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BMW has announced that its Night Vision system, which uses infrared technology to allow the driver to see beyond current headlight range, is now available on the BMW 5 and 6 Series.
It first appeared in the 7-Series six months ago and uses a Far Infrared (FIR) thermal imaging camera to see heat-emitting objects; some alternative systems use an IR beam to illuminate objects at night. According to BMW, its system creates an image of pedestrians, animals or other heat-emitting objects at distances of up to 300m – far further than any other system currently on offer and further than the 150m range of xenon headlights. The images are then projected onto the iDrive screen.
BMW said it believes its system is superior to rival manufacturers as the images shown are only those that emit the most heat, and so stand out far better in a driver’s peripheral vision. The system means drivers do not have to take their eyes off the road, said BMW, and it is particularly effective on long stretches of unlit road or motorway.
Night Vision is available now on BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series models and costs £1,385.
Price increases
BMW has also inched up the prices of its more popular models, such as a big chunk of the 3-Series range, especially the convertibles, which go up 1.3 per cent while the 6-Series price rises are as high as 1.6 per cent – roughly £750.
It first appeared in the 7-Series six months ago and uses a Far Infrared (FIR) thermal imaging camera to see heat-emitting objects; some alternative systems use an IR beam to illuminate objects at night. According to BMW, its system creates an image of pedestrians, animals or other heat-emitting objects at distances of up to 300m – far further than any other system currently on offer and further than the 150m range of xenon headlights. The images are then projected onto the iDrive screen.
BMW said it believes its system is superior to rival manufacturers as the images shown are only those that emit the most heat, and so stand out far better in a driver’s peripheral vision. The system means drivers do not have to take their eyes off the road, said BMW, and it is particularly effective on long stretches of unlit road or motorway.
Night Vision is available now on BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series models and costs £1,385.
Price increases
BMW has also inched up the prices of its more popular models, such as a big chunk of the 3-Series range, especially the convertibles, which go up 1.3 per cent while the 6-Series price rises are as high as 1.6 per cent – roughly £750.
Cadillac stopped with their nightvision too. All the taxis in my area are devilles or town cars and the Cadillacs are very cool to be in at night. It works really well, I think from now on the only GM cars getting HUD's will be the XLR, STS and Corvette so owners of those cars can still get a unit from GMPP and install it like new in their cars and they would work fine.
