New Ford Galaxy and S-MAX can see around corners

180 degree-view, self-cleaning Front Split View camera means fewer accidents, one more thing to play with. Excellent!

Duncan Bell
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When was the last time you saw a one-megapixel camera hailed as a great leap forward? Not recently, we'll wager, but the new Front Split View cam rolling out as an option on new Ford Galaxy and S-MAX models makes up in life-saving potential what it lacks in envelope-pushing spec.

Nestled in the grille of your spanky new Ford, the Front Split View offers a full 180-degree view "around corners" as you nose out of blind junctions, a garage or driveway.

Described as a "first in segment" advance, whatever that means, FSV uses a one-megapixel camera just 33mm wide to scan either side of your exit point, picking out cyclists, pedestrians and Jeremy Clarkson being pursued at high speed by irate Argentinians before you hit them/get hit by them.

The view comes up on cars' eight-inch touchscreens, while rather niftily, the camera's lens is kept clean with its own retractable jet washer. Just like James Bond, if he were worried about safety and drove an affordable multi-passenger vehicle.

FSV is just part of a wealth of new safety options on 2015's Galaxy and S-MAX MPVs. Other life-preserving functionality includes an Intelligent Speed Limiter, which scans traffic signs and slows you down if you're not paying to attention to what they're telling you, Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, which starts whacking on the brakes when people/deer/other cars/Clarkson pursued by pitchfork wielding mobs suddenly appear in scanning range. Finally, there's Glare-Free Highbeam LED headlamps, which reduce dazzle for oncoming drivers while keeping the road lit.

“We have all been there and it's not just blind junctions that can be stressful, sometimes an overhanging tree, or bushes can be the problem,” says Ronny Hause, engineer, Driver Assistance Electronic Systems, Ford of Europe. “For some, simply driving off their own driveways is a challenge. Much like rear-view cameras, Front Split View Camera is one of those technologies that people will soon wonder how they managed without.”

If you're thinking, "Hey, what I really want now is to hear Ronny saying those words, but in German," then watch this handy informational clip from Ford, immediately. The rest of it is in English.

Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

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