Taking your hands off the steering wheel and feet off the pedals while travelling at 70mph might sound like a nightmare. The car contains a system called BlueCruise, which is the UK's only legal hands-free driving technology. But would you feel safe letting a car take over for you on the motorway? Ford loaned MailOnline's Shivali Best a Mustang Mach-E for the weekend so she could find out. Taking your hands off the steering wheel and feet off the pedals while travelling at 70mph might sound like a nightmare.

Ford is determined to counter GM's Super Cruise with its own take on hands-free highway driving, and that means conducting a rather extensive set of real-world tests. The automaker has revealed that it spent last year conducting the "mother of all road trips" for its upcoming BlueCruise system, sending five Mustang Mach-E crossovers and five F-150 trucks on a collective 110,000-mile journey across the US and Canada. The aim, to no one's surprise, was to gauge how BlueCruise handled in a wide range of realistic road and traffic conditions. Ford had already racked up 500,000 miles of development testing, but these were shorter, narrowly-focused dry runs. The road trips helped Ford look for changes in everything from road signs to weather while travelling cross-country.

As we get closer to the start of Mustang Mach-E deliveries, Ford has released more details about the electric car's hands-free autonomous driving capability. When first launching the Mustang Mach-E, Ford confirmed that Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology with Active Drive Assist will enable hands-free driving. The technology is similar to GM's Super Cruise. It is available only on pre-mapped highways and it relies on a driver-facing camera to make sure that the driver stays attentive. Available Active Drive Assist builds upon available Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go Lane Centering and Speed Sign Recognition. It allows you to operate your vehicle hands-free while the driver is monitored by a driver-facing camera to make sure you're keeping your eyes on the road, with the potential for more enhancements in the future.

Ford is pitching the battery-powered Mustang Mach-E as a driver's car worthy of the Mustang name, but it can do the steering for you, at least some of the time. The electric utility vehicle is set to be the first Ford that offers its new Active Drive Assist feature. It's an add-on to Ford's latest CoPilot360 2.0 driver-aid suite that uses cameras, radar and GPS to control the car as the driver removes their hands from the wheel. Ford says it works on over 100,000 miles of well-mapped, divided highways, while a facial-recognition system makes sure they keep their eyes on the road as it steers the vehicle within a lane and controls its speed without running into any cars ahead. It's similar to Cadillac's Super Cruise, which was launched in 2017 and can now be used on over 200,000 miles of highways.

US vehicle manufacturer Ford has announced an electric version of its famous Transit van, a favourite with tradesman worldwide. The Ford Transit, which is the world's best-selling cargo van, will be available in an all-electric version for the US and Canadian markets from 2022. It will include smart technology to'help the driver's judgement' while providing a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot with connectivity for up to 10 devices. Data will also help to improve fleet efficiency and driver behaviour, as well as reduce waste, the company said. The van will help businesses achieve sustainability goals and lower the cost of ownership, while helping improve air quality and lower noise levels.