Page 32 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

Science
Innovations

ON THE ROAD TO SMART CARS

With 3D scanning, gesture control and a touchscreen key, is BMW’s new 5 series
the smartest connected car yet? Here’s how it tested

BMW 5 SERIES TECHNOLOGY
530D XDRIVE Before we get to the car, we need to talk about the key.
It’s a touchscreen remote that lets you check the car’s fuel
Price: From £36,025 tank, turn on the air conditioning, and, if you really want to
Technology Package: show off, remotely park or pull out of a spot while you’re
£1,405 standing on the pavement. Park the car from behind the
wheel, and sensors and cameras bring up a reactive view
Remote Control of the car on the 10.25-inch touchscreen. Pull up to a wall,
Parking: £395 and the screen switches to a top-down view to show you
closing the gap. Parallel park and the camera pans to
Driving Assists: £2,250 a corner view compiled from a couple of cameras.
The tech itself isn’t new, but the way it adapts to the
current situation feels telepathic. There’s more wizardry
SPECS found in the car’s gesture control tech, borrowed from
the 7 series, which lets you skip tracks or turn up the
Engine: 3.0L Diesel
volume by waving your hand in the air.
Power: 265Bhp
@ 4,000Rpm
CONNECTIVITY
Gearbox: 8-Speed First off, the iDrive system is brilliant. It’s instant.
Automatic Unlike many in-car entertainment systems there’s no
Official Mpg: 53.2 delay between input and response. The new 5 series
tech package also offers Apple Carplay without wires
CO 2 EMISSIONS: via Bluetooth – the first car to do so. But, to really
138G/KM unlock the car’s box of tricks, you have to get an app,
BMW Connected. You can sync your Office 365
calendar to the car’s database and it’ll tell you when
to leave to make a 9am meeting. But here’s the real
showstopper. If you lose your car in the car park,
the app will get the car to scan its environment, using
the radar and cameras used for self-parking, to
create a picture of its surroundings. Luckily a bright
yellow van had pulled up alongside the car, so from
there it was easy to spot. Yes, it’s a bit frivolous,
but the idea is an astonishing way to pull together
the tech that’s already in the car.

DRIVE
For the most part, we let the 5 series pilot itself (with our hands
on the wheel, of course). The lane assist and cruise control
functions let the car do most of the actual driving on the
motorways. And after driving nearly 500km (more than 300 miles),
I felt confident that the car could spot hazards before me. Off the
motorway it’s a fiercely capable all-rounder. The suspension is soft
and supple, but can be stiffened for B-road meandering. Our 530d
with four-wheel drive was leisurely when needed, but had the
option of 620Nm of torque to take you from 0-60 in 5.4 seconds.
In adaptive mode, the car will tweak the suspension according
to your steering input and what corners it can see on the GPS.
Ultimately, it’s a car that can lower your heart rate as well as raise it.
32
OCTOBER 2017