SYNC is a multimedia and communications system developed by Ford and Microsoft, and offered exclusively in Ford vehicles. The first vehicle to have SYNC was the 2008 Ford Focus. We tested the SYNC to see if it lived up to the hype. Read on to see what we came up with.

2008 Ford Focus and Bluetooth

One of the most distinctive features of SYNC is the hands-free control of a Bluetooth telephone. To be sure, SYNC isn’t the only voice-activated Bluetooth system on the market. However, it is head and shoulders above other similar systems. Most other hands free calling systems leave users frustrated and still punching in numbers to dial their phone. In contrast, the SYNC calling process is intuitive and effective.

Setup for the Bluetooth link was relatively easy. You set the phone and the car to “look” for one another, and then put in the pass code for your 2008 Ford Focus on the phone once it locates the car. Some phones may be easier than others when it comes to their Bluetooth menus, but overall the process shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. SYNC transfers your phone book from your phone to the car, allowing you to voice dial by name.
Once it’s all set up, voice commands are initiated by pressing a button on the right of the 2008 Ford Focus steering wheel.

2008 Ford Focus and the Audio System

SYNC can also be used to control music, either with buttons on the steering wheel or with voice commands. You can connect any sort of MP3 player or USB device you’d like, including the iPod or the Microsoft Zune. Interestingly enough, the iPod worked as well as the Zune, in spite of Microsoft’s hand in the design of the SYNC system.

The SYNC system in the 2008 Focus can recognize songs and artists by voice command. Simply ask for a specific track, album or artist and the SYNC will look through the library on your MP3 player to find it.
Overall, the SYNC is an amazingly functional and highly advanced system. If you’d like more information about the SYNC, visit your Saint Louis auto dealer today.