My mom wants to find which Fords to consider for my 72-year old dad, but I can’t find which models/years have these as standard, or even what words to search for on Cars.com to find the ones with the options added. I’ve tried collision, avoidance, departure, warning, and I don’t find the features listed in the ads.
Can someone tell me how to search better?
Also, what does it mean that the car “pre-charges the brakes”?
I don’t have any response to the Ford-specific aspects of your question, but pre-charging the brakes involves a sensor system that preemptively readies the hydraulic system to reduce your stopping distance. I’m no car expert, but your pressure on the brake pedal is passed through a hydraulic system - the fluid effectively multiplies the pressure you apply to the car to stop it. When a car pre-charges the brakes, it means that a sensor detects when you will be stopping and pre-fills the fluid reservoir, reducing the time between you applying your foot to the brake pedal and the car reacting by slowing down.
If I’ve got this wrong, I’m sure much more knowledgeable Dopers can clarify the process!
The 2013 Ford Fusion has a lane keeping system http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/features/#page=Feature13 as well as collision warning.
I’ve got a 2012 Fusion and love it but I don’t have that particular feature.
So not sure if it’s the newer year or just a better model (I’ve got an SE model).
Not sure if that helps your search or not, but the Fusion is a very comfortable and responsive car - not too big and not too small.
I believe the new Escape has collision warning and all that.
two different things being talked about- Lane Departure Warning just gives you an alert if you’re drifting from side to side. Lane-Keeping Assistance uses the electric-power-assisted steering (EPAS) to actually steer you back into lane if you drift. as far as I know, only the 2013 Fusion has Lane-Keeping assistance. Most of the rest have blind-spot information system (BLIS) which lets you know if there’s a car or other object in a spot where you might not see it via mirrors. Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is available on most models but may not be standard.
My wife’s 2012 Edge has it . It’s really quite effective.