Peering out of the top of the windshield of a growing number of Subaru models, looking like a pair of cyborg eyes on either side of the car's rearview mirror, are twin cameras that make up the visible portion of Subaru's high-tech EyeSight system. For 2015, the stereoscopic camera-based system is available on the Forester, Legacy, Impreza and Outback.
These cameras allow Subaru to equip its vehicles with such safety and convenience features as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and pre-collision braking that can slow the car automatically if an imminent accident is detected, even bringing the vehicle to a complete stop.
Subaru has offered EyeSight technology on its vehicles in the United States since the 2013 model year. Newly upgraded for 2015, EyeSight's smaller cameras now see in color and are capable of scanning further ahead and over a wider swath, which means an EyeSight-equipped car will now be able to respond more quickly. That means a higher chance of accident avoidance for 2015, something everyone on the road will surely appreciate.
The Autoblog team had mixed results with the Eyesight technology when we were in Petoskey, MI testing the slate of vehicles that made the semi-finals. Some testers reported it worked flawlessly, and others said they couldn't get it to engage when they expected. The Eyesight particularly didn't like traffic cones, and ran into a few early on in the day.
Still, the technology offers a lot of promise, bringing safety features until now found in more expensive cars to the masses. We're excited to see this kind of technology progress and improve over the years.
