FordPass Performance App for Bronco [Part 2]

[toughtoaster]

From Bronco Nation: Article

Part 2: A Map to the Wild

In Part 1 of this series, we introduced you to the FordPass Performance App and to Shane Coloney, Ford’s Senior Product Manager for Navigation. Today, we’re showing you what the planning and in-Bronco experience will be for FordPass Performance.

We think the FordPass Performance App is one of the most fascinating features of the 2021 Ford Bronco. Earlier this week, we introduced you to Shane Coloney, the leader of the team that is putting together this groundbreaking experience that will give some key tools to help you plan adventures. Today, we’re going to talk about that planning experience and how the FordPass Performance App can serve as your map to the wild.

Getting to the wild starts with knowing where to go. The FordPass Performance App has over 2,000 curated trails that you can explore. Each trail has been mapped out by a survey team that actually traveled the route, noted obstacles, and set waypoints. As you scroll through the trail list, you’ll quickly see basic information for each trail, like its difficulty rating, estimated time to complete, distance, and highest elevation. In screenshots provided to Bronco Nation, it appears that users can select “favorite” trails from the list, which will then show up in your personal curated list on your vehicle screen.

When you select a trail for viewing, you’ll have a number of tabs available that give you important information for planning your trip. Regardless of which trail information tab you’re viewing, you’ll see a persistent thumbnail of the trail on a map, along with that basic information regarding distance, travel time and max elevation. You can “favorite” the trail and add it to your curated list while in any tab.

The first tab is the “Trail Description” tab, which gives you a rundown of what the trail is like. The “Trail Information” tab lays out the nitty-gritty details of the trail. Thankfully, for folks like me that aren’t familiar with the rules and customs of traveling in public lands out west, there’s permit and access information included. This tab also lists key info like distance and elevation, plus “recommended ride season,” which helps you plan what trails to ride when. It’s also very important to note the last updated timestamp, as it lets you know how long it’s been since the trail information has been at by the survey team.

Further aiding your planning, a “Trail Weather” tab gives you not only the current weather in the vicinity of the trail, but also an hourly forecast through the next few hours. This should be especially helpful in places that have highly variable weather conditions, like many mountain regions. If you’re planning your adventure further out, a ten-day forecast is also available.

In the final tab, “Trail Waypoints”, the information really gets granular. Each trail has a set of waypoints that will help guide you through your ride. Since trail navigation can’t rely on things like crossroads, you need clear landmarks to know if you’re on the right track. So instead of the turn-by-turn navigation that you would have while driving on-road, you’ll have waypoint-by-waypoint navigation off-road. Photographs are included to give you a better sense of what you’re looking for, and distance between waypoints is given so you can know if you went too far and missed one. Obstacles are also noted, and guidance on how to tackle each seems to be included, as well. In addition, advice like, “High Clearance 4×4 Recommended” is also noted… good thing you’re in a Bronco.

Shane Coloney — Ford’s Senior Product Manager for Navigation — also mentioned that waypoints can be dropped by the user. If you decide to venture down a branch of a trail that hasn’t been surveyed yet, you can drop your own breadcrumbs, so that you don’t get lost while you’re exploring. This is accomplished from the in-vehicle screen and can be saved and shared later.

In our briefing with Ford, Shane discussed the high fidelity of the mapping that Ford is using to build this app. A highly detailed topographic base map, provided by AccuTerra, covers all of North America. There’s also satellite imagery available. This map information can be downloaded, which ensures it will be available/accessible — even when you’re riding in a spot with no cell coverage. The robust GPS system that is included in Mid-package Broncos provides your real time position on that map.

Now that you’ve planned out your trail ride, what’s it like to use the app as you go down the trail? The app is available in Apple Carplay and AndroidAuto, so you don’t have to leave those environments if you don’t want to. This amazing experience happens entirely on the 8” or 12” display in your Bronco. Also, according to Shane, Ford’s Sync 4 system allows for easy switching between the CarPlay or AndroidAuto environment and the native Sync 4 environment. So if your Bronco is properly equipped, you can switch over to the Trail Cam for the technical portions of trails and then quickly get back to FordPass Performance.
One final thing to note, is that much of this experience seems to center around slower and more deliberate off-road travel. There’s a lot of information available, and using it to the fullest seems to call for reviewing the information thoroughly both ahead of time and en route. Processing and using the information is probably best done at a stop on the trail. You can read the trail description beforehand, and look at the information in the “Trail Waypoints” tab before heading down the trail. Once you’ve chosen the trail you want to ride, add it to your favorites…and you’re ready to go. Then jump in your Bronco, proceed to the trail head and hit the “Start Guidance” button.

Following the guidance from the start, you’ll know that you’ve reached the next waypoint by comparing what you see around you to the photos included in the waypoint description. If you’re ever unsure if you’re in the right place, waypoints are marked with their precise GPS coordinates, so you can tell if you’re close.

Now, from what we’ve seen, Ford seems to be using the term “obstacle” quite broadly, for a range of challenges on the trail. Everything from muddy, rutted areas to water crossings might be marked as an obstacle. The example provided in this photo doesn’t seem like much of an obstacle for a 2021 Bronco, but we aren’t the folks who saw it on the ground and we all know looks can certainly be deceiving in the wild. Other examples seemed like more significant (AKA fun) challenges to us.

All of this comes in an app that is free to use on any Bronco that has the Mid package. There’s no subscription. According to Shane, the app only confirms there’s a FordPass account and that the Bronco has the Mid-package hardware to ensure that it can operate as advertised. Ford seems to have shot for the broadest user base possible. Owners of a Base Bronco won’t have access and that’s a bummer. Those folks can obviously use other navigation apps, but they will miss the deep integration with the vehicle that comes with FordPass Performance.

That being said, if you have a Big Bend with Mid package or above, how can you share your FordPass Performance experience with others? Well, that’s coming in Part 3. We’ll see you there.

Sponsored

 

[mrxg78]

Great, another tracking app for another corporate giant to track us around



Let’s see if this catches on fire

 

[toughtoaster]

Great, another tracking app for another corporate giant to track us around



Let’s see if this catches on fire

I mean I guess you just don't have to download it if you don't really care about it. Nice for the newbies to get an idea of what they might be getting into though.

 

[Superthornbird]

Great, another tracking app for another corporate giant to track us around



Let’s see if this catches on fire

Im not that important to track.

 

[Philly]

Wow is this cool! I wonder how much of northern Michigan is covered. We have tons of public trails up there!

This also going to be amazing for road trips that aren’t necessarily centered around hitting the trails. For me in particular, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s nearby when I move! Seems to be extremely well thought out.

 

[BuzzyBud]

First off, if you enjoy navigation tools, this could be amazing!

Several things I really like about this app.

• The Weather Tab – Wonderful! Would not expect it can update when out of cell coverage. Planning to carry an inReach Mini, so not really an issue.
• Ability to pull in map layers - Real nice! Not sure if the base layer can be changed by the user as locations change, I would guess no. Not sure how many layers can be pulled in. A layer that shows camping sites might be nice.
• Ability to download the maps to the Bronco - Nice!
• The ability to switch back and forth between CarPlay and Trail Cam – This is perfect!
• The “Start Guidance” function. Not sure if that involves both visual and audio.
• The key was clearly stated – It is the integration that sets this system apart.

Looking forward to Part 3!

 

[WheelsDownColorado]

It is the integration that sets this system apart.

Bingo

 

[timhood]

So many cool features in this, I don't know where to begin. I really like that all of the info I could want is right there. Hour-by-hour weather? That is that attention to detail that makes me think they tried to address every need in this Bronco.

Having all of this tied into the vehicle and nav system means it will be a lot easier to take advantage of off-roading opportunities.

 

[BuzzyBud]

As we look at the 2021 Bronco component parts, such as design, off-road capabilities, modularity, potential aftermarket support, aux switch design, and now navigation systems you start to see how the sum of the parts far outweigh anything else currently available. Not only is it a quantum leap, but it is also money in the bank for those who are lucky enough to own one.

 

[dingle87]

Why are people worried about being “tracked”? If you have a cell phone, it’s already a part of your life... potentially.

In the mean time, enjoy yourself and get rid of the cell phone, if that’s a concern for you. Yes, I think technology can go too far, but I’m not sure if trail maps are in that category. I could be wrong, I have been many times before.

 

[SnowBronco]

Wonder how this will work for Canadians? There's a huge 4x4 segment up here on the west coast. I'd like to know about more trails and sections of land to explore! Lol

 

[Used2jeep]

I would like to know how to find trails in each state.

 

[Jersey2607]

In the SW we have so much BLM land, but a lot of it is sandwiched between state and private property. I currently use OnXMaps because it has the trails, but also delineates between the land ownership types. That way, if we want to stop and camp we know we're not breaking any laws. It'll be interesting to see if in the future it'll enable integration with other services, or will just follow suit with the information offered.

 

[Philly]

I would like to know how to find trails in each state.

Looks like you can use the search function within the app, but I would guess that you can pull up your location and zoom out and the trails will either be highlighted and visible to click on, or there will be a pin at the trail head. Similar to when you search for coffee shops and all of them within your screen pop up with little pins.

This is just my guess and how I would do it, but Ford could have gone a completely different direction.

 

[A_Locke]

Don't really understand all the hate with this from people on this forum. This App seems absolutely awesome! Weather, CarPlay Integration, waypoints, details on the route, are all great ideas! I was worried that you might need built in navigation to use it but that doesn't appear to be the case either. Just the Mid, High or Luxe packages and you are good!

If you're worried about being tracked, don't download it, don't use a smartphone, etc... This is just an optional feature.

Sponsored