2011 Ford Focus: new Focus first in Europe to get Ford SYNC

Ford SYNC in Europe

Ford owners in the US have benefited from Ford SYNC for quite some time. And now owners of the 2011 Ford Focus will be the first to get all that connectivity goodness from 2012.

Essentially, Ford SYNC is a way of accessing and connecting with devices on – and in – the car. It does so through either voice commands – it recognises 10,000 commands (about 10,000 times the number the average teenager manages) – steering wheel controls or a touchscreen interface.

SYNC can also connect to mobiles via Bluetooth, not just on a basic level but with all the information stored on your smartphone – contacts, photos etc. – downloaded. It can also retrieve text messages and read them back.

Media can be acquired by SYNC from MP3 players or SD cards and you can even get album artwork popping up on the SYNC screen for whatever you’re listening to.

You can also create a wi-fi hot spot within the car using just one phone – connected by USB or Bluetooth – which will allow up to five phones to be used within the hot spot.

As we become more attached to our smart phones, ease of connectivity is becoming more and more important in our cars. And Ford’s SYNC is one of the better systems on offer.

Shame it takes until 2012 for Europe to get it.

By Cars UK