Ford Fusion fuels blend of old and new

FORD has unveiled the Fusion, a new smart car that runs on petrol or as a hybrid to save fuel.

FORD has revealed the Fusion, a new smart car that runs on petrol or as a hybrid to save fuel.

The 2013 Ford Fusion - unveiled as the official car of the Consumer Electronics Show - also features technology that helps drivers keep within traffic lanes and reverse out of tight positions.

Increasingly sophisticated consumer technology in cars has seen vehicle-makers gaining a presence at CES 2012 in Las Vegas.

The Fusion is available in several versions thanks to "plug-in hybrid engine technology", allowing it to run on petrol, or as a hybrid with different engine configurations, including the use of electricity, to maximise fuel economy.

New systems that help drivers stay within lanes and assist with reversing have been added to the park assist and adaptive cruise controls available with the Ford Focus, reviewed by The Australian last year.

The lane-keeping system uses a small forward-facing camera to look down the road and monitor if a car is within lane boundaries.

It alerts the driver if it detects erratic travel and applies pressure to the steering wheel to bring the car back on course.

Lane-keeping technology complements existing adaptive cruise control, which uses sensors to keep the car a safe distance from traffic ahead.

There is also a blind spot information system which raises an alert if it detects traffic in a driver’s blind spot.

Voice control has been extended to include voice-activated communication through a driver’s mobile phone, and interaction with the car’s audio system.

The Fusion is the latest in a series of vehicles from Ford - following the 2011 Fiesta and 2012 Focus small cars - developed to address fuel efficiency and offer new technologies.

It will be available initially only in North and South America, however a variation called the Ford Mondeo is being developed for world markets.

Chris Griffith travelled to Las Vegas as a guest of Lenovo