Patented Adaptive Steering Technology Has Ford Competitors Spinning Their Wheels

• Class-exclusive adaptive steering technology improves steering efficiency and steering effort – making all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup and Ford Edge SUV easier to steer at all speeds
• Based on driver input and vehicle speed, technology changes the steering gear ratio to provide optimal vehicle response for different operating conditions 
• System improves highway comfort and low-speed maneuverability by increasing and decreasing the steering ratio up to 30 percent; for Super Duty, it further improves driver comfort and confidence for towing or hauling heavy loads with tow/haul mode engaged

DEARBORN, Mich., Sept 22, 2016 – From carpool drivers to work crews, folks around the United States are about to discover the only steering wheel that works as hard as they do.

Adaptive steering technology makes the all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup and Ford Edge SUV easier to steer at all speeds.

Despite the industry shift to electrically assisted steering, an overwhelming majority of new vehicles sold today have fixed steering gear ratios. Fixed steering ratios are always a compromise between providing steering quickness and maneuverability at low speeds, while offering comfortable vehicle response at high speeds. Ford has been awarded eight patents for the technology and 11 more have been filed.

Class-exclusive adaptive steering for the all-new Super Duty and Edge removes these compromises and reduces driver fatigue – especially at low speeds.

The system – all contained in the steering wheel itself – has an electric motor, a small computer and a gear unit. Based on driver input and vehicle speed, adaptive steering can add or subtract rotations to driver input at the steering wheel. Up to one full revolution can be saved at low speeds when steering lock-to-lock.

At low speeds, the system increases the angle of the front wheels as the steering wheel is turned – resulting in the driver needing to steer less to maneuver, explains Lodewijk Wijffels, Ford adaptive steering technical specialist. “At high speeds, the ratio is changed in such a way that vehicle response is more relaxed, more precise, and smoother than without the system,” he says.

Adaptive steering contributes to delivering the best ride and steering of any Super Duty ever, with improved responsiveness and control. The truck features a specific setting for engaging tow/haul mode that further optimizes how Super Duty and trailer react to steering input.

Adaptive steering made its debut on the 2016 Ford Edge Sport, which has driver-selectable normal and sport settings.  Adaptive steering is optional on the 2016 Ford Edge Titanium.