Friday, May 1, 2015

Sync 3 system arrival means you should wait to buy a Ford

Sync 3 system arrival means you should wait to buy a Ford

If there’s a new Ford on your shopping list, you might want to wait before signing on the dotted line. Why? The carmaker’s problematic, trouble-prone, and much maligned MyFord Touch control interface is being phased out and will be replaced by the new Sync 3 system, which promises to be simpler and more intuitive to use.  

The problem is, some of the brand’s biggest selling models, including the recently redesigned F-150, Mustang, and Edge are rolling off the production lines with MyFord Touch. That means that buyers of these new models will be stuck with an obsolete—to say nothing of distracting—system within a few months.

Read more about the Sync 3 and see it in action, and watch the video below of the soon-to-be-outdated MyFord Touch.

We had a chance to demo the new Sync 3 control system at CES 2015, and our early impressions were good.

A simpler layout and larger buttons give Sync 3 a cleaner look than MyFord Touch. Sync 3 not only looks better but also translates to an easier and less distracting experience while driving. The menu structure is more intuitive, and the demo unit had a faster response time, which Ford promises will carry over to production versions. Seamless app integration and easy-to-use voice controls that respond to natural speech add to the appeal.

Sync 3 also includes the capability for over-the-air updates, à la Tesla, delivered to the car as soon as they’re available, along with a notification that they’ve arrived.

A notable change will be if the new operating system driving the Sync 3 system eliminates the screen freezes and other glitches that have plagued MyFord Touch and resulted in the carmaker getting lower scores in our reliability and owner-satisfaction surveys.

We’ll know more once Sync 3 rolls out later this year. The first vehicles to get the new system will be the 2016 Ford Escape and Lincoln MKC SUVs, due in showrooms late this summer. Ford tells us Sync 3 will then migrate to the rest of its lineup by the end of 2016.

—Jim Travers

Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.

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