Recently I managed to get the steering wheel of one incredible monster and in the first minutes I realized that I could not do anything against the desire to write a debut publication on the company’s blog. In it I decided to tell about the most gik “chips” of the flagship car, which struck the strings of my soul during one of the test drives. Perhaps some of these features you see every morning in your car of another brand, but, as they say, from the same set of elements you can create completely different things – let’s see what happened in the car of the “seventh” series.

1. Ignition key

In my publications I try to avoid speech stamps, but this time I’m sorry: the theater starts with a hanger, and any car starts with a ignition key. The key 7 series of the latest generation made it almost the same as the “space” BMW i8:

A small electronic keychain with a screen in which there is no mechanical key

On the key are standard buttons for unlocking and locking the car (a long-term hold closes not only the car doors, but also windows / hatches), and the screen displays various information: time, date, key charge, door status and light.

The screen is touchscreen, so it can be swyped – on adjacent screens there are fuel level and power reserve (for hybrid version or for i8 – battery charge), possibility to schedule preconditioning. And in some cases on the key there is such a “non-standard” button:

It is responsible for the most unusual and impressive function, which is on the last screen of the key – for remote control of the car. No, an expensive car does not turn into a raudio-controlled car, but it’s much easier to drive into a “hard-to-reach place” and leave it. For example, if you have not bought a spacious garage or if neighboring cars have blocked you in the parking lot and there is no way to get through the door.

It works like this: we approach the car, press the “Connect” button on the key screen, wait for the connection to be established and after that, clamping the “non-standard” button on the end of the key, press “Start engine”. The car will start, turn on the lights and fold the mirrors – only after that it can be moved forward-back arrows on the screen (holding the button). The car can even paddle a little if necessary, and if an obstacle occurs before it (for example, a pedestrian or a dog), then it will stop.

With one hand it’s all inconvenient to do it – an accidental operation of the option is excluded; The distance should also be small (maximum of a couple of meters) – to “move” the car from the balcony does not work. Really cool function, which a couple of times had to use “not for beauty”.

Of course in the car there is keyless access, keyless starting of the engine, illumination of handles and locking of doors through touch to the touch area in them.

Like any modern gadget, the key for the i8 / 7-series needs to be charged and the easiest way to do this is by putting it in the armrest – there it is charged via the wireless interface. Although, if desired, it can always be charged via microUSB-connector, which is tightly closed with a rubber stopper on the key fob.

 

NEXT – Interesting features BMW 7 series, part 2

 

this is an article translation from geektimes.ru/company/bmw/blog/295195