Page 28 - BBC Focus - August 2017

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?

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
PRICE: FROM fuel tank, turn on the air conditioning, and if you really
£36,025 want to show off, remotely park or pull out of a spot
while you’re stood on the pavement. Park the car from
TECHNOLOGY behind the wheel, and sensors and cameras bring up a
PACKAGE: £1,405 reactive view of the car on the 10.25-inch touchscreen.
Pull up to a wall, and the screen switches to a top-
REMOTE CONTROL
PARKING: £395 down view to show you closing the gap. Parallel park
and the camera pans to a corner view compiled from
DRIVING ASSISTS: a couple of cameras. The tech itself isn’t new, but the
£2,250 way it adapts to the current situation feels telepathic.
There’s more wizardry found in the car’s gesture
control tech, borrowed from the 7 series, which lets
you skip tracks or turn up the volume by waving your
SPEC: hand in the air.

ENGINE: 3.0L DIESEL
POWER: 265BHP CONNECTIVITY
@ 4,000RPM First off, the iDrive system is brilliant. It’s instant.
Unlike many in-car entertainment systems there’s
GEARBOX: 8-SPEED no delay between input and response. The new
AUTOMATIC 5 series tech package also offers Apple Carplay
without wires via Bluetooth – the first car to do so.
OFFICIAL MPG: 53.2
But to really unlock the car’s box of tricks you have
CO 2 EMISSION to get an app, BMW Connected. You can sync your
138G/KM 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.