BMW 5-Series (2017) review: The car you can drive with no one inside

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BMW 5-Series (2017) review: The car you can drive with no one inside

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On the face of it, a new BMW 5-Series might not be the most exciting car to grace our tech-centric motoring section. But if you skip past the sombre exterior, tick plenty of boxes on the options list and step inside, you are greeted by one of the most high-tech vehicles on the market today.We’re all aware of new technology trickling down from each manufacturer’s flagship, but in what feels like no time since we were invited to a sneak-peak of the tech-laden new 7-Series in 2015, BMW has already taken all that was good, improved it and slotted it into the cheaper, smaller 5-Series.The star of the show is Remote Control Parking, which lets you drive the car backwards and forwards using a touch screen on the key fob ”“ while not being in the vehicle.The idea is that buyers with narrow garages, or who regularly use car parks with tight bays, can point the car at the space, get out, then drive forward using the key. The car steers itself and will automatically stop before you crash it into anything.Retrieving the car from a space made smaller by inconsiderate drivers to your left and right works in the same way.The need to drive a car by remote control might not pop up every day, but when it does you can’t help but feel like James Bond. The touch screen key can also be used to check the car’s fuel level and estimated range, and remotely set the climate control to switch on at a set time.Also, to debunk a recent social media myth, the key doesn’t need to be recharged via its microUSB port, as the most convenient place to put it in the interior has an embedded wireless charging plate. Put the key here and it will be fully recharged during every journey. The same plate can charge compatible smartphones too, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S7.Among the improved 7-Series tech sits a range of gesture controls. We dismissed these as an impractical and unresponsive gimmick when we drove the 7-Series in late 2015, but since then BMW has worked some magic to make them more useful.Twirling your left index finger in front of the dashboard raises and lowers music volume, and jabbing your second and third finger forwards is a gesture that can be customised to perform one of several tasks, like muting the stereo or setting the sat-nav for home. It might seem daft to prefer a twirl of your finger to a twist of the volume knob, or even a press of a button on the steering wheel, but it’s surprisingly satisfying and even feels natural once you get the hang of it.Gesture control also comes in handy when parking. Firstly, external cameras create a live, 360-degree image of the car and its surroundings. The vehicle is computer-generated and looks like it has been lifted from a video game, but everything else shown on the dashboard touchscreen is real.You can pan around to check the car from every angle by swiping at the display, or by moving a pinched thumb and index finger to the right or left in front of the screen.This 360-degree image can be seen on the dashboard display, but also via the BMW Connected Drive smartphone app from anywhere in the world ”“ useful for checking in on your car (and next door’s parking) while at work or on holiday. The app can also be used to check the fuel level, if the doors are locked, and send driving routes to the car’s satellite navigation system, ready for when you get in.Source: Ibtimes 

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