Ford Trucks launched the all-new F-Max launched at the 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, Germany. The F-Max takes its name from Ford’s F Series, and stands out in terms of its size, high level of comfort and durability.
The F-Max has a 2.5m-wide cab with a cockpit-style dashboard, flat floor providing 2160mm of floor-to-ceiling height and 260 mm of seat adjustment. It also offers airplane-style patented storage, and a 90-degree foldable upper bed. Other features that improve driver comfort include powered interior lightning controls from the bed area and driver compartment, automatic climate control systems and steering wheel adjustment features, and mini fridge and coffee maker included in some models.
The truck has a high performance engine with 500PS, 2500Nm and 400 kW braking power. Technical features include E-APU technology, eco-roll function, predictive cruise control (Max Cruise). Up to 7% reduced maintenance costs and long service intervals reduce the total cost of ownership.
A12-speed ZF automated transmission and different drive modes such as Eco-Mode and Power-Mode help optimize fuel consumption. The F-Max is also powered by a variable-geometry turbocharger, a water pump and compressor with multiple working speeds, 400 kW engine brake power which achieves 1000 KW total braking power with the optional intarder.
Ford Trucks offers a technology ‘ConnecTruck’ with the F-Max. ConnecTruck offers remote monitoring of the vehicle using remote diagnostic and over-the-air software. It analysesroad conditions, allowing the vehicle to drive at optimum speeds, thereby reducing fuel consumption by up to 4%. FMS Integration allows the ConnecTruck module and Ford Trucks cloud to act as a data gateway for third-party fleet management systems to access select vehicle data.
The F-Max offers driver assistance features such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Predictive Cruise Control (Max Cruise) with speed tolerance choices, Advanced Emergency Brake System, Hill Launch Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Adjustable Speed Limiter Device and Electronic Stability Control.
An 8” TFT color wide cluster screen displays tire pressure, temperature status and driver evaluation functions. Control switches on the leather steering wheel allows the driver to navigate between cluster screens. Truck-specific embedded navigation, web link and Apple CarPlay implementation, Bluetooth connection functions are presented within the 7.2” LCD multimedia soft touch screen.
The F-Max won the the International Truck of the Year award, a competition adjudicated by 23 judges from 23 European countries. The F-MAX was designed and tested by 500 Ford Otosan engineers over a 5-year period. Tests were carried out in 11 countries on 4 continents using 233 prototype units. This involved 15,500 hours of lab testing and 5 million kilometers of road testing.
