Auto update: Is your car smarter than you know?

New-generation automobiles contain radar and sensors, eSIMs and driver’s aids that can work together to offer virtual assistance, remote control, even self-diagnosis.

As with the early cellphones, it can be hard to unlock everything a new-generation car can do. There are inbuilt virtual assistants, highly developed radar and sensor systems, embedded e-SIMs, as well as the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), and most models with a price tag of ₹7 lakh or more have some if not all these features. So, are you getting the most out of your vehicles? Take a look.

(Shutterstock)

New-gen cars are smarter and more aware of their surroundings, which helps when one is parking, reversing, etc. But they can also recognise traffic signs and scan road signs to, for instance, alert you if you’re speeding in a school zone.

In what is referred to as a Level 2 autonomous driving system, ADAS uses sensors, radar and cameras to perceive aspects such as street furniture, too-close traffic and even driver’s attention levels (based on steering and throttle input).

Certain variants of the Mahindra XUV 700 and MG Astor SUVs have sensors that will also keep the vehicle within its lane (on properly marked roads), scan speed signs, even angle headlights downward when they detect oncoming traffic.

ADAS has been a game-changer ever since it first appeared in luxury cars a handful of years ago. It is now available in many cars with price tags of ₹15 lakh or more.

The other game-changer is the eSIM. These chips work a lot like SIM cards, which means that in addition to locking and unlocking a vehicle remotely using one’s phone, a car can link up with apps such as Tata Motors’ iRA (the Altroz hatchback has it), Hyundai’s Bluelink (the i20 and Creta, two cars in very different price segments, offer this) and Skoda’s MySkoda Connect to let the user switch on the AC a few minutes before they leave the house, issue voice requests for music, or geo-fence a car so it can only go that far after it is handed over to a valet (or teen offspring).

The eSIM also enables “valet mode” navigation, which means that the car can now help the driver find the nearest fuel station, EV charging point, rest stop, restaurant, as well as set service-due reminders, offer intrusion alerts, and work elements such as lights and temperature remotely or on voice commands.

In 2021, Mahindra’s XUV 700 became the first car in India to offer the option of a built-in link with Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. Indian startup Mihup Communications is helping cars build vernacular capabilities too. Tata cars can now understand Hindi, English and Hinglish.

Between the sensors, ADAS and the apps, cars can now talk to their owners about how they’re doing as well, in a stitch-in-time approach to diagnostics that is positively impacting safety standards.

Something as simple as a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) can help prevent accidents, since it alerts the owner if pressure in any of the tyres begins to drop. Skoda has added a complex multi-collision brake feature in its new Slavia sedan, where smart algorithms will let the safety systems step in and automatically manage the brakes to mitigate a secondary impact in case of a high-speed accident where airbags have been deployed.

Of course, this much software brings with it the risk of bugs or breakdowns, but such issues are the exception rather than the norm. The truth is that it would be hard to imagine returning to the cars we drove even a decade ago. As the existing tech improves and more is added, it’s only a question of time before, much like smartphones, the tech in every model is cutting-edge.