One thing that consumers love to explore while test-driving a new vehicle is the amount of smart technology that a vehicle has. New vehicles today are competing with one another over who can offer the most in convenience and safety features and consumers are loving it all. Included in that are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, systems that allow the user to hook their smartphone up with their vehicle and use voice commands to essentially use their phone without the distraction of physically using their phone.

One of today’s most popular vehicles on the market is the Ford Escape, Ford’s crossover/compact SUV option. The 2020 model is equipped with a lot of the latest technology that offers improved safety handling and driver convenience. Let’s take a look at what it has inside.

The Ford Escape’s safety technology

The 2020 Ford Escape comes standard with Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 technology, a suite of features aimed at making your drive safer and easier. This includes Pre-Collision Assist with Emergency Braking, which is a system that senses if you’re about to encounter a front-end collision and applies the brakes for you, allowing you to have an extra second or two of reaction time. In a situation where every second counts, this technology could definitely save lives.

Also included is the Blind Spot Information System, which identifies when there is a vehicle traveling in your blind spot. It alerts you of this by lighting up a symbol on your exterior side mirrors, giving you an indication that there is a vehicle next to you that you may not know is there.

Ford’s Lane Keeping System is also included with the Co-Pilot 360 technology, and it senses when your vehicle drifts out of your lane of traffic. It does not control your steering, but it instead gives you an alert so you can re-adjust your steering.

The Ford Escape’s convenience technology

While safety is extremely important, consumers want to know what conveniences a vehicle offers as well. Smart technology in cars is one of the hottest selling points today. The 2020 Ford Escape has most of the latest tech inside and yes, that includes Apple CarPlay.

Apple CarPlay is available through the Ford Escape’s SYNC 3 system, which encompasses everything in the touchscreen control system. You can also utilize Amazon’s Alexa capabilities, allowing you to control any Alexa-enabled smart devices you have inside your home from your vehicle, like turning the lights on from the car or adding something to your home grocery list.

The 2020 Escape also offers FordPass Connect, an app that allows you to stay connected to your car at all times. You can start or stop your Escape, lock or unlock the doors, schedule what time you’d like your car to start remotely, and even equip a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot. This allows passengers the ability to scroll on their phones to their hearts’ content while on a road trip without worrying about burning through their data plans.

Things like Apple CarPlay matter to consumers

Smart technology is a newer thing in vehicles, only making a boom in the past five years or so, but consumers absolutely love it all. While some worry about privacy when you connect all of your devices together like you can do in the 2020 Escape, others think that all of the convenience trumps any privacy concerns.

Convenience technology isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With self-driving cars just around the corner, people can get used to the idea of technology replacing the way we’ve done things little by little and, in the meantime, enjoy the things that make life a little bit easier.