Same here. Useful for when I am reversing the car out of the very tight space behind the campervan. I can check that the rear wheel arch is clearing the campervan’s rear bumper!
Not for me! I have a vivid memory of a prototype’s method of operation.
A colleague tried making such a thing to add to his old (but beefed up to almost be a Cosworth) Granada Scorpio which had ordinary cruise control. He was an expert in rf engineering, especially microwaves etc, and much, much cleverer than the rest of us. He reckoned he could easily make a narrow beam radar unit small enough to be hid in the front grille.
Sure enough it worked, but going round corners it could be fooled by parked cars, hedges, almost any large stationary or slow moving object, and he spent months trying to tweak the beam shape and the software to ignore these but not the car in front.
The effect was of the ABS being triggered ON because the hedge was too close, then as the road straightened power applied because the car in front was too far away.
It was highly unpleasant just going just three miles round two roundabouts on the fast dual carriageway to the local pub for lunch! None of us went in it a second time. He was quite quickly head-hunted so we never did find out if he ever made it work properly.
Even now, every time I hear about self-driving cars being touted, I have this unpleasant memory of stale cigarette smoke in a lurching Scorpio.
Well my full list of useful items that I’d love to see made available on all models.
01 Auto lowering nearside mirror when reversing.
02 Heated Steering Wheel
03 Heated and Cooled Seats option
04 Heated front windscreen (auto temperature)
05 auto dip and high beam LEDs lights.
06 auto lane drift correction system
07 fully integrated navigation and technology system to aid safety and enhance the driving experience… (Multiple options)
08 A 220 BHP factory upgrade (BBR option) 2.0L only.
Unfortunately all this adds extra costs in development and design…
Some would say it’s a step in the right direction but others would say it would loose the full meaning of the MX-5 which is really all about being a driver’s car…
Unfortunately I’m only just experiencing these amazing vehicles… but must say more tech as been added to the Mk 4…
So will the forthcoming E MX-5 GT be welcomed by owners… or not…
Well whenever it arrives in showrooms it’s not going to be cheap… but I fully believe it’s going to be quickest standard MX-5 anyone has seen… if you opt for a ludicrous speed offering (Tesla)
I came out of a car with adaptive cruise control into my MX5, and I definitely miss it on the motorway.
Bearing in mind my 5 has far more sensors in it than the Golf did, the lack of it is a real surprise to me.
I get around it to a certain extent by using the speed adjust buttons on the steering wheel, but it’s not the same.
The parking mode on the nearside mirror was also a nice feature that I miss a little.
Can’t think of what else I’d like adding to the car, in a few months I’d probably like a heated steering wheel though!
What electric MX5 might that me? The ND will soldier on until at least 2025. Mazda’s product planning seems to be almost entirely focused on SUVs, because they’ve got to do something to justify the ludicrous decision to develop a brand new line of petrol engines just as the death knell for the ICE is approaching fast.
There might be a electric car badged as a MX5, in the same way you can buy an electric Mustang, called the Mustang Mach-E. Is it really a Ford Mustang?
Tesla Plaids etc were a gimmick. Electric cars no longer need to have a low 0-60 (at the expense of range) to sell. Lets see where the actually forthcoming MG-C will set the mark for this type of car. We might have to look at the MG Mulan, which is MG’s new hot hatch. Its RWD, 50-50 weight distribution, with 200hp available in Europe, give 0-60 in about 4s, and a 600km range. Starting price is expected to be about £25k. Given the multilink suspension in this car, its a racing certainty that the MG-C will use the Mulan platform (its a modular platform anyhow).
MX5 sales are on a slide now, I think less than 20% of the annual volume achieved by the original version in its heyday. Now you have the brand that inspired it (the MGB was the inspiration behind the original MX5) apparently reinvigorated. Some will dismiss it it as Chinese, CCP or other guff. But name plate does go a long way in this market.
Curiously of those the only ones I want are 01, 03, and maybe 08.
And 01 should be both wing mirrors auto lowering for reverse and auto folding when switching off.
My experience of the other “features” on that list has been sometimes been decidedly negative in friends cars or when hiring abroad.
04 Two electric heated windscreens cracked while defrosting up in a ski resort (brass monkey cold)
05 Never right
06 resisting legit movement
07 counter intuitive or even downright obstructive, especially when compared with my trusty ancient Garmin now always taken with me with pre-plotted routes when hiring a car.
Other £box-tick£ “features” I hate are the insecure proximity locking and useless automatic parking brake.
Maybe I’ve been unlucky on those assorted hire cars.
Hi unfortunately I’m only quoting from my brother in law whose currently working on Mazda speed restricted software for the E offerings which also includes the MX-5 hardware platform…
Unfortunately this doesn’t mean it will put into production as this same concept can be used for all Mazda’s offerings…
But I’d love to see the concept if this never happens…
The speed restriction software is going into all vehicles as I type… the only information I have is this will be only inforced within our motorway networks… With options to extend this system nationwide…
Rear view camera for reversing, blind spot monitor in door mirrors, intelligent cruise control and auto door closer as it becomes more difficult to lean out and pull in, the older you get
Auto dipping nearside mirror when reversing and auto folding door mirrors when locked; they not only fold safely out of the way, but confirm from a distance if you have remembered to lock the car.
