New Year, New Tech: Amazing Things Today’s Cars Can Do
Depending on how old your vehicle is, you may not be aware of the new technology that nearly all cars come with today.
No, you don’t have to spend $100,000 on a new car to get these items either. While a few manufacturers (such as Tesla) may hit that range, you can still get super high tech in cars that cost $40,000 or less!
Of course, it doesn’t make sense to pay for items you would never use. If you don’t own an Alexa in your home, for example, it would make no sense to pay extra for a car that will connect with your Alexa.
Other features, however, are safety-related and are well worth the price.
What exactly can new cars do today that was unheard of just 10 or 15 years ago? Stand by to be amazed.
High Tech Cars Nearly Everyone Can Afford
Whether you need a pickup or a small sedan, there is enough high tech to go around. Some of the best, most useful features we found include:
- GMC Sierra Denali
Today’s GMC truck can do more than just haul a trailer; it can do so on as little as two cylinders!
A new system that GMC calls Dynamic Fuel Management, determines how much horsepower you actually need to haul your load or maintain your speed and adjusts the cylinders so that it actually can cut off up to 6 of those 8 cylinders, saving you a ton of gasoline.
The Sierra also has a rear-view camera that allows you to “see” through the trailer or 5th wheel to see the road and traffic behind your trailer. Imagine telling someone that they can have a virtually “invisible” trailer just 10 years ago?
- Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Truck
When you need to haul or tow something, of course, horsepower is important, but you want to be comfortable as well as be entertained while you are driving, right?
The Ram Longhorn offers Uconnect infotainment (there’s a new word for the dictionary, right?) system. There is an exceptionally large 12-inch screen that allows you to download apps from the Uconnect market or download your favorite Android or Apple Play apps. Of course, it goes without saying that this has its own navigation system, SiriusXM, live sports game scores, and more.
One thing that all new cars and trucks have is a ton of USB ports, but the Ram also includes the new Type-C ports, as well as the slightly older Type-A ports so you can easily connect to the 4G LTE system that this truck has.
- Hyundai Sonata
You might think that a Hyundai is a base model car that can’t possibly have anything more high tech than cruise control, but that would be a mistake.
The Hyundai Sonata has been rivaling Honda for the past decade and as far as infotainment systems, it’s hard to beat this model, but it’s the little details that make this car stand out from the crowd.
The Sonata has a reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. In the same way, you can move icons around on your cell phone, imagine doing that with your car’s instrument panel? This model features a “Blind-View” camera that sends side camera images of the left and right sides of your vehicle that are blind spots unless you turn your head.
Perhaps the biggest and best feature is the “Smaht Pahk” (no idea why it is spelled this way) which parallel parks your car for you. You don’t even need to be inside the vehicle for it to do this, by the way.
Last, you can also purchase a hybrid model, which will give you gas mileage of up to 52MPG. That’s high-tech everyone will love.
- Toyota Corolla Hybrid
The Toyota Corolla might be considered to be a “starter” model, but that hasn’t stopped Toyota from filling it with high tech.
This model features the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, which includes several high-tech safety features such as pre-collision mitigation, cyclist and pedestrian detection, lane departure assistance (to keep you in your own lane), even road edge detectors to prevent you from leaving the pavement.
The Corolla also has automatic high beams that sense road signs and light them up, adaptive cruise control, and lane tracing assist. There are also multiple USB ports to keep all your electronics charged.
- Ford Explorer Hybrid
High tech has also hit SUVs, like the Ford Explorer.
As expected, the Explorer has an extensive infotainment system which includes an 8-inch screen, 12 speakers, and a sound system that includes SiriusXM satellite radio.
The hybrid Explorer has lots of high-tech safety features in a suite that is called the Ford Co-Pilot360. This offers adaptive cruise control that prevents you from speeding, lane-keeping alerts, forward-collision warning if you are about to hit something directly in front of you, road sign recognition, automatic high beams, front, and rear parking sensors so you don’t bump into another vehicle or a wall, 360-degree camera views and Ford’s newest feature- Evasive Steering. This feature applies steering assistance to help move your car out of the way to avoid an accident.
As expected, this SUV has Wi-Fi and automatically updates its own software. There are plenty of USB ports, but the Explorer has a wireless charger below the center console. You can also see a visual of the item that is charging so you know when charging is completed.
The Bottom Line
Make no mistake, we aren’t pushing or promoting any particular make or model. Not all manufacturers have all the features you see listed here, but we can’t help but be impressed by the wide range of high-tech options that even inexpensive models have as “standard” equipment!
Before you buy, decide which features are most important to you and your family since buying a car is usually a long and drawn-out process that most people would like to shorten if possible. By ruling out features you don’t need or want, you can get through the new car buying process more quickly.
If you plan on selling your older vehicle, the experts at Hong Kong Auto Service will be happy to inspect your car and give it a clean bill of health so your potential buyer can feel confident about their purchase.
We also would be happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding the high-tech features on new vehicles. Call us today and start off your New Year right!