Rear air conditioning helps keep kids (and grown up kids) comfortable when the temperatures are more extreme outside the car. Passenger comfort (especially when the passengers are children who can get tetchy quickly) is important for the driver. Holden’s MyLink system also supports Siri Eyes-Free which gives you control of your phone using Siri voice commands.
If you plug in your iPhone using USB then you can access Pandora and Stitcher music streaming apps. iPods are already universally catered for, but Holden goes one step further. It won’t be long before we see mainstream adoption of apps within vehicles. Heated wheels are available as a cost option on many premium model cars, and it’s not so common as standard. Often these systems work on a timer and heat the wheel for a number of minutes before turning off. The steering wheel is heated usually just in the top half where you will be holding it. Perhaps one of our favourite features in winter is the heated steering wheel. This can mean less stickiness on your legs and back when the weather is hot. One or more fans in the seat blow cooling air through perforations in the fabric. Seat cooling is becoming more common and can even be had on some fairly cheap Kia models. Some models extend the heating element into the back of the seat, too. Some vehicles have several heat settings from just a mild heat through to very warm. Often they have a timer or a thermostat which causes them to switch off. Basic seat heating consists of a heating element usually just in the seat squab which heats up. Many models of car have had heated seats for some time, but cooled seats are less common. The camera will display either on a screen in the dashboard or within the rear-view mirror. If you turn the steering wheel the other way, the lines will move as you move the steering wheel. This Lexus system shows you your trajectory using the yellow lines. Reversing cameras with guidelines are becoming mainstream now, but not all of them curve as you turn the steering wheel. For a car with a long nose like a BMW 7 Series, this is useful. The other function is to be able to nose out of traffic and see up the road each way where vehicles might be obstructing your view. In the Land Cruiser it allows you to work your way through terrain while having a much better view of what you’re driving into – there’s even a side camera to show you how close you are to objects on your left (good for parking next to kerbs). Front-mounted camerasįront-mounted cameras are rare, and only usually on very large cars such as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (as shown), the Range Rover Sport or the BMW 7 Series. If you’re thinking of buying a car you’ll need to get acquainted with the rapidly evolving array of technology and features available, some of which improve safety and others that increase comfort or convenience.