Ford recently unveiled the 2013 Fiesta, which gets minor styling changes. The American automaker has also given the car Active City Stop system, which is an advanced safety system. The Active City Stop uses light detection and range sensors to scan the road 50 times per second, thereby capturing and analyzing 15 images every second. This helps in preventing collisions up to 16 km/hr. But why the hassle of incorporating such a system for such low speeds?
While 16 km/hr collisions are not really a safety threat for people, they can cause minor damages to the car. Further more, in the UK, a car equipped with Active City Stop gets 15% insurance rebate off first year motor insurance from Ford Insure. The Active City Stop system is offered as an option with the Driver Assistance Pack and is priced at Rs. 22,000/-. The package also includes electric folding mirrors and rear parking sensors, both of which are standard on the Indian Fiesta.
So what does the Ford Active City Stop do in case you are approaching an obstacle? The system will first warn the driver about the hazard. It will also reduce engine torque, apply the brakes and activate the hazard lights, in order to prevent a collision. The Active City Stop system is already offered on other Ford vehicles, including the B-Max and C-Max in Europe. Will this system be of much use in India? We don’t think so and hence we doubt Ford will offer Active City Stop in its Indian vehicles.
