Ford Fiesta ZETEC

Bluetooth technology helps electronic devices communicate wirelessly via radio signals between their transmitters and receivers.

With Bluetooth in your car you can make hands-free calls, without taking your phone out of your pocket. It reroutes calls to your car's audio system when you are driving, automatically muting any music that is playing while you are speaking. You can also connect to music on your phone and some MP3 players. Some systems also have voice recognition built in.

Data is transmitted on the 2.4 GHz band (licence-exempt worldwide). The transmitting power of the interface is one watt, allowing a transmission range of around ten metres - more than enough to link up devices inside a car. We offer factory fitted Bluetooth solutions providing safe, hands-free communications while driving.* Please check phone compatibility with your Retailer.

Under emergency braking conditions or slippery road surfaces, the anti-lock brake system (ABS) prevents the wheels from locking and maintains the car's steerability. Locked wheels can no longer transmit cornering forces, the car does not respond to steering commands. To prevent this from happening, the ABS control unit monitors the rotational speed of all wheels of the car by means of wheel speed sensors. If one of them threatens to lock, a solenoid valve in the control unit of the ABS reduces brake pressure for the respective wheel until it runs freely again, then the pressure is again increased up to the locking limit. The car remains stable and steerability is maintained. In modern ABS systems such as those employed in all SEAT models, this process takes place several times a second. The driver perceives the action of the ABS as a slight vibration of the brake pedal. In the ABS control range, despite maximum deceleration, the car can be steered easily to avoid obstacles and prevent a collision.

The electronic stability control (ESC) recognises critical driving situations, such as the risk of skidding, and systematically prevents the car from doing so.

In order that the ESC can respond to critical situations, the system must constantly receive information.

For instance: which way the driver is steering and where the car is moving. The system receives the answer to the first question from the steering angle sensor and the ABS wheel speed sensors on the wheels. From these two pieces of information, the controller calculates the desired steering direction and the intended driving behaviour of the car. Other important data are the yaw rate and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. Using this information, the control unit calculates the actual state of the vehicle.

ESC prevents instability of the car when cornering which can occur either when driving at an inappropriate speed, as a result of an unpredictable change in the road surface (wetness, slickness, dirt), or emergency evasive action (the "Elk test"). In this event, it does not matter whether the instability manifests itself through understeer, ie: when the car, despite steering at full lock, moves to the outer edge of the bend, or by oversteer (the rear end breaks away).

The computer unit of the ESC detects the type of instability based on the data provided by the sensor technology and controls the correction by intervening in the braking system and engine management.

In the event of understeer, the ESC decelerates the inside rear wheel. Simultaneously the ESC reduces the engine power until the car has stabilised again. ESC prevents oversteer by selectively activating the front brake on the outside of the bend and intervening in the engine and transmission management.

The traction control system regulates spinning of the driven wheels and thus stabilises the car all the time it is being accelerated. The TCS and the associated electronic differential lock (EDS, XDS) are included in the scope of the electronic stabilisation programme (ESP). The TCS receives the essential input via the wheel speed sensors of the antilock braking system which register a sudden increase in wheel revolutions. By means of the motor control unit, the traction control system automatically lowers the power output. The worse the grip of the road, or the stronger the torque of an engine, the more important good traction is - and indeed over the entire speed range. So the TCS provides driving and tracking stability and thus above all safety and comfort. Moreover, unnecessary tyre wear is avoided. The TCS function can be disabled by means of the appropriate switch.