Street Smarts

Mercedes-Benz’s mid-range E-Class sedan is loaded with enough gadgets, it can almost drive itself.

- Low Ka Wei

Depending on how much you enjoy driving, it seems that with every car launch, the Jetson-esque future of vehicles whizzing along autonomously – for better or worse – is drawing closer to reality. You need only to take a gander at the latest W213 E-Class for an illustration of this brave new world. 

It deploys radars to track the car in front, not only applying the brakes and the accelerator to keep up, but also gently nudging the wheel to keep you on the straight and narrow. Put on the indicator and it will even change lanes. Stalking has never been more effortless.

If it senses that you are swerving around a wayward pedestrian, like an invisible hand it will add its own input to help you better steer around the obstacle and to straighten up the car after the dust has settled. But, should this automotive Jeeves believe that everything is going pear-shaped, it will nonchalantly expand the air bolster in the seat to push you safely away from the door while emitting a special sound pulse through the speakers to prep your eardrums for impact.