The BMW M5 is the high-performance version of the standard BMW 5 Series and competes with the Mercedes-AMG E63, Porsche Panamera and Audi RS7 for buyers looking for a ‘super saloon’. The Mercedes matches the BMW most closely in shape and price, though – both are four-door saloons that will set you back nearly £100,000 before options.

A substantial amount of what you’ll pay for the car goes towards what’s under the bonnet. Now available in ‘Competition’ spec, the M5 is powered by a 616bhp 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine that takes the car from 0-62mph in only 3.3 seconds. Considering it weighs almost two tons, both the M5’s straight-line speed and agility are remarkable.

When the ‘F90’ M5 model was originally launched, it had 592bhp, with the 616bhp Competition model adding around £7,000 to the list price. As well as the extra power, it also had some styling tweaks, a sports exhaust and revised suspension.

In late 2020, the M5 Competition was facelifted along with the standard 5 Series. The changes included a tweaked front end, new LED lights and extra paint finishes. The interior was also updated with a new 12.3-inch infotainment system, and an array of new safety tech was added. Chassis changes were limited to a new adaptive suspension setup borrowed from the current M8 Gran Coupe.

While the facelifted version of the M5 Competition will set you back over £100,000 before options, BMW also introduced an even faster model in 2021. Dubbed the M5 CS, it’s lighter than the standard car (weighing around 1,800kg) and is billed as a track-focused saloon. It’s quicker too, managing 0-62mph in three seconds thanks to an increased power output of 626bhp. Naturally, it costs more than the standard car, with a starting price of around £140,000.

The M5 Competition is equipped with BMW’s M xDrive four-wheel-drive system, which means there’s more grip and cornering performance than ever. Purists will be heartened to hear that firstly, the system has been engineered to give the car a rear-wheel-drive feel and, secondly, there’s a mode to send all power to the rear if you want.

While it’s incredibly quick, the M5 Competition is also capable of satisfactorily carrying out the duties of a luxury saloon car. In Comfort mode, the ride is soft enough to soak up all but the worst bumps in the road and the interior is plush and luxurious.

However, despite its brilliance as a high-speed cruiser and its competence on twisty roads, the latest M5 doesn't quite engage you the way its predecessors did – it feel like there's a hi-tech barrier between you and the car; the steering feels well weighted but it's surprisingly muted in terms of feel, for example.

But this criticism is also true of many of the M5's super saloon competitors and is something of a sign of the times. It doesn't prevent the BMW from being at least equal to its Mercedes rival - even if the Merc has the more exciting engine - and in Competition form, the M5 is the best all-round supersaloon you can buy. Its handling flaws can also be remedied if you're prepared to pay the extra for the M5 CS, because its revised suspension is a revelation. Not only does it feel more settled, it's better to drive and more involving too.

MPG, running costs & CO2

The BMW M5 isn't cheap to buy and it won't be cheap to run either
The M5 Competition is only available with one large engine and it’s been designed for power rather than fuel economy. The introduction of turbocharging and the downsizing of the engine compared with previous M5s is a nod to improving efficiency, but the 4.4-litre V8 still only returns around 25mpg, which we were able to get close to during our test. However, as with any super saloon, driving the M5 with any kind of enthusiasm or in heavy traffic will lead to fuel economy figures dropping into the mid-teens or lower.

After the first year's CO2-based road tax (generally included in the on-the-road price), every M5 will cost the standard rate each year to tax. With a list price of more than £40,000, the M5 is also liable for an additional VED surcharge in years two to six of ownership, making the bill higher during that period. CO2 emissions starting from 254g/km place the M5 in the highest Benefit-in-Kind band for company-car drivers and it's also expensive to insure, sitting in the top group 50.

Engines, drive & performance

The BMW M5 is incredibly quick and a great driver's car
The M5 Competition uses a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine that produces 616bhp and gets the car from 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds. On paper, it has the edge on performance over the Mercedes-AMG E63 and only just falls behind the E63 S, but its engine goes about its business in a rather different way to its rival. Where the Mercedes barks and rumbles, the BMW screams and howls; it'll come down to personal taste which sound you'll prefer. The heart of the matter is that the M5 feels more like a racing car than the E63, but that's not necessarily what you want from a supersaloon.

The standard M5, originally launched in 2018, produced 592bhp and was capable of 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds, only slightly behind the 3.3 seconds of the Competition version.

While the M5 Competition isn’t noticeably faster in a straight line than the standard M5, it gets an array of minor suspension tweaks that really improve its overall performance. The changes mean the Competition is more responsive, with more precision and sharpness than the standard M5. Body control is even more impressive too.

The use of BMW’s xDrive four-wheel-drive system for the first time in the M5's history means there’s no shortage of traction when you put your foot down, with immense levels of grip during standing starts and when accelerating through corners. Despite sending power to all four wheels, the M5 feels like a very balanced rear-wheel-drive car, with the majority of the engine’s power going to the rear wheels during normal driving.

The M5 also has a clever Active M differential that apportions power between both sides of the car to aid cornering performance, while the xDrive system can send power to the front wheels to help pull you out of fast corners.

The car’s setup and driving modes can be controlled via the red coloured steering-wheel mounted ‘M1 and ‘M2’ buttons allowing you to link each to a preset mode. For those who prefer to use the M5s standard settings, the buttons can quickly cycle through Road, Sport or Track mode as well.

It's a very responsive system and unobtrusive in operation, suiting the M5's eye-watering speed – we managed 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds in testing. The eight-speed automatic gearbox performs obediently, too, changing gears smoothly and quickly when you demand it through the column-mounted shift paddles.

Carbon-ceramic brakes are an expensive extra at around £7,670 but they provide huge stopping power on a consistent basis and seem particularly suited to a car of the M5’s power and weight. This option also adds a gold paint finish to the brake calipers.

The optional M Pro package focuses on performance raising the car’s top speed to 190mph from an electronically limited 155mph. It also adds the carbon-ceramic brakes, and costs an extra £7,995. The package also includes a one-day BMW M driver training course at a track in either the UK or in Germany.

For all its power and prowess, the M5 Competition lacks the absolute ultimate in excitement, mainly because of its slightly inert steering. Although accurate enough in use, it seems to filter out some of your inputs, so you never feel quite as connected to the car as you'd like.

While the Mercedes-AMG E63 does provide a more visceral driving experience, with its snarling exhaust note and more overtly muscular character, there’s no doubt that in Competition spec, the M5 is closer to matching its German rival for sheer exhilaration and driving thrills.

Released in 2021, the BMW M5 CS (Club Sport) successfully fixes most of the Competition's faults, if you're prepared to spend around £140,000 on a saloon car. Fitted with the adaptive dampers from the M8 Gran Coupe, it sits just 7mm lower, but the car feels more stable and less upset by even roads. This improves driver confidence and makes the driving experience feel more fluid.

Power increases to 626bhp and the CS weighs around 70kg less than the regular car, cutting the 0-62mph time to three seconds. It's the most powerful production BMW car ever built but it's the handling upgrades that make the biggest difference. Carbon-ceramic brakes are fitted as standard to boost stopping power.

Interior & comfort

Luxurious comfortable interior with plenty of standard equipment
The M5 comes with heated leather sports seats for the driver and front passenger, which give huge amounts of support and comfort. The dashboard is logically laid-out and the controls for the car’s on-board tech and systems are easy to use. The M5 comes with a leather interior as standard, giving it the upmarket feel inside you’d expect from an expensive BMW. Choose the M5 CS and the exterior is set apart by a new bodykit, with a large diffuser between the quad exhaust pipes.

Also present is BMW’s iDrive infotainment system, which runs on a crystal-clear 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen. It's quick and responsive to use, with clear graphics. Every M5 gets an array of technology as standard, including sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and wireless charging for your smartphone. A new 12.3-inch digital dial cluster also features, alongside a head-up display with unique M Division graphics.

The rotary controller has a touch-sensitive top, which allows you to sketch the shape of a letter on the pad with your finger (to enter a postcode for the sat nav, for example), rather than use the wheel to scroll through the alphabet. The system is packed with features and very easy to use.

The M5 is undoubtedly a performance car, but it’s also a luxury saloon and the ride manages to be impressively smooth when the car’s adaptive dampers are in Comfort mode. Even with large 20-inch alloy wheels, which can so often transmit every little imperfection from the road inside, the M5 is still sufficiently compliant to make the car a comfortable motorway cruiser.

This is one way in which the M5 trumps the Mercedes-AMG E63, as the latter feels much firmer and less comfortable by comparison. The Sport setting for the M5's dampers improves body control at the cost of some of the smoothness in Comfort, while the Track mode is best saved for a circuit, as the ride becomes so firm that any passengers will get shaken around. Some may feel the bucket seats fitted in the M5 CS are a step too far for an everyday car. They’re the same carbon items available in the latest M3 and M4, offering excellent support but feeling quite hardcore for a luxury saloon.

Practicality & boot space

The BMW M5 is as practical as the standard 5 Series
The M5’s chunky front sports seats don’t have a noticeable impact on rear space, so passengers in the back still have good head and legroom. Storage spaces are generously sized, with plenty of room in the door bins, glovebox and central cubbyhole. There are cup-holders and a place to charge the car’s Display Key or your mobile phone wirelessly.

Despite having a four-wheel-drive system, which can often impinge on boot space, the M5 still offers 530 litres of luggage room, just like the standard 5 Series. This is fractionally smaller than the 540 litres offered by the Mercedes-AMG E63, but certainly not enough of a difference to be a deciding factor in which of the two cars you choose to buy.

Reliability & safety

Expect the BMW M5 to match the high standards set by the basic 5 Series
BMW finished in 27th place out of 30 manufacturers in our 2020 Driver Power poll, lagging behind German rivals Audi who placed 21st. it's a worrying trend, particularly as it was partly down to 20.8% of owners reporting at least one fault within the first 12 months of ownership.

The M5 won’t be crash-tested as a standalone model, but when the standard 5 Series was put through its paces by Euro NCAP, it was awarded a five-star rating, with an adult occupancy safety score of 91%. It achieved an 85% score in the child occupant category and the car’s autonomous emergency braking system was highly commended.

The latest M5 Competition carries over all of the safety technology from the facelifted 5 Series, including updated lane keeping, lane changing assist and a 360-degree camera. Buyers can also add the Driving Assistant Professional, which uses the Active Navigation to automatically perform lane changes in advance. Rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control also feature.

BMW’s Parking Assistant Plus system was added to the M5 in the mid-2020 facelift, and is capable of automatically reversing the car into a space for a distance of up to 50 metres. A further addition is Drive Recorder, which uses a series of cameras dotted around the bodywork to continuously record footage as you drive, automatically saving the 20 seconds before and after any collision.

(carbuyer.co.uk)

If you have a relatively new or older car that just a few days ago, just when these high daily temperatures started, simply built-in air conditioning stopped cooling, you really have no luck.

No cooled air coming out of the ventilation opening? So far you have not had any problems with the car air conditioning and now you do not know what to do! We have the answer to questions like this…

We advise you to leave your car in the hands of a specialist in the repair of car air conditioners who has many years of experience. Regardless of the age of your car, 3 to 8% of the gas in the cooling system is lost every year and its efficiency decreases. The service technician needs to see where the fault is, maybe the compressor is working, but the gas has come out of the system, so it cannot cool the air inside the vehicle cabin. In any case, an expert will fill your air conditioner with gas and contrast, and in a day or two you will be called in for a check-up so you can see where the gas is coming out and recommend a way to repair it.

Filling the air conditioner with gas without contrast currently costs from 150 to 250 kuna, and the price of the repair depends, of course, on the severity of the fault, which can only be determined by diagnosis. During service, the refrigerant gas is removed from the system and impurities and moisture are removed from it. The system is vacuumed to remove moisture from the system and refilled with recycled and purified gas and refilled with new as needed.

In addition to gas, the system is also filled with compressor lubricating oil. A contrast agent is added to the gas to make it easier to check the tightness of the system. It is recommended to do the service every two years.

Despite the popularity of new SUVs, the fact is that not everybody wants to sit up high in a quasi-off-road station wagon. And for those remaining resisters, Honda has this: the updated 2022 Honda Civic. As you can see, the new Civic has shed its old “boy racer” look and has adopted the calmer, more conservative appearance of the bigger Accord sedan. Gone are the odd bumper polygons and the low and racy roofline, and in its place we have … well, what appears to be a three-quarter-scale Accord. But how much of the rest of the old racy Civic has become the new, more conservative Accord? I recently got to spend a couple of days with the new 2022 Honda Civic Touring, and I can confirm: The new one has grown up in many ways.

Controversial Looks
From the outside, the new car is easily mistaken for the Accord. There are many styling similarities, from the new proportions of the longer, lower body to the more upright roofline and larger windows; even that little kink in the C-pillar is copied over from the Accord sedan. It’s a decidedly more conservative look than the Civic has had for the previous two generations, and it comes just as competitors are getting ever more outrageous (have a look at the new Hyundai Elantra) in order to stand out and grab whatever share of the shrinking compact sedan class they can get. It’s not a bad look for the Civic, by any means, but its tepidness does make me wonder how this is going to look in a Type R version with scoops, wings and ducts added.

It’s Strong at Heart
Under the hood is a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable transmission, which is, yes, the Accord powertrain. But in the Civic EX and Touring trims, this powertrain combination is good for 180 horsepower and 177 pounds-feet of torque, understandably less than it makes in the bigger Accord. It’s one of two possible engines in the new Civic, the other being a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder you get in the basic LX and Sport trims making 158 horsepower and 138 pounds-feet of torque. (Both are tied to the retuned CVT). There’s no sporty Si model or fire-breathing Type R track monster just yet, but Honda likes to get the basic stuff out of the way first before turning up the heat later on.

A Rethink of Honda Interiors
While Honda stylists may have made a near carbon copy of the Accord from the outside, the inside is a whole new world for the brand. The interior is much, much different than the Accord, featuring a retro-cool style that brings back some of the boxier looks of classic Japanese cars of the 1980s. There’s a long strip of hexagonal mesh dash trim that hides the front passenger climate control vents, and the interior itself no longer looks like it was designed by several committees that never talked to each other. What do I mean by that? Well, the doors now meld well with the dash design, and the graining of the materials is the same from the dash to the doors, as well. There’s a sophistication to the new Civic interior that looks quite refreshing, and it comes from a newfound minimalism that we first saw in the Honda e electric car that’s not sold in the U.S.

The new electronics look good, with a high-mounted 9-inch multimedia screen (the biggest ever fitted to a Honda-brand vehicle) easily reachable by the driver, with a dedicated volume knob and a big prominent “home” button. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard with the 9-inch system in the Touring but require a cable if you stick with the standard 7-inch multimedia system. The new 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster that comes only in the Touring trim is also well done, with four possible arrangements: either traditional round dials or bar-type graphics, each also featuring a minimalist option that reduces the information overload to the driver.

Overall, there are only as many buttons as are needed, nothing extra, nothing confusing. Everything is arranged within the driver’s sightlines. I can even see the buttons that Honda likes to mount low and to the left of the driver’s knee without a problem now. You feel like you’re sitting low in the Civic thanks to the plentiful headroom, but the windshield feels upright and the dash and beltline feel low, improving the outward visibility considerably over the past Civic. The steering wheel feels substantial, and the shifter position (note that it’s not a push-button affair) is perfectly located for resting your hand.

Materials quality was excellent in the top Touring trim level I drove, with leather seats and nicer trim up top. It’s also plenty spacious inside, with about average room for the category both front and back. The tall design to the overall exterior sheet metal comes in handy in the trunk, which feels quite capacious, with sufficient room in it to wonder if the upcoming hatchback model is really necessary. There’s a maturity to this design; it’s more friendly and approachable than futuristic and fantastical, but it again makes me wonder how Honda is going to zoot this up for its sporty models down the road. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

More Entertaining Than Expected
Or will we? The Touring trim may not be the vaunted Si, but it still is far more entertaining to drive than any non-sport Civic trim level I’ve ever tried. The turbocharged engine is super-torquey; even a light jab of the pedal brings surprising acceleration. The transmission may be one of the best-tuned CVT units I’ve ever tried, it’s perfectly matched with the engine to provide quick power and impressive response. Something new for 2022 is a Sport mode on 2.0-liter Sport and turbocharged Touring trims, which changes steering and throttle response when you select it, allowing you to hustle the Civic along back roads with surprising speed — and you’ll find yourself grinning as you do it.

The whole experience of driving the new Civic is one of sophistication, and as good as an Accord is, this just might be better. The chassis response is excellent, the ride and handling balance is outstanding, and there’s actual steering feel and feedback, too. It feels considerably lighter on its feet than a new Accord, which always struck me as a bit piggish and heavy. Even the brakes are outstanding, providing excellent bite and progressive stopping strength without being the slightest bit grabby.

It may not be billed as a sporty sedan, but the Civic holds its own nicely and conveys the sensation of an advanced, refined, even premium driving experience. You can feel that the bones of the car are going to provide an amazing base for the actual sporty versions in the Si and Type R whenever they do arrive. I’d easily stack it up against the best out there like the latest Elantra, the Volkswagen Jetta or even more premium models like the Audi A3. If, like me, you really don’t see any need for a new crossover when there are still sedans out there that are this good, you’re going to want to put this new Civic on your list.

Long Live the Resistance
Honda has also brought some updates to the Civic’s onboard safety tech, now featuring available rear-seat side airbags, some next-generation front airbags meant to minimize head and neck trauma, and a new camera for forward facing systems like adaptive cruise control and pedestrian detection. There’s also a new optional 12-speaker Bose premium audio system that sounds fantastic. And loaded examples like my fully equipped Touring test car will come in just a hair less than $30,000, including destination.

But really, the story with the new Civic is the enhanced driving dynamics and simplified interior styling that elevate the car beyond its humble compact sedan class. It’s a substantial, satisfying car to drive, either on back roads or urban boulevards — and for SUV resisters, it’ll give you one more reason to avoid that new crossover for a few more years.

(cars.com)

According to the latest statements of the CEO of the Stellantis group, Carlos Tavares, it can be concluded that the competition has repeatedly wanted to take ownership of the Alfa Romeo brand, and the most serious was Volkswagen in 2018.

According to Autocar sources, contact was established between Volkswagen and the FCA Group during 2018 on the idea of ​​Ferdinand Piëch. The former director of Volkswagen often spoke positively about Alfa, for example during the Paris Motor Show in 2011 when he thought that this brand could flourish if it were owned by the VW Group, and even then said that Porsche could manage the Italian brand .

By 2018, Piëch no longer had the main say in Volkswagen’s day-to-day operations, but sources claim he was still determined to buy an Alfa Romeo. His interest jumped when investment company ADW Capital Management, a longtime owner of shares in the FCA, suggested that the Alfa Romeo brand could reach the level of Ferrari with a few changes.

Contact was established in June 2018, at the request of Ferdinand Piëch. Mike Manley, who then took over as CEO of the FCA Group, and Herber Diess, the head of Volkswagen, met to talk about potential collaboration. However, when Diess asked if Alfa Romeo was for sale he got a short and simple answer - no.

Singapore is the most expensive country to own a car

YouTuber Kuma Kuruma opens the topic using the Volkswagen Polo as an example, citing its open market value (OMV), or the price of the car before taxes and fees are applied.

According to B92, the value of the open market is 17,796 Singapore dollars. Then an excise tax of 20 percent of the value is added, in Paul's case 3,559 Singapore dollars. After that, there is the service tax (GST) which is 7 percent - 1494 Singapore dollars.

The worst fee is the registration fee (ARF), and for cars whose open market value is below 20,000 Singapore dollars, you pay an additional 100 percent of the open market value. This means that since Polov OMV is Singapore $ 17,796, its registration fee is that much more.

Add another 3,559 Singapore dollars in excise duty and 1,494 dollars in services tax, the total price of the new Paul in Singapore is 40,646 Singapore dollars, which is 30,226 US dollars, or 2,983,214.82 dinars.

However, once you've bought your new car, your troubles don't stop - you need one more thing before you can drive it: a Certificate of Rights (COE) that allows you to drive a newly acquired vehicle for up to 10 years. For one Polo, such a certificate would cost around 48,000 Singapore dollars, according to which the final cost of Polo would be 99,000 Singapore dollars, which is 73,620 dollars!

Lexus uses an altogether more comprehensive approach than Tesla does to achieving SAE Level 2 autonomy.

Tesla was first into the breach in the U.S. with a driver assist system capable of SAE Level 2 autonomy, which is the second-from-the-bottom tier of self-driving capability as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers. (Full or close to full self-driving gets Level 4 and 5 designations.) Autopilot handles acceleration, braking, steering, and even lane changes on its own, but only on contained roads such as freeways, and the driver must monitor things. That Tesla allowed its Autopilot-equipped vehicles even that much autonomous leeway with the meager sensor package onboard raised eyebrows—all the more so when you consider what Lexus is bringing to the table with its SAE Level 2 setup dubbed Teammate.

It's The Sensor Package, Stupid
Is Lexus late? Sure. Mercedes-Benz has offered similar capability to Autopilot for a few years now, including automated lane changes. But like Mercedes (which also trailed Autopilot), Lexus is coming in much better prepared.

Consider what Tesla works with: Its Autopilot-equipped vehicles (at least, before its recent abandonment of a forward radar sensor in the Model 3 and Model Y) include front, rear, and side-facing cameras, plus 12 near-range ultrasonic sensors (i.e., parking sensors). The larger Model S sedan and Model X SUV still include a forward-facing radar sensor, but Tesla has been pretty clear about the fact its onboard computers favor inputs from the cameras when scanning the road ahead.

Now consider what Lexus' first go with Teammate brings to the table: Front-facing Lidar, front-facing long-range radar, short-range radar facing the front and blind-spot areas (three directions in total), 360-degree parking cameras and ultrasonic sensors, a forward camera, and a front-facing telescope. Both Teammate and Tesla's Autopilot deliver a 360-degree view of the vehicle's surroundings, but one is like having Terminator vision, and the other is the relative equivalent of waving a stick around yourself while blindfolded.

Although Tesla claims its cameras can deliver "powerful visual processing at up to 250 meters of range," that performance is limited to certain conditions. Camera performance deteriorates in bad weather, whereas radar—so long as the sensor isn't physically blocked by, say, ice or packed snow—can detect fast-moving objects in rain or sleet. Every sensor has its limits, of course, but there's something reassuring about the multiple redundancy built into Lexus' setup, wherein overlap exists in the viewpoints of the Lidar, radar sensors, and cameras.

No matter how comprehensive the sensor package, eventually the driver will need to retake control for some reason or another. These are, after all, SAE Level 2 systems that demand the driver's attention at all times. Teammate is, predictably, more upfront about policing the driver's attention during use. An infrared camera above the steering wheel monitors the driver's head movements and eyes to make sure they're paying attention at all times, even while the system is working.

Like Tesla, Lexus relies on sensors in the steering wheel that detect the driver's grasp; with Teammate, you can go extended periods hands-free, but as soon as the system deems the driver is needed again, those hands better get to the wheel, quick, or else the car will begin to slow down and pull over.

Tesla, on the other hand, only recently began actually using the included in-car camera to track the driver's involvement in the Model 3 and Y; the Model S and X hadn't even included the cameras until their recent refresh. This lack of monitoring has made possible those moronic YouTube videos you may have seen showing Tesla drivers able to climb into the back seat, or even go to sleep, with Autopilot active, and with disastrous results.

So, How Does Lexus Teammate Work?
The short answer? It works well. The longer answer is, it feels like a future-looking driver assist designed by Toyota. In other words, the system truly acts as a driver's partner and less like a carefree system a driver activates and simply tunes out from for a while. There is an abundance of communication from the car about where on the spectrum of involvement the driver is or needs to be in a given situation, too.

On a brief drive in Dallas near Toyota's Plano, Texas, headquarters, we experienced Teammate's two primary operating modes: Advanced Drive navigated, and not navigated. One can plug a destination into the nav screen, and, should the route take you onto an eligible freeway, you'll be given a heads-up that Advanced Drive will soon be available as you approach an on-ramp. A distance countdown in the head-up display shows you exactly how far remains until hands-free driving is possible. Once on the freeway, a message flashes in the gauge cluster alerting you the system is initializing.

After a few seconds, if everything's gravy, a graphic in the gauge cluster turns blue and an audible alert invites you to activate Teammate's Advanced Drive function. Simply press the corresponding button on the steering wheel, and the system leaps into action, taking control of steering, braking, and acceleration at the speed you were traveling when you pressed the button. Drivers can use the cruise-control adjustment to increase or decrease their set speed.

Again, with a navigation destination set, the system alerts the driver when their exit is approaching; it determines and displays decisions 6 miles ahead of time, with exit urgency growing within 2 miles of an off-ramp. It prompts you to monitor lane changes toward that exit (if the car isn't already in the right lane). Intriguingly, the car won't simply accept a lane-change instruction (you can tap the signal stalk in the direction you'd like to go) or change lanes without you: Either way, it beckons you to check the mirrors and "blind spot." Fail to get this head-turning choreography right (remember, the in-car camera is watching!), and Teammate won't follow through. It's not that Teammate can't handle lane changes on its own: With rear-facing radar on each side, it can make sure a car isn't fast approaching in your blind spot and size up gaps in traffic. That's something Autopilot relies on parking sensors and a camera for. But Teammate will only do its robot thing with your participation.

Approaching exit ramps or forks in the freeway, Teammate will slow the vehicle and steer into the appropriate lane. The same distance countdown that shows your proximity to Advanced Drive-eligible freeways counts down the distance in feet remaining before the driver must take control. Teammate will guide the car fully down an off-ramp until this handoff. Fail to take the wheel, and the car cinches the seatbelt a few times to get your attention and sounds audible warnings before slowing rapidly. Tap the gas or brake (or press the Advanced Drive button on the wheel), and it hands you control. Using Teammate without navigation is much the same, minus the steering toward exits or through forks and without countdowns into and out of system eligibility.

Clever And Reassuring
As with Tesla's Autopilot, Lexus Teammate uses the digital gauge cluster display to depict the Lexus positioned within lane markers (those are the lines that turn blue when the system is active), as well as animations of surrounding vehicles and objects. The similarities end there. In Teslas, the animated onscreen version of events surrounding the car are jerky, and nearby vehicles fade in and out of the Tesla's field of vision. In the Lexus LS500h with Teammate we drove, objects nearby were rendered smoothly and accurately on screen, inspiring more confidence that Teammate knew what was going on.

The system's driving smoothness, too, inspired even more confidence. Our Lexus remained precisely in the center of its lane unless—and this was impressive—a vehicle next to it got too close or wandered over the lane marker, spurring a gentle readjustment to maintain distance. At one point while Teammating in the right-hand lane, a Ford Explorer barreled down an on-ramp and looked like it was about to cross into our lane early, before the solid painted line separating the lanes gave way to a dotted one. As the Explorer was more or less even with the Lexus, we figured the car would crank the brakes and let the SUV cut in (likely taking the car following us by surprise) or, maybe, not see the situation developing and we'd be sideswiped. Instead, the LS500h deftly faded to the left and accelerated (we were traveling at less than our set speed at the time) past the wayward Explorer. It's what a smart human would have done had one been driving.

Interestingly, Advanced Drive will beckon you to participate now and again, mostly when it isn't entirely sure of its surroundings. It won't necessarily ask you to retake full control, however. There exists an in-between state where the car will continue steering, braking, and accelerating, but it asks for your hands on the wheel. (The animated lane markers in the gauge cluster turn gray in these instances.) Should stuff really hit the fan—or you reach the end of an exit ramp after leaving the highway—a series of visual and audio warnings urge you to retake full control. In all, the setup's feedback loop bolstered its apparent capability, leaving us far more comfortable than in other similar combinations of adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist.

Teammate Going Forward
Lexus Teammate and Advanced Drive makes its debut on the 2022 LS500h hybrid sedan this fall. It also includes an Advanced Park function that fully handles parking, including steering, throttle, and braking (we didn't have the chance to try it). We suppose, over time, the feature will spread beyond the LS flagship sedan to other Lexus models, but Lexus has not yet specified its next steps. Curious how you'll spot a Teammate-equipped Lexus? Look for the little radar sensor units on each front fender (they look like vents but face rearward). Oh, and the driver may not be holding the wheel.

(motortrend.com)