Mini has revealed its new array of driver assist systems, which it says will appear on future models - including the 2014 hatchback.
Leading the new range is Mini's head-up display for drivers. The small display shows relevant information like speed, local traffic signs, and navigation data, and aims to provide minimal distration during driving.
As well as the HUD, future Mini models will come with collision warning and pedestrian warning alerts, as well as emergency city braking. Park assist and a reversing camera will also aid motorists.
At night, a new headlight system automatically detects pedestrians and other vehicles, dimming the vehicle's headlights without input from the driver.
Other systems, including traffic sign memory, speed limit display and distance control, will also feature.
The 2014 Mini hatchback has been caught testing a number of times, and also seen completely undisguised.
The car will be sold with a range of turbocharged direct-injection three- and four-cylinder petrol engines, with outputs ranging from 134bhp to 189bhp. The only diesel engine confirmed so far is a 1.5-litre common-rail unit developing 114bhp and 199lb ft of torque.
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Heads up, but no brain cells
BMW deserve opprobrium and I can’t afford a safety feature that might just save injuries as I take my eye off the road to check the speedo
So please Autocar do not refer to this as a safety feature. it is sold as if it is a trinket.
Agree with previous comments
I agree with a lot of the previous comments but I do like the idea of HUD as being safer without taking eyes from the road - I've liked a digital speedo since having a Prius - and parking sensors at the rear are useful. I do think that rear-view cameras, park assist (if you can't reverse park a car, you shouldn't be driving !), lights and wipers that switch on when they want rather than when I want, automatic braking and so on are all superfluous as far as I'm concerned but I would like to see folding door mirrors as standard (with garages and parking spaces far too narrow for most modern cars), they are useful. As 'bomb' says, all these superfluous extras cost money - usually a lot - and are probably not used as often as the manufacturers might like to think.
ordinary bloke wrote: I do
More pertinently, if you can't reverse park a Mini then you really shouldn't be driving!
Park assist
If this feature eventually becomes standard on all cars, I wonder if the driving test will be changed to remove parallel parking as the car will do it all for you.