New car

[Greybeard]

We have been running a Fiat Panda for the last 9 years. We bought it new in 2011 and paid just £8k for it. I thought that when I retired we would struggle financially so the Pandas economy made sense. The Panda has been extraordinarily good. It's given almost no trouble. At over 90k miles it has not needed a clutch or suspension or steering joints replacing. I had the cam belt done and the water pump at the same time, because it's easier to do with the belt covers off. The bodywork is still solid and the black paint gleams after an infrequent wash.

Anyway, time to move on. My son is having the Panda as a local runabout. We have cashed in savings and bought ourselves a nearly new BMW 1 Series M Sport. This thing is just full of smarts! Here are a few:
Lane control: at speeds over 40mph the car detects if you wander too close to white lines either side and steers itself away from them.
Speed limitting: A button and an adjuster wheel on the steering wheel allows the driver to set a maximum speed. Useful in an urban area.
Cruise control.
Visual warning and I guess physical intervention if the system thinks you are following too close to another vehicle. Also warnings and presumably intervention if an object crosses your path, such as a child running.
No parking brake lever. A lift up tag applies all four brakes. As you pull away the parking brake releases automatically.
Head-up display: Shows current speed limit, next turn if using Satnav, media choice if wanted, selected maximum speed limit or cruise control set speed. The HUD appears to be about halfway along the bonnet, (hood). It's not distracting. My nervous driving wife loves it.
Keyless entry. Keyless engine start, (fully depress the clutch then press a Start button).
Seat and mirror settings remembered for each of the 2 keys. As I walk toward the car, the seats, mirrors and radio station are adjusting to my selection. Likewise for wifey.
Automatic LED headlight activation and dipping when a vehicle is coming the other way.
Automatic windscreen wiper activation.
Self parking. I haven't tried this yet.
Suitable parking space detection in a row of parked cars.
Remote boot, (trunk) opening.

At night when you approach the vehicle the door handles project a courtesy light on the ground beside the car. Inside, while you are getting in, the trims have a subtle illumination and there are lights under the seats that shine into the footwells.
Of course the fuel consumption is monitored. I've never had a car that tells me how far I can go on the fuel in the tank.
Reversing camera and audio warnings. Front has a simple display of objects detected along with an audio warning.

The dash has real-time weather, news, local interest, email and messages. In the roof there's a button that will summon emergency services to the vehicle. In fact, in the event of a serious crash the car will call for you!

I have a BMW App on this tablet. From the app I can turn headlights on or off, lock or unlock the car, check tyre pressures. Check oil level. Ventilate the car, single shot, or scheduled daily. The App has the ability to track the car.

There's more but I'm sure you are bored by now!

[berger]

yeah but does it wipe ya backside , that's not a car it's a module .  I think the fiat is a better sounding option that you are driving/controlling , sounds like that beemer can control you until it's battery goes dead

[Black Sheep]

My Land Rover has none of these things - not even an interior light. You need a torch after dark to find where to put the ignition key. Not much electrickery to go wrong!

[morris]

yeah but does it wipe ya backside , that's not a car it's a module

Yep, time will come when wiping your backside will be all you have to do yourself. All the rest will be done for you by some gizmo. Lots of people will like that. I won’t... 

[muskrat]

G'day GB.
Now all you need is a chauffeur.
Cheers

[Colsbeeza]

Now you blokes leave GB alone!
(Next thing he will want an automatic retracting sidestand on his BSA!)
Hey now that's a thought.

[KiwiGF]

Its an msport......we just want to know how fast it goes 

(Wife has a 2015 panda, twin cylinder 875cc turbo, does 110 mph)

[Greybeard]

Its an msport......we just want to know how fast it goes 

(Wife has a 2015 panda, twin cylinder 875cc turbo, does 110 mph)

I'm very unlikely to find out what the top speed is. The official bumph says, 125 mph.

The, (petrol, 1500cc) engine has three cylinders * with a balance shaft. It has a turbo.

The Panda is 1200cc so not much difference in displacement but a world of difference in power!

* I swear, when I put my foot down this thing growls rather like the three cylinder BSA/Triumph engines.

[edboy]

lots more to go wrong. a driverless car has already killed a cyclist in usa but who is to blame? if driving home after six pints was legal i guess it would help not crashing

[Joolstacho]

Eeek that's all rather scary! All those things that can (will) go wrong.
I recently picked up a beautiful Saab 9-3, it's 20 years old but in great nick and way too cheap. Superb... but when you look at the electronics complexity it's a worry!
If I lost the keys it would cost me more than I paid for it to fix it!
The wreckers yards are going to be crammed full of superb overly-complex cars which have tiny, but too-expensive-to-fix problems.
Enjoy the beemer though!

[KiwiGF]

Eeek that's all rather scary! All those things that can (will) go wrong.
I recently picked up a beautiful Saab 9-3, it's 20 years old but in great nick and way too cheap. Superb... but when you look at the electronics complexity it's a worry!
If I lost the keys it would cost me more than I paid for it to fix it!
The wreckers yards are going to be crammed full of superb overly-complex cars which have tiny, but too-expensive-to-fix problems.
Enjoy the beemer though!

Yep, I think the electronics will cause the death of modern cars, even my 2000 beemer has an engine ecu that is uneconomic to replace should it go wrong (and they go wrong as they age) and no one will be making an aftermarket ecu to suit it. Its got many other electronic modules that are also ridiculously expensive to buy from BMW (ABS, immobilisor, door locks/windows etc).

Fitting a used engine ecu from a scrapped donor car CAN be done but is way beyond most diy mechanics as the immobilisor tech is designed in a way to PREVENT non BMW mechanics doing engine and ecu swaps, the underlying intent seemingly to make it not worth stealing a car and selling off the major parts.

[Black Sheep]

A lot of these innovations are in response to the number of older drivers on the road. A week or so ago in Edinburgh a 91 year old woman drove her car onto the pavement and crushed a 3 year old child to death. Had she been driving a new car with all the safety features, the child would have been ok.
So lane departure warnings, auto dipped headlights, auto braking are all safety features that the young might scoff at but they do save lives.
You can argue for a blanket ban on old (older than me) people driving but being able to drive is often the last freedom. If we can minimise the risk through technology that has to be a good thing.

[Joolstacho]

Well mate... If you believe that ("A lot of these innovations are in response to the number of older drivers on the road.") - you believe there's fairies in the bottom of your garden.
It's purely a matter of marketing one-upmanship. All about making money out of dumbed down consumers.
So what happens to the little girl when the clever electronics fail in a few years time?

[Rex]

True that.
Years ago cars died through terminal rust but for the last decade or so it's down to failed electronics that see them in the crusher. The manufacturers are "forcing" the buyers to go down the route of "buy new, keep for five years and renew" whether they like it or not.
As an aside, I remember when electric windows were becoming commonplace and the sage old fellers would rub their imaginary beards and pronounce that they wouldn't like electric windows because "imagine the cost if they go wrong". They could never have imagined how far down that route we'd go in twenty years..

[Greybeard]

My 9 year old El Cheapo Fiat has electronics such as data-bus wiring, throttle control, engine management etc. If the Beemer lasts 9 years, (I believe it will) my wife and I will be 80. We may not be fit to drive by then. This car may be our last.

The first service on the BMW is at two years. A friend advised me to change the engine oil and filter ASAP. I agreed. The BMW agency would reluctantly do an early oil change before I collected the car but quoted £295!!!

I researched which generic oil to buy, (BMW branded oil must have gold dust in it! ) and filter and did the job myself for less than £50.
The car has no dipstick! The vehicle checks oil level while running.