Ford’s latest version of its Level 2 self-driving system, BlueCruise 1.5, was released back in 2025. While I used it shortly after it launched, and have since tested vehicles that featured it, I hadn’t been able to give it what I feel is a proper run out.
That all changed when I had to go and rescue someone from Springfield, Massachusetts. That’s around a three and a half hour round-trip for me, and I intended to drive as little of it as possible.
Luckily I had a 2026 Lincoln Nautilus on test, which comes with four-years of BlueCruise 1.5 included. As all Lincolns do. The system is also available on various Ford vehicles, though at the time of writing some only have 1.4 as an option. On Fords, you can get a month free with purchase, pay for the system via monthly or yearly subscription, or buy it alright as an optional extra.
Automatic lane changes are a game changer
For those who are unaware, the big change with BlueCruise 1.5 was the inclusion of automatic lane changes. So you don’t even have to tap the indicator stalk to confirm you want to move over.
This wasn’t happening when I first got in the vehicle, but that’s simply because the option was disabled in the settings. It took seconds to toggle it back on, and the vehicle just took it from there. Which meant I could spend time trying out the Nautilus’ massage settings, digital scents, and infotainment system. All while keeping my eyes on the road of course.
BlueCruise 1.5 is a little lane-change happy if anything. There was a point where I was in the right lane, with the vehicle in front of me fluctuating between going two-ish mph slower than I was, and slightly faster. This led to the Nautilus changing into the left lane, and then moving back into the right 30 seconds later with no overtakes.
The system being a little proactive is no bad thing. It gets you out of the way very quickly if a vehicle is tailgating you, and keeps you close to your target speed if you’re stuck behind something slow and a safe overtake is possible.
There are still sections where you need to have hands on the wheel
The self-driving system can manage most of your ride, but there are still situations when you need to get your hands on the wheel and take charge. This isn’t a bug, in fact it’s a requirement with all Level 2 self driving vehicles. No matter how good systems like BlueCruise are, if it’s Level 2 you’re responsible for that vehicle whenever you’re in the driver’s seat. You can’t just blame the cruise control if you get into an accident.
Ford is playing it pretty safe. There are areas where it will tell you to grasp the wheel. This used to be sections that weren’t really in the system yet, but there aren’t many of those these days. Not on the Interstates anyway. I was only told to grasp the wheel when moving through transponder scanners on the toll roads. And even then. The vehicle was still doing all of the driving.
I had a couple of sketchy moments though. The system didn’t fail during these moments but I didn’t want to give it the opportunity to. Particularly as one of those moments involved getting close to a concrete barrier at highway speeds. Roadworks, with the extra narrow lanes, sudden drop in traffic speed, and general increased risk, is a nightmare for self driving systems. So I would recommend taking the wheel here, even if the vehicle hadn’t asked you to.
Moving over for merging traffic, broken down vehicles on the shoulder, and police/tow trucks is also something the vehicle won’t do, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for these scenarios and take charge.
The other “sketchy moment” actually occurred when someone was merging onto the highway, and the Nautilus decided it wanted to change lanes at the same time. I had to grab the wheel and prevent it from doing that. I’m not 100% sure an accident would have occurred, but I wasn’t taking that chance.
This is one of the best self driving systems on the market
Is BlueCruise 1.5 the best self-driving system on the market? No, there are a handful of systems that offer the same features but cover a wider selection of roads. But I will say it’s definitely in the top three. When you consider the fact that pretty much every OEM has some form of Level 2 self-driving on offer, that is a pretty big achievement.
The main issue BlueCruise has, is the same any very good self-driving system has. It’s in that little spot where the cruise control is doing 99% of the work, but you still need to babysit it. For both legal and safety reasons. The problem is, this is a bit boring. It’s marginally better than sitting in a chair and watching the wall, but only when you’re driving somewhere with decent scenery.
It’s not Level 3, or Level 4, so you can’t just have a nap, or watch some videos on YouTube, or read a book. You’re still in charge, with very little to do. But given how much Ford has put into this, I can see the Dearborn-based company being one of the first companies to offer Level 3 self-driving in the US, once legislation allows that to happen.
For now, BlueCruise 1.5 is definitely worth having. It takes all of the effort out of driving between cities when you just can’t be bothered. And you can always tap the break to take back control when things get a touch too boring.
