MODEL JAGUAR XE PRESTIGE AUTO PRICE €46,150 ENGINE 2.0 LITRE DIESEL CO2 EMISSIONS (g/km) 111g/km CONSUMPTION 4.2l/100km
normal, eco and winter. Modes two and three are self-explanatory. Modes one and two are where driver preference comes in and mine was for the dynamic mode as it seemed best suited to delivering the kind of sporty saloon feel that BMW has down to a fine art and Jaguar would like to replicate. The XE comes with electric power steering which offers a consistent feel regardless of the conditions and it also debuts Jaguar’s All Surface Progress Control which works like a very smart traction control system to ensure the car gains grip in snow or slippery conditions without driver intervention at speeds below 30kph. Also on board are autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition. The XE has a very well appointed cabin with a nice infotainment system accessed via an 8-inch touchscreen. It’s very comfortable and the driving experience is refined and polished. Sat Nav and smartphone connectivity are standard. The XE comes with a Jaguar Care package that includes three years free service and roadside assistance. Jaguar launched the new XE with enormous hype. Now that the dust has settled it will be the sales figures that will show whether or not buyers believe the hype was right.
Auto Innovate: VEHICLES GET VIRTUAL Coming down the tracks fast is in-vehicle virtualisation whereby your car becomes like a mobile part of the internet and interior surfaces can be used as a graphic interface and a source of information. According to Anke Kleinschmit, Head of Corporate Research at Daimler, “virtuality makes in-vehicle digitisation directly perceivable. This makes it one of the key technologies for the mobility of the 21st century.” Mercedes reckons the car of the future will become a mobile living space that will connect travellers to their surroundings, social, informative and anecdotal. Using 3D simulation, Mercedes-Benz’s Going Virtual project demonstrates how passengers can see their surroundings in daylight even though they are travelling at night. It also allows them to make advertising hoardings and noise protection barriers disappear to get an unobstructed view of their urban or rural surroundings. Information about an interesting place or buildings en route can also be brought right into the car to get a bird’s-eye view of the place or attraction.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO SELF-DRIVE
VOLVO TAKES THE STRESS OUT OF CHILD SEATS As anyone who has ever tried to get a wriggling infant into or out of a car seat, not all child seats are user friendly for adults. But if Volvo puts its Excellence Child Seat Concept into action, all this may change. What’s new about the concept is that the child seat replaces the front passenger seat with the child facing into the cabin. This is consistent with Volvo’s long held view that children should be seated rear facing due to the lack of muscular strength in their necks and the disproportionate weight of their heads. The concept also makes life easier for stressed parents. The seat swivels for easier access and it comes with loads of storage spaces. There’s room for small items behind the seat, space for bigger things underneath and a dedicated place for a changing bag below the dashboard. The seat also tilts to allow the child to lean back safely to sleep while bottles can be kept warm in the heated cup holder.
In 2015 global sales of the radar, cameras, sensors and software used for driver assistance systems will reach around $10.6 billion according to industry analysts, IHS Automotive. This figure is set to double by 2020 as features such as collision avoidance systems are added to volume models. All of this is moving the world closer and closer towards self-driving cars. Toyota plans to offer automated driving in Japan by 2020 while Volvo expects to have a fleet of fully autonomous cars driving real customers on the roads of Gothenburg in 2017. Right now technologies such as self-parking cars, cars that can change lanes and cars that can make autonomous emergency stops based on the information being received from cameras, radar, lidar and multiple sensors, are all being fine-tuned. Within a decade these functions will be combined to create cars that can drive themselves with little or no input from humans. Then it really will be possible to shave, breakfast and even snooze safely on the way to work.
InBUSINESS | Q4 2015
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18/12/2015 16:50