20 years ago, only high-end luxury vehicles came with bucketloads of driver-targeted optional extras. Now, every car manufacturer can offer complex functions wrapped in small packages.
For instance, the electronic stability control that we take for granted nowadays and can’t imagine a single new car without it, was a big deal back in 1987 when Mercedes, BMW and Toyota began offering it. As a matter of fact, it took Opel quite some time before it too brought innovative technologies from the upper class into the affordable compact segment, making them available to its family car.
Now, though, the latest Astra is packed full of electronic gizmos set to aid the driver in his daily voyages and the video below gives us the gist of what the car has in store for us.
So, besides being lighter and more efficient than its predecessors, it also boasts the latest generation Opel Eye front camera with enhanced capabilities, such as Collision Mitigation Braking, Collision Imminent Braking, Following Distance Indicator, Headway Alert and more.
“We have invested much engineering effort to develop new systems that improve active safety as well as the very best seats in the segment”, said Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann.
The Traffic Sign Assist offers higher precision and it can detect and display round, rectangular and even LED traffic signs, while the Side Blind Spot alert constantly monitors and scans with ultrasonic sensors the blind spot of the car in order to warn the driver if an object is there.
“Another ticket saver” – as Opel calls it – is the Following Distance Indication (the anti-tailgate option). It utilizes the front camera to detect moving vehicles on the road ahead and calculates the distance to them. The value is then displayed to the driver and if there’s insufficient distance to the vehicle in front, then the Headway Alert is automatically activated. Let’s hope to see this system in future Audis.
Of course, the “classics” Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep assist are present, but this time the systems gently turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction if the drivers veers off the lane.
Oh, and we already mentioned the Forward Collision Alert with Collision Mitigation Braking on top of the Integrated Brake Assist and Autonomous Emergency Braking. As you’d expect, these features try their best to keep drivers from crashing.
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