The new Ford Fiesta is now available for test drive and on sale from £8,995 at Roy Chapman Ford in Berkhamsted, Herts.
This new Ford Fiesta, identified by its newly designed grill and headlights, offers ‘Active City Stop’ safety technology, which captures and processes 15 images in the blink of an eye. Active City Stop is Ford’s low-speed collision avoidance system. In the time it takes to blink, a sophisticated sensor captures 15 images, calculates whether traffic is slowing or has stopped, and applies the brakes automatically if it determines a collision is imminent.
Active City Stop uses a sophisticated light detecting and ranging sensor to scan the road ahead 50 times every second – more than twice the speed of the movie industry standard frame rate – to help prevent collisions at speeds up to 15 km/h, and help reduce the severity of impacts at speeds of up to 30 km/h.
Each year more than half-a-million people are injured in car crashes in cities in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain alone. Of these, approximately one-in-eight are hurt in rear-end shunts, the type that Active City Stop can reduce in severity or avoid altogether.
Active City Stop constantly monitors the gap to vehicles in front, calculates the risk of hitting a stationary or slow-moving object and pre-charges the new Fiesta’s brake system to deliver maximum braking response. If the driver does not respond, either by braking or evasive steering, the system simultaneously applies the brakes, reduces engine torque, and activates the rear hazard lights.
“Active City Stop is designed to offer additional security for Ford drivers and fellow road users,” said Sales Director Justine Chapman. “Automatic application of the brakes is a last-ditch response and the system is carefully designed to minimise the potential for inappropriate application. We hope our customers will never need this feature but we believe it gives city drivers in particular peace of mind to know it is there.”
