Continental ‘Simpify Your Drive India’

Earlier this year, we had tested Continental AG's Simplify Your Drive (SyD) technology and found it very intriguing. The company had then promised to come up with an Indianised version of Syd by mid this year. Staying true to their word, Continental has unveiled its concept SyD, customised specially for the Indian market.

Should you need a refresher on the Continental Simplify Your Drive technology, 

To my surprise, the same Volkswagen Passat has undergone a complete character change at Continental's Pune facility in couple of months. While the basics of SyD remain the same, the three drive profiles — Sport, Eco and Comfort — have been redesigned as Work Mode, Home Mode and Play Mode. Well, now let's find out what these three modes mean for Indian drivers.

Work Mode

Work Mode is designed with the business class in mind. The focal point is the rear of the car, assuming the car is chauffeur driven, with the owner seated in the back. On this mode, the car is tuned towards comfort, not performance. The instrument cluster displays very basic and chauffeur oriented information, while the rear seat multimedia screen provides news alerts, stock market quotes, flight details, calendar entries etc. thanks to high connectivity via Cloud technology. Most remarkably, the owner can send his exact location on the map to the car via SMS, thus helping the chauffeur reach the owner hassle freely. SyD also displays real-time flight details so that he can reach the pick-up point precisely when the owner walks out of the airport.

Home Mode

Based on key-identification, the 'home mode' is customised based on whether the car is owner or chauffer driven. The zones of the car change from a right-left conditioning of the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), to a front-rear focus, based on where the owner is seated. Audio focus and output are also adjusted accordingly. While the cluster screen shows important activities to be done in the city and at home, location based information such as places to dine and watch movies are displayed on secondary and rear screens.

Play Mode

Play Mode is virtually similar to the Sport Mode. The suspension and steering firm up, full power is released from the engine and transmission shifts later and closer to the upper end to the rev-range for extreme driving pleasure. Since this mode is solely developed for the owner of the car, the focus is on the front cabin. Joyful and vibrant colours on the screens create a fun and sporty ambiance in the cabin. Information regarding hobbies, parties and trips are displayed on secondary display and rear screens. Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning systems are activated to aid the drive. Animated drift indicator shows G-forces on every turn. There's a kids' zone that keeps them engaged, too.

What I really liked about the Simplify Your Drive technology is the 'Affordable Smartphone Integration' that allows the owner of the car to control various functions of the car and get necessary information via his mobile phone. It's nothing but an App that makes your smartphone a remote control to your car. Suppose your chauffeur is trying to drive on the Play Mode without your knowledge; the car instantly sends you an alert, you tap the Work Mode icon on your phone and the car changes the mode to 'Work'- how cool is that!

According to Mr. Tejas Desai, Head of Interior Electronics Solutions (IES), the car informs the owner via text messages about its current position and technical condition. This allows the owner of the car to monitor the driving patterns of his or her chauffeur, bringing a sense of security.

When the concept is ready for volume production, car manufacturers will be able to store their own as well as customer-specific settings in the vehicle according to the driving profiles. Continental claims that the SyD can be integrated even into a Tata Nano, but make no mistakes, they are not going to throw in a Play Mode or adjustable suspension into a Nano. A scaled down format of SyD for the small cars in India will be unveiled by Summer next year and by now we know Continental doesn't make fake promises.

IT  IS TESTED IN CAR HERE IS THE PICTURE  :

Can you imagine your car changing its demeanour according to your driving moods? Weekdays a sedan for relaxing business trips, Saturdays a budget car to go shopping, Sundays a sports car for sheer driving fun - and all these at the tap of a button? Interesting; isn't it?

Continental AG has developed a technology that changes the driving dynamics of the car, out of a choice of three pre-configured modes - Comfort, Eco and Sport. The system called 'Simplify Your Drive' enables drivers to exploit their vehicles' full functional potential, rather buy one car and experience many different ones.

Continental has integrated the technology into a Volkswagen Passat. The car doesn't look any different, cosmetically. However, the motor, chassis and suspension settings can be configured to fit any situation on the road. Although many other carmakers offer sport, comfort and eco settings, I must say Continental has the most appealing system so far, thanks to simple yet appealing Human Machine Interface and reconfigurable displays.

These three buttons on the centre console help you swap between three modes — Eco, Comfort and Sport.

On the Eco mode, all functions are tuned for an eco-friendly driving. The speedometre and the ambiance become green. A green "magic eye" on the display grows larger, as an incentive for an eco-friendly driving style. There is an engine "inhibitor" that curbs power, shifts gears early and the suspension is lowered to improve aerodynamics. However, the most interesting feature is the accelerator pedal that generates counterpressure to alert driver to non-eco-friendly accelerating behavior. That cloverleaf you see on the screen in an incentive system that encourages eco-conscious driving.

The Comfort mode creates a soothing blue ambience inside the cabin. The display is slimmed down to its essential elements allowing the driver to relax and concentrate on driving. Convenient engine-transmission harmonization and pleasing damping coupled with maximum spring travel ensure you enjoy the optimum comfort level. Moreover, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning systems are activated so that you can relax and enjoy the drive.

Well, the real fun begins when you touch that horse on the centre console. The car turns into a horse, literally. Yes, you are in the Sport mode now; the suspension and steering have firmed up, full power is released from the engine and transmission shifts later and closer to the upper end to the rev-range. The display and the ambiance become sporty red and the animated drift indicator shows G-forces on every turn. To add to the whole fun, blip the throttle and the sound it emits is pure aural delight.

If you wonder how Simplify Your Drive would adapt to Indian driving conditions, wait for another couple of months, Continental AG is on the last stage of developing the technology to 'simplify our drive' in India.