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Now my parents want one

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  MinhSATx 
#1 ·
I've been encouraging my elderly parents, both in there mid 80s to buy a new car with a sophisticated driving assist package. I said they should be looking at Mercedes, or a BMW with "drivers assistance pro". Now after looking around they're considering an i4. They currently drive a diesel 3 series but there is no driver's assistance package on it at all.

I'd like to hear people's thoughts on whether a sophisticated driver assist package is a good idea for elderly people that are healthy and well but maybe not quite as quick as they were when they were younger. Or perhaps even remembering to engage it or not trusting it might be a serious issue. Maybe more harm than good?
 
#2 ·
You know it’s not such a great car getting in and out of, you sit low and this idrive 8 can be a bit complicated. But if they already have a 3 series it’s practically the same in the front
I’ve heard that they did a real good job concealing all the safety features so that they’re there but not noticeable daily driving it. People seem generally positive towards the lane assist stuff as well, but that it requires pretty well marked roads to work. Stuff like self-parking exists but I don’t know how good it is.. maybe someone with a couple of years old car would shed some light on that.
Which kind of aids do they want the most?
 
#3 ·
The best answer I think, is to have them go for a test drive on an ice version of the gran coupe.
This will give them the "getting in and out test" suggested by inception, and even if you preset the parameters of the driver assist, they can still experience it. My 2016 435i has no problem with self parking, backing in or paralell, but it does take some getting used to trusting it. I can only imagine that tech has gotten better.
What I would point out is the 3d benefits of the camera system, which will help them greatly in parking on their own.
Sometimes what old people will not tell you is that in their mind they don't mind assistance, but don't want "too much assistance" that they lose the ability to do things themselves. The older we get the more we have to fight to be self reliant, and ability to control our environment from people and things that want to take choices away from us.

Dan
 
#5 ·
Thanks so much for taking the time Dan. Some really good points here. I hadn't even thought of the 3D camera view of the car. My parents would love this and for sure it will help them a lot with parking even if they're not using the automatic parking feature.

Unfortunately, there isn't a single vehicle on the lot in our city with "driver assistant pro" so trying it out isn't really an option. I think we'll have our i4 in about 3 or 4 months so they can try it then...it just means they'll have to wait longer for theirs if they get one too.

Fortunately, my dad's not one to be kicking and screaming into his old age and embraces new technology even though he sometimes has a difficult time following it. On the other hand, my 85 year old mother has the technical savvy of your average 30 something.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I would suggest that the majority of the safety features (there are 40 of them I think) are turned on by default and there is a yellow icon appears on your instrument panel for each one you turn off even partially, so it's fairly fool proof. The highway adaptive cruise with start/stop and lane assist that comes with DAP turns on exactly as the pre-DAP cruise control that has been there a long, long time, though I think they turn on without lane assist, you have to push the mode button to get it to turn on the lane assist. And don't forget that the eyesight monitoring will even brake the car after flashing yellow, red and buzzing and vibrating if it detect the driver is not able or won't look at the road in front. So I would recommend your parent take advantage of the technology.

Having a qualified salesperson (or you) guiding them through a 4 series gran coupe would be a great way to introduce it to them to @dspevack's point. But if you read the manual (link available on thread "Compilation of data" on this forum), starting at section "Collision warning systems" on page 174, and section "Driver Assistance Systems" on page 203, you'll probably do a better job explaining it to them as the best salespeople short of your local genius. Just don't confuse them with all the options to turn them off or partially off, explain to them what it does, and show them the basic DAP (turn on, change the mode, adjust the speed). This could help:

On the Gran Coupe though, this would be what they see:

 
#6 ·
Thanks again MinhSatx...I'm going to forward these videos to my parents. I'm glad no one here has said that these features will be overwhelming to elderly seniors. As is the case with many seniors, having the independence to continue driving safely into there old age is really important to them. Them doing it safely is really important to me.
 
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