There was an Amazon Echo Dot lying on the cabinet in my hotel room in Goa, when I checked in for the A-Class seda… sorry, limousine drive. It was plugged in — as if a previous occupant had done so — which made both me and the attendant who had brought me to my room wonder if I was in the right one. Puzzled, he left and promised to find out what was going on. I stood around and wondered whether to immediately leave the room (because COVID) or to investigate the Dot (because curiosity); the latter urge won.
It turned out that I was indeed in my assigned room, because next to the Dot was a card with a number of questions I could ask Alexa about the new A-Class, questions such as where my car was, what its fuel situation was, where I could find coffee shops (Alexa rather unhelpfully suggested several in Mumbai) and sundry others. I was suitably amused, and also struck by the fact that you can never seem to escape some kind of connected technology these days. You couldn’t call me a vocal proponent of it — I prefer to get in a car and just drive — but I do realise that buyers of today, especially younger ones, consider it an essential feature, surgically attached as they are to their smartphones.
Denne historien er fra March 2021-utgaven av Motoring World.
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Denne historien er fra March 2021-utgaven av Motoring World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
DESTINI REWRITTEN
With a pretty major design overhaul, has the Hero Destini 125 found a new footing altogether?
OLDIE'S GOLD?
History makes yet another comeback with the BSA Gold Star 650. Is it what you were hoping for?
THE HIGH OF THE TIGER
Triumph's big cat is in its most ferocious avatar yet
LAUGHTER HOURS
This! This is the greatest single of all time!
BULL'S EYE?
Audi's new flagship SUV — or a budget Lamborghini Urus?
DARK HORSE
The Alcazar is now available in a new avatar, and the multi-faceted SUV deserves more attention than it got in the past
CURVV-BALL!
Tata's new mass-market SUV coupe may have more than a few tricks up its sleeve
GIVEN A RAISE
The EQS SUV looks like an EQS sedan on stilts but it offers a lot more than that
FOR MUCK'S SAKE!
No scooters, commuters or old bikes... this year's Pune Off-road Expedition was serious work
ALL THE WAY UP!
Exploring the vast landscape of Ladakh with Renault India's lineup - why would we say no?!