and how those forward-thinking features are being incorporated into a wide range of vehicles I was more than happy to take them up on that offer why because while high-level interactive car systems used to be accessible only for those who had tons of money Ford is at the forefront of making those systems available at almost every price point one of the key ways for is accomplishing their goals of making in-car tech as intuitive nose friendly and complete as possible is with an evolution of their sync ecosystem sync 3 is their latest in vehicle communications and entertainment system it incorporates a ton of cool features a brand new touch or voice controlled interface and faster response times one interesting feature of same three is the ability to automatically pair with your Android or iOS based smartphone via bluetooth it will then grant access to all your contacts call history text messages music collection and much more with the assistance of sing Three's advanced a voice-activated technology which by the way can be accessed by a push of a button you can easily make phone calls with just a few commands navigate to a destination access Sirius XM satellite radio and even adjust climate control provided the vehicle comes equipped with that feature Ford may have used sync as a launching platform for many functions but they're not locking you into their own platform like some other manufacturers do sync 3 natively supports apple carplay and android auto both which are fantastic additions in fact when you plug in either an Android or iPhone to the unit via USB sync we automatically recognize as the device and switches to the desired UI meanwhile the voice assistant button on the steering wheel shifts to either activate Google now or Siri that means you can actively and safely interact with your smartphone while keeping your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel functions like reading and two text messages and interacting with things like Google Maps are very intuitive provided you understand some very basic voice commands sync Connect is also an interesting feature that allows the driver to remotely monitor the vehicle provided it comes equipped with this tech all you need to do is download the four pass app available for both Android and iOS users and register your vehicle using their assigned VIN number it takes a few days to complete the identification process but essentially you'll be able to track your vehicle's location and remotely lock unlock and start up the engine for security purposes it doesn't act as a virtual key but the functions are still very convenient you can also view the vehicle status including fuel level and the approximate odometer reading plus scheduled specific times to remotely start your car so it's ready to hit the road do not that any vehicle can be registered with for pass but only sync connect equipped vehicles get the full suite of options discussed earlier because sync 3 and sync Connect are independent the good thing about sync 3 is then it is available across Ford's entire vehicle lineup it's not exclusively designed for a specific car which is awesome past sync 3 & 4 pass several other elements factor into Ford's push towards a seamless integration of in-car tech into their lineup features like blind spot monitoring in-car Wi-Fi quick charge USB ports and even cross traffic alerts are being rolled into vehicles at every point and none of that may be attention-grabbing as syncs evolution but they play a key role in either making your life easier or even saving your life I mentioned a bit earlier that one of Ford's main goals is to make all of this cool in-car technology more accessible to a wider market one excellent example of this is their upcoming 2018 EcoSport which is set to launch later this year while this compact SUV originally debuted at the LA Auto Show back in 2016 it has returned for a showcase here in Toronto the EcoSport is designed to attract young drivers who have a good grasp of technology and are looking towards their first new vehicle purchase the exterior sports a sleek athletic profile which is engineered for the best possible aerodynamics the rear seats can be easily flattened out to provide an expanded versatile cargo space - the LED lighting accents at the front along with the projected halogen headlamps look awesome under the hood you have an option to go with two power trains the first one is a turbocharged 1 litre EcoBoost 3 cylinder engine with front-wheel drive and the other being a 2 liter naturally aspirated variant with ford's intelligent four-wheel-drive system pricing is yet to be unveiled to customers as this is a pre-production model and it could go through some minor design changes so expect updates in the near future one of the most interesting aspects of the EcoSport is the technology fund the star of attraction here is the 8 inch touchscreen navigation system with all the features from sync 3 I've talked about there's also two USB fast charging ports a single 110 volt outlet that'll keep your gadgets topped off cross traffic alerts for past compatibility and in some markets in-car Wi-Fi taking a step above and beyond the EcoSport Ford was also showing a ton of hybrid plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles that have been designed for drivers who love to think from a broad economical perspective there are a variety of options to choose from but understanding the key differences between the three types of powertrain within the evie lineup is important first let's start with a full electric car meet the 2016 Focus Electric it's a compact hatchback that runs on a 107 kilowatt electric motor and has a range of about 75 miles or 120 kilometers the 2017 model gets an extra 40 kilometres of range plus it features DC fast charging capabilities so essentially you can charge up the battery up to 80% in about 30 minutes which is awesome the 2017 c-max hybrid is an excellent example of a hybrid since it combines a lithium-ion battery and a gasoline-powered engine these work together to provide a smoother carefree and yet efficient driving experience the regenerative braking technology recovers energy that is normally lost through braking and it stores that back into the battery for later use the last and final type of EB powertrain is a plug-in hybrid car the 2017 c-max Energi that you're seeing here takes advantage of this technology the difference between standard hybrid and the plug-in hybrid is that you get a larger lithium-ion battery that can be charged using an available 240 volt home charging station or a 120 volt outlet which in turn provides you with extended range and you can choose to drive either in full electric mode or gasoline-only or a combination of both one benefit of this is that with an all-electric range of 19 miles or 30 kilometers it's not really likely your shorter commutes won't use any gas at all but the gas engine could be well used for taking the stress out of longer journeys Ford doesn't want to end its hybrid DNA within compact hatchbacks or cars yet they're working on a fusion between performance and hybrid technology by 2020 you can expect to see a hybrid Mustang hybrid f-150 and an all-new electrified SUV with a range of at least 300 miles also expect autonomous vehicles to hit the road by 2021 they would be designed for commercial Ryne hailing or ride-sharing starting in North America as more and more people migrate towards crowded city centers the so called last mile transport options are becoming increasingly important for such short commuters cars SUVs and even public transport options aren't efficient that's where something like the Ford carry comes into play it has been designed as a fully integrated compact solution that allows people to move short distances within a minimum amount of time for the time being it's a proof of concept but it gives a glimpse into the future for people who don't feel like car fits into their urban lifestyle so our experience here at Ford at the Canadian International Auto Show has been an interesting experience I love the mix between the Internet of Things and how we interact with tech inside cars I especially love the feature of having the integration of Android auto and apple carplay features plus the ability to do multiple of things with Ford's own ecosystem sync 3 I'm really looking forward to trying on some of those features in the near future but let us know what you guys think about our coverage here with Ford's new tech and are you interested in any of these new features that Ford has integrated into their new cars and in fact most of the tech that you see here are shared across pretty much most of their vehicles so it's not particularly meant or exclusive towards one particular car which is pretty cool but let us know what you think about the tech that you saw I'm Eva with Huracan axe thank you so much for watching huge shout out to forward for inviting us to the show and we'll see you in the next one you