The Latest Car Tech: Your Guide to Modern Features
Modern vehicles are packed with technology that significantly improves safety, convenience, and connectivity. If you haven’t purchased a new car in a few years, you might be surprised by the options available. This guide breaks down the latest high-tech features to help you navigate the market.
We’ll explore these innovations to help you decide which are best for you. Some features are available as standalone options, while others are part of packages.
Automotive terminology can be confusing; organizations such as AAA and Consumer Reports have called for clearer naming conventions. This guide cuts through the jargon to help you make an informed decision.
Plug-in Powertrains
If you want to reduce your gas consumption but aren’t ready for an EV, consider a plug-in hybrid. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) offers a short all-electric range – typically 20 to 40 miles – combined with a gas engine when you need to travel further. This helps alleviate “range anxiety,” the fear of running out of battery power.
Examples of popular PHEVs are the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Toyota Prius Prime, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, and BMW X5 xDrive45e. You can plug in your hybrid to charge while it’s not in use, so you have enough electric range for your next trip.
Biometrics Features
Some Genesis vehicles allow you to unlock the doors and start the vehicle without a key or smartphone. Although you set up this technology with your smartphone, you don’t need your device when using these features. This is done with a fingerprint scanner and a 3D camera.
To unlock the vehicle, simply look into the camera mounted on the pillar between the front and back doors. To start the vehicle, place your finger on the fingerprint scanner on the center console. This technology is relatively new in the automotive world.
Gesture Controls
Gesture controls are becoming increasingly popular. BMW integrates this as an optional feature in many of its vehicles, enabling you to perform functions such as adjusting the audio volume, answering calls, custom controls, and adjusting the rearview camera angle.
Forward Collision Warning
Forward collision warning uses optical or radar sensors to alert you to an imminent collision with another car or object. These systems typically use beeping and flashing indicators, but the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 can warn you of potential hazards by vibrating the driver’s seat.
Forward collision warning is an alert system and doesn’t automatically apply the brakes. It’s designed to help prevent rear-end collisions and the resulting damage and injuries.
Forward Automatic Emergency Braking
Automatic emergency braking (AEB) uses sensors to detect an impending collision and automatically apply the brakes to prevent or reduce the severity of an accident. AEB can quickly apply the brakes, sometimes before you realize what is happening.
Some systems are active only at low speeds, while others are full-speed systems that operate across a wider range of vehicle speeds. If the system can’t bring the vehicle to a complete stop, it will try to reduce the severity of the crash by slowing your car as much as possible.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection
Many vehicles with forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking can also detect pedestrians, cyclists, and even large animals. A 2019 AAA study showed that many pedestrian detection systems don’t work when you need them to, especially at night. You must still pay attention to your surroundings, particularly when making turns. While you should look for cars with automatic emergency braking, not having pedestrian detection shouldn’t deter you from buying a car.
Blind-Spot Monitoring
Blind-spot monitoring uses sensors on the rear corners of a vehicle to identify vehicles in areas not covered by your mirrors. Warnings can include lights on the side mirrors or the windshield pillars, and some systems provide audible alerts when you’re about to change lanes into another vehicle.
Enhanced versions, known as blind-spot intervention, use braking or steering to help prevent you from moving into the path of another vehicle.
Lane-Departure Warning
Lane-departure warning systems use cameras to monitor road markings and alert you if you’re about to cross the line. They can provide visual and audible warnings, and some vehicles vibrate the steering wheel.
Lane-Keep Assist
Lane-keep assist takes lane-departure warning a step further by preventing unintended lane changes. The system provides steering or braking to keep the car in its lane, often with audible alerts, warning lights, and steering wheel vibration.
Lane-Centering Assist
Lane-centering assist keeps your car in the center of its lane. It serves as an aid for highway driving, guiding your vehicle around gentle curves. To override the system, simply turn the wheel in the direction you want to travel. Many systems only work when cruise control is engaged.
Driver-Drowsiness and Attention Monitoring
These systems aim to prevent crashes caused by drivers falling asleep or becoming distracted. Some use a camera to monitor the driver’s eyes and head position, while others use steering-wheel-mounted sensors to analyze movements. You’ll typically receive audible and visual warnings, like the “Take a Break!” message in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive cruise control maintains your preset speed until you approach slower-moving vehicles in your lane. It then automatically slows the car to maintain a set distance.
Adaptive Cruise Control With Stop-and-Go Functionality
This feature allows adaptive cruise control to operate in a broader range of traffic conditions, using the throttle and brakes to manage speed whether in fast highway driving or slow urban traffic. It can also bring the car to a complete stop and keep it stopped.
Heated and Ventilated Seats
Heated and cooled or ventilated seats and a heated steering wheel can improve comfort in extreme temperatures. Ventilated seats use fans to circulate air, preventing heat and sweat.
Head-Up Displays
A head-up display projects information directly into the driver’s line of sight, either on the windshield or a separate panel. Basic displays show essential information like speed, while advanced versions provide a wider range of data, including safety alerts and navigation cues.
Parking Sensors
Parking sensors use radar or sonar to detect objects, people, and other obstructions close to the vehicle. Most systems trigger audible and visual alerts, and some use the infotainment screen to display the object’s location. Front parking sensors can be especially helpful in tight spaces, revealing obstacles hidden by the hood.
Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
Rear cross-traffic alert uses sensors to monitor for traffic approaching from the sides when backing out of a parking spot. If a vehicle is approaching, the system will sound an alert.
Electronic Door Handles
Electronic door handles that pop out when you approach the vehicle or unlock it are a trend, particularly in EVs, due to their sleek appearance and aerodynamic benefits.
Unique Gear Shifters
While many vehicles still use the traditional “PRNDL” shifter, some automakers are returning to push-button transmissions or using rotary shifters.
Reverse Automatic Emergency Braking
This safety feature applies the brakes after detecting an imminent collision with a vehicle or object while backing up. It’s a relatively new feature intended to prevent rearward collisions.
Automatic High-Beam Headlights
Automatic high-beam headlights use a windshield-mounted camera to detect oncoming headlights and taillights, automatically switching between high and low beams to optimize visibility.
Adaptive Headlights
Adaptive headlights monitor the angle of your steering wheel and swivel or activate cornering lights to illuminate your path around corners.
Adaptive Suspension
Adaptive suspension allows drivers to choose between a smoother ride and sharper handling. Some systems even lower the vehicle to improve handling. Magnetic Ride Control is an excellent example of technology used in vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Acura Integra, and Ford Mustang.
Traffic-Sign Recognition
Traffic-sign recognition uses a camera to identify various traffic signs, displaying the information on the instrument panel or head-up display. It can warn you about school zones and, in some cases, update the cruising speed of cars with adaptive cruise control.
Surround-View Camera System
A surround-view camera system combines multiple exterior cameras to provide a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle, making maneuvering in tight spaces, like parking garages, easier.
Night Vision
Night vision uses a specialized camera to see well ahead using infrared technology. It’s primarily available in luxury cars and displays a thermal image on the instrument panel, highlighting pedestrians and large animals.
Premium Audio Systems
Premium audio systems offer more speakers, a higher-powered amplifier, and higher-quality sound than standard systems. Some of these systems filter out exterior noise and are tuned for optimal acoustics. You can find premium audio systems from brands such as Bang & Olufsen and Bose.
Rear-Seat Reminder Systems
These systems are designed to prevent children and pets from being left in hot cars. They detect when the rear doors have been opened and display a reminder when you turn the car off.
Vehicle Exit Warning Systems
These systems alert the driver and passengers of approaching vehicles when exiting the car, especially in situations that could lead to “dooring.” This can be especially helpful for urban cyclists.
Semi-Automated Driving Systems
These systems integrate technologies like adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability and lane-centering assist. They can manage braking, acceleration, and steering in certain conditions, offering driver assistance, not full autonomy.
Automatic Parking
Automatic parking systems identify parking spaces and guide the car into them. Some systems control steering, braking, and shifting to fully automate the process.
Four-Wheel Steering
By steering with all four wheels, vehicles can maneuver better in tight spaces, handle better on twisty roads, and make smoother lane changes. This feature is often found in high-end vehicles.
Off-Road Technologies
Modern off-road vehicles utilize systems like hill descent control and crawl control to improve traction and control. Sophisticated camera systems allow you to see obstacles not visible from the driver’s seat.
Trailer-Towing Technologies
Automakers are providing technologies to make trailer towing easier and safer. These include integrated trailer brake controls, special transmission modes, and advanced camera systems that offer various views of the trailer.
