Ricky Wilson and Example go head-to-head to test out the new Spotify app now available in all JLR vehicles.

• Jaguar Land Rover announces in-car Spotify app for streaming music
• Available on all Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles equipped with InControl Apps™(1)
• iOS app available to download via the Apple Store from September 27
• Music stars Ricky Wilson and Example go head-to-head to test out Spotify in the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible and Jaguar XE
• Both free and premium users can listen to Spotify in their vehicle through InControl Apps(1)

Today, Jaguar Land Rover has announced a unique collaboration with Spotify, to offer an app with readily available ‘music for every moment’ radio and personalized playlists based on users’ tastes and in-car listening habits.

Spotify, which launches this month in the Jaguar Land Rover InControl Apps library, delivers the best in-car Spotify experience. It mirrors the Spotify interface users will recognize from their smartphone with easy ways to navigate content(1).

 

Tapping into Spotify’s ‘deep learning’ which recognizes listening habits, users can access personalized ‘Just for You’ playlists containing recommended tracks in the car, saving time scrolling through music on the move(1). Drivers in low-signal areas don’t need to worry, as Spotify’s ‘Offline Mode’ will display downloaded content despite poor internet connection.

Spotify for Jaguar Land Rover is the result of a year’s worth of collaborative development between the two companies. The design teams set out to create a familiar and immersive experience designed for use in-car. A user friendly interface allows drivers to scroll through menus, which display rich album artwork tiles, all of which is designed to minimize distraction while driving(1).

Peter Virk, Director of Connected Technologies and Apps at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Spotify has more than 100 million subscribers, a proportion of whom drive Jaguar or Land Rover vehicles, so we recognized that Spotify was at the top of our customers’ apps wish list. From the beginning we wanted to create a Spotify experience that users would really love. The Spotify design team worked closely with us to create the best in-vehicle experience, and have spent many hours with us at our Gaydon HQ running user studies with our employees. The app is now available in our InControl Apps library, and we will continue to work with Spotify to add new features such as predictive search over the coming months.”

Katja Gross, Product Manager at Spotify, said: “Partnering with Jaguar Land Rover brings Spotify a family of amazing premium vehicles with a user interface designed to look and feel like the Spotify our users already know and love. As we continue to innovate and shape the future of how music is consumed in the car, it's great to have a partner in Jaguar Land Rover to come along for the ride.”

Musicians Ricky Wilson from Kaiser Chiefs and Elliot Gleave, aka Example, were among the first to try the app in the car before its official release, going head to head in a battle of music tastes. Each created a Spotify playlist featuring their top driving songs and took to the road in the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible and the Jaguar XE to pitch their playlists against one another. Click here to see how Ricky and Elliot’s battle unfolded.

The artists’ playlists feature recent and classic tracks and include their latest singles, Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘Hole in My Soul’ and Example’s ‘Later’. Both driving playlists are available now via the official Kaiser Chiefs and Example Spotify profiles.

Example said: “It’s great to be the first to try the new Spotify app in a Jaguar. It worked really well and I had fun setting up my winning playlist and chatting with Ricky, even if I did have to listen to his jokes.”

Ricky said: “I listen to music every day so it’s important I’m now able to use the app while I’m on the move. I respect Elliot’s music tastes, we’d even both included Jamie T, but my playlist was the best by miles.”

InControl Apps subscribers can download Spotify from the Apple App Store if it’s not already on their device. From September 27, once downloaded, the app will automatically show up on the vehicle touch screen when the smartphone is connected(1). Users do not need a premium subscription to access Spotify via InControl Apps.

(1) Do not use Jaguar/Land Rover InControl® features under conditions that will affect your safety or the safety of others. Driving while distracted can result in loss of vehicle control.

All-new Ford EcoSport offers all the practicality and affordability

• All-new Ford EcoSport offers all the practicality and affordability of a small car in a spacious and flexible SUV package
• EcoSport is among the first Ford vehicles in Europe to be equipped with Ford SYNC with AppLink for voice control of smartphone apps including Spotify
• Equipped with the 2014, 2013 and 2012 International Engine of the Year, the EcoSport is the first-ever SUV to be offered with a 1.0-litre engine
• 125PS 1.0-litre EcoSport achieves 53.3mpg and 125g/km CO₂*. EcoSport is also available with 112PS 1.5-litre petrol engine that delivers 44.8mpg and 149g/km CO₂; and a very fuel-efficient 90PS 1.5-litre TDCi diesel that achieves 61.4mpg and 120g/km
• Rugged, practical and agile EcoSport features; wading depth of 550mm; 20 stowage spaces; and boot space that exceeds many medium-sized family cars

Ford’s all-new EcoSport SUV offers the optimum combination of small car agility, affordability and fuel efficiency, with the flexibility and space customers expect from a SUV – in one stylish and connected package.

The stylish and rugged Ford EcoSport is the first SUV in the world to offer a 1.0-litre engine and is among the first Ford vehicles in Europe available with Ford SYNC with AppLink, enabling drivers to voice-control smartphone apps while keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

“All-new Ford EcoSport delivers a clever and connected small car for our European customers,” said Nick Fitzgerald, EcoSport chief programme engineer. “Ford’s new urban SUV is economical, flexible and stylish, and will line-up alongside the new B-MAX compact multi-activity vehicle, the best-selling Fiesta to complete Ford’s comprehensive small car line-up for the UK.”

EcoSport is the first Ford global model to be developed entirely in South America. First introduced in 2003 the EcoSport created the segment in Brazil and has since sold more than 770,000 in the region. Ford engineers and designers from more than 16 countries worked together to develop the all-new EcoSport that is launched amid increasing demand for SUVs in Europe. Ford projects that between 2013 and 2018, sales of all SUVs in Europe will increase by 22 per cent, and sales of small SUVs – like EcoSport – will increase by 90 per cent.

Ford is leveraging its historic leadership in SUVs in North America and other regions around the world to expand its line-up in Europe.

“It’s in Ford’s DNA to engineer class-leading SUVs,” Fitzgerald said. “EcoSport has already achieved iconic status in South America and now Ford will extend its UK range to introduce this rugged-looking, surprisingly spacious and affordable SUV.” 

Stylish and practical

Ford’s first global SUV, EcoSport, is stylish and practical – with a short bonnet, raked front pillars, and a distinctive five-piece chrome front grille with angular headlamps and signature LED light strips.

The full-sized spare wheel mounted on the tailgate ensures the EcoSport’s load capacity rivals that of many medium-sized family cars with up to 375 litres available when the rear seats are in place, depending on the rake of the seats. The EcoSport also delivers a commanding driving position with the driver’s seat height adjustable and the steering column adjustable for both reach and rake.

There are 20 smart stowage solutions, including room in the door pockets to store a large drinks bottle, a slide-out drawer under the front passenger seat, and a cooled glove box that can store up to six 350ml drink cans. 

Sporty and economical

EcoSport is available with the highly-acclaimed turbocharged 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine – three times winner of International Engine of the Year – to deliver performance to rival a traditional 1.6-litre engine, but with significantly better fuel efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions.

The 125PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost achieves 53.3mpg and 125g/km CO₂*. EcoSport also offers a 112PS 1.5-litre petrol engine that can achieve 44.8mpg and 149g/km CO₂ specified with a five-speed manual gearbox or with a six-speed automatic gearbox. A 90PS 1.5-litre diesel engine achieves 61.4mpg with 120g/km CO₂emissions.

The dynamic and fun-to-drive personality of the all-new EcoSport mirrors that of the acclaimed Fiesta.

“EcoSport’s combination of exciting looks, great performance and advanced technology is made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s all comfortably powered along by a frugal 1.0-litre engine,” Fitzgerald said.

Clever and connected

EcoSport features Hill Start Assist, Cruise Control, automatic wipers and headlights, and rear-parking sensors. The Ford SYNC in-car connectivity system enables voice-activation of phone calls and music selection from devices connected via Bluetooth or USB.

Ford SYNC Emergency Assistance will directly connect the vehicle occupants to local emergency services operators after an accident, and crucially, in the correct language for the region. Ford SYNC with AppLink will enable EcoSport owners to voice-activate apps, including leading music streaming service Spotify.

The urban SUV

In testing, the all-new EcoSport was first subjected to 20,000 virtual test scenarios using software to replicate a multitude of different road conditions from around the world. It was then driven more than one million miles on roads in South America, North America, Asia and Europe, in temperatures ranging from 50deg C to -25deg C, and at altitudes of up to 4,300m.

EcoSport’s agility and ability ensure it can tackle even the most challenging road conditions, whether it’s narrow, twisting, uneven rural roads, or the potholes and high kerbs of an urban environment. The 10.6m turning circle is among the best in its segment, and the EcoSport – which is equipped with front and rear skid plates – also has a 180mm ground clearance, a 22.1deg approach angle, 35deg departure angle and a wading depth of 550mm.

The new Ford EcoSport has been awarded a four-star safety rating from independent vehicle safety organisation Euro NCAP, and is equipped with driver, passenger, curtain and side airbags – as well as a driver’s knee airbag – as standard.

Super-high-strength boron steel has been used in the door frames to provide a high strength safety cell; and further safety systems include: Traction Control, Electronic Stability Program, Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brake-Force Distribution and Emergency Brake Assist; and the EcoSport is also equipped with Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and Passenger Airbag Deactivation Indicator.