The advancement in motoring technology in the last decade has been outstanding, as vehicles now come with an abundance of safety features and media tech that are much more forward-looking.
2018 has seen some interesting pieces of kit that could become commonplace on more cars sooner or later. Here are our favourites…
Ford Focus Pothole Detection
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The popular family hatchback, which will be on the road next month, comes with a piece of kit that could help prevent expensive damage being caused. The pothole detection system is part of the continuously controlled damping setup, which uses sensors to distinguish when a wheel is falling into a pothole and adjust the suspension to reduce the likelihood of damage. The system then alters the damping for the following wheel to make sure the car doesn’t get severely clouted by the pothole. Although it’s not a standard feature, vehicles with the controlled damping system get the feature as standard.
Volkswagen Touareg Innovision Cockpit
Infotainment displays are becoming more integral to the look of a central dashboard, but in the new Touareg, you can get a screen setup that takes up the whole panel. The Innovision Cockpit is a 15-inch display that controls all of the vehicle’s features, such as the climate control, satellite navigation and media – while working in tandem with the 12-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. The Innovision Cockpit means Volkswagen can do away with buttons and dials for a much cleaner-looking design and is likely to be the template for future Volkswagen interiors.
Audi e-tron Virtual Wing Mirrors
The all-electric SUV will be fully unveiled by the end of the year, and if the concept is anything to go by, the production version will come with cameras on the wings rather than the conventional mirrors. Small screens will be installed in the doors so that you can see the camera’s view and could the beginning of the end of the humble wing mirror.
Mercedes Benz User Experience
With Mercedes giving the premium hatchback an all-new generation at the start of the year, it was only fair that it came with cool tech. The stand-out feature is the new MBUX infotainment system, which uses artificial intelligence to learn the habits of the driver and also comes as standard on all A-Class models. As the new Mercedes user interface, it incorporates augmented reality on the satellite navigation to clearly show directions and can be controlled by touch-sensitive panels on the central console and steering wheel.
BMW 5 Series Wireless Charging
With the BMW 5 Series already established as one of the most desirable saloons on sale, it's no surprise that the German brand wants to keep its premium model ahead of the game. With the 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid version, customers can now be supplied with a wireless charging pad to charge up the batteries rather than plugging the car in. Using a magnetic field to perform inductive charging, the system could make the powering up of electric vehicles much easier in the future.
