Car tech: enhancing in-cabin comfort and safety cars

• Parkers explains the various tech for comfort, safety and convenience
• Find out what the latest car technologies are
• Evaluate what car tech is worth paying extra for

Technology is increasingly integrated into our cars faster than Alan Taylor-Jones’ beard grows (and that never stops). Electronic features, such as assisted braking, ESC and satellite navigation have been around for decades now.

The invention of the internet, introduction of smartphones and development of the Internet of Things (IoT), however, has placed the car firmly in the expanding web of networked devices. The future promises a faster, frictionless experience, but we’re in a bit of an awkward transition phase at the moment. 

While it’s easy to dismiss all car technology as intrusive and unwanted—especially when its glitching—stats from the US suggest autonomous emergency braking (AEB) alone reduces accidents by 25%.

What isn’t clear is whether those collisions being avoided would have otherwise not occurred had it not been for the greater amount of potentially distracting technology in the cabin. However, such an argument is a moot point at this juncture. 

Trying to remove younger generations’ preoccupation with smartphones is arguably akin to removing the sale of cigarettes in the 1940s and 50s, when the link to cancer was first identified. So accepting car technology is here to stay, let’s look at all the cool things it can do.

In this guide, we’ll be looking at the five key areas car technology is making a difference; safety, comfort, convenience, communication and environment.

What car technology makes a car safer?

• A guide to ADAS
• Warning features vs. intervention features
• Interface – voice and gesture control
• Cruise Control
• Head-up displays

Which in-car technologies enhance comfort?

• Virtual Cockpit
• Infotainment

Which car technologies improve convenience?

• Bluetooth
• Dashcams
• Wireless charging
• Alexa in the car

Aftermarket car tech that can enhance your older motor

What car technology makes a car safer?

Safety is one of the key reasons car technology has been integrated into cars. Humans are amazing drivers, but our brains are easily distracted, fatigued and thus we are fallible. 94% of accidents on the road are due to human error, according to ORSA. The safest cars aren’t always ones driven by humans.

A Guide to Driver Aids

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is the umbrella term for the functionality that helps a driver. With more sensors in the vehicle, the car is collecting far more data than ever before.

Warning features vs. Intervention features

Assisting a driver can merely be a visual or aural warning, like Blindspot Monitor, Lane Departure Warning, Cross Traffic Alert, Forward Collision Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition. These are designed to give the driver all the information needed to make their journey safely. 

Increasingly, however, vehicle technology is being programmed to intervene by, for example, applying the brakes, as in Hill-Start Assist, AEB or Intelligent Speed Assist, the latter two of which are now mandated for the European market.

Euro NCAP announced in 2020 that it would start evaluating the ADAS features of vehicles more closely to give consumers a better understanding of how effective they truly are. What’s more, insurers have started collecting data on cars with ADAS to offer cheaper policies to drivers whose cars are fitted with ADAS.

Cruise control is becoming a bigger part of drivers’ commutes. Many systems have been enhanced to become adaptive cruise control, featuring intervention technologies such as Lane Keep Assist and dynamic radar distancing. These use the same combination of sensors and radar to keep drivers safer by maintaining their position in the road and a specified distance from the car in front, respectively.

Voice control

Voice control is also being more widely used, in a bid to discourage drivers from being distracted with adjusting the radio, climate control or making a call—there’s more below on these features. Head-up displays are also an effective way to keep drivers’ eyes looking ahead. The projected information 

Finally, there’s an SOS call button, which in an emergency will connect you directly to 999. 

Which in-car technologies enhance comfort?

What is a virtual cockpit?

Stepping into new cars can feel like stepping into the nose of an aeroplane. In fact, car makers often refer to this area of the car as the ‘cockpit’. Gone are the manual dials for the speedo, mileage and rev counter on the instrument panel. 

Nowadays, fancy display screens can be customised to show all kinds of information and in different ways. Whether you want those manual-style dials back, or prefer a digital reading, you can configure your cluster display to be as simple or comprehensive as you wish. 

Adjusting the in-cabin temperatures have been fully or partially digitised, which admittedly isn’t to every driver’s liking. Yet, natural language processing (NLP) software supports voice control. Now, drivers can press a button on the steering wheel, say ‘I’m hot’ and the system will adjust the climate control accordingly. 

And of course, for the cooler months, heated seats and steering wheels are fast becoming more favoured options too. 

Infotainment

So now you’re sitting comfortably, what are you listening to? The infotainment technology in cars has really exceeded what drivers of the 1950s, 60s or 70s could have imagined—even watching The Jetsons in their flying cars.

While the hideous portmanteau of information and entertainment becomes normalised, phone mirroring technology, such as Mirrorlink, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, give drivers a more familiar selection of apps and enable a seamless experience from home to car to destination.

Which car technologies improve convenience?

Many of the new car tech features are a nice-to-have, rather than a must-have. 

Parking

A great example is automated parking, also known as Park Assist. Though it’s not an absolute must, if you regularly have to parallel park and are nervous about clipping your alloys on the kerb, parking aids can prove helpful and frankly, as we’ve pointed out in this top ten must-have options, we wouldn’t be without a reversing camera now.

Bluetooth and wireless charging

Equally, Bluetooth and wireless charging are brilliant ways to ensure the cockpit isn’t untidy with cables. 

Dashcams

Dashcams have been on the market for a few years as aftermarket solution. We’ve tested the Vantrue M2 and Thinkware’s Q800, Q1000 and U1000. We’ve pitched them against one another and themselves. What’s more, we’ve looked at budget dashcams, dual-view, wifi dashcams and mirror cams.

That’s why we can pinpoint which features are best on a dashcam. You can check out the fanciest dashcams, too.

All you need to know about dash cams

A comprehensive guide to understanding how dash cams work, how they can save you money and which type is best for you.

Staying handsfree

Parents and busy motorists who regularly lose their car keys to the bottom of a bag love keyless entry and keyless ignition. Some gesture control features, like handsfree tailgate are brilliant too (though we should point out we weren’t especially impressed with BMW’s gesture control in the cabin).

If you’re familiar with Alexa in the house, you can take this digital assistant into your car, too.

Staying on the right side of the law

Radar detectors help drivers ensure they’re maintaining the right speed on the approach to safety cameras.

Aftermarket car tech that can enhance your older motor

While some of the car tech highlighted above focuses on gadgets that can be found integrated into new cars for sale, you can enhance the driving experience of your current motor with aftermarket devices.

Tyre pressure monitor systems (TPMS)

Using a smart device to monitor your tyre pressure can be handy, particularly in classic cars that pre-date many of the features we’ve come to take for granted.

The best aftermarket parking sensors you can buy

Though reversing cameras have become a must-have on new cars, even having parking sensors fitted to your car helps with squeezing into tighter parking spots.