SA car buyers favour tech over performance
According to CAR Magazine editor, Steve Smith, vehicle manufacturers that offer technology features have recently achieved tremendous sales success.
features such as ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, driver and front passenger (or more) airbags, climate control, USB-compatible audio systems and Bluetooth hands free mobile phone connectivity as standard on most of their vehicles, have increased significantly in the last few years, even in entry-level models regarded as budget cars.
The growing popularity of consumer electronics and the uptake of smartphone functionalities have intertwined motoring with the so-called “connected life”.
“Even facing economic pressures, consumers seem reluctant to settle for much lower technology spec vehicles,” CAR Magazine said.
The magazine announced its annual Top 12 Best Buys for 2014.
Smith noted that the flagship model of the winner in the Top 12 Best Buys for 2014: Light Sedan category, the Kia Rio 1,4 TEC, offers climate control, USB-compatible audio systems and Bluetooth, plus LED running lamps, automatic headlamp/wiper activation and more.
In terms of leading technological innovation, the BMW i3, the winner of CAR’s Green Award, is an obvious example of future technology that is already available, the magazine’s editor said.
Smith said: “BMW has created an all-new i-brand and rather than converting existing models to electric (or hybrid) powertrains, it started with a clean sheet of paper and followed a holistic approach to unlock efficiency gains.
“The i3 marks the first time that carbon-fibre is used as the material of choice for body-in-white structure in a high production vehicle, which helps to reduce the vehicle’s weight, including batteries, to only 1,195kg.”
At the top end and scooping CAR’s Top 12 Best luxury sedan award, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sets the benchmark for innovative safety systems across the entire new vehicle market.
Much of the S-Class’s safety technology combines cameras and multi-stage radar to create a 360-degree scanning field to anticipate potentially dangerous scenarios, CAR noted.
Dubbed Intelligent Drive, this suite comprises such systems as Distronic Plus with Steering Assist and Stop & Go Pilot – a radar that locks onto the car in front and follows it, even in traffic.
Also, camera-guided braking detects side traffic as well as pedestrians (called BAS Plus) and updated night vision with thermal imaging and auto high beam flash warns pedestrians in the road of the approaching car.
“Even entry-level S-Class models feature a Pre-Safe Impulse system that pulls the driver and passenger away from the direction of impact by their seat belts at an early phase of the crash, and a multi-sensor-driven collision-prevention system that detects any car approaching a stationary S-Class too quickly.”
“The system activates the hazard lights to catch the other driver’s attention and activates the brakes so that, should a collision occur, you don’t hit the car in front of yours,” Smith said.
“These impressive systems do beg the question as to whether the next S-Class will see us creeping towards near-autonomous driving that could eventually see the driver disconnected from most aspects of motoring,” the editor added.
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