INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In the future, cars will be far more customizable
Think about the endless options on your typical smartphone, including the ringtones, the wallpaper options, the tweaks you can do for app
the car itself drives.In a recent test of the 2019 VW Jetta GLI, a 228-horsepower racer, I found I could adjust basic settings using the
Drive Mode button, located to the right of the driver
With a click, you can select options like normal, comfort, and sport
custom mode, which lets you tweak the drive modes in more detail
I was surprised by the setting for the exhaust, which you can adjust in volume
Custom then use the small pencil icon to make further adjustments
A pop-up for each specific option appears.For example, you can also adjust the Dynamic Chassis Control or DCC to comfort, normal or sport
DCC adjusts the suspension of each tire as you drive, so in sport mode you can feel the road more intuitively, and in comfort mode you glide
I tested this multiple times on highways and around curves on country roads, and there is a distinct difference.In the custom drive mode
screen, you can also tweak the settings for steering, front differential lock (for traction and handling), drive system (throttle response),
the exhaust, and climate control (in eco mode, the car disables air conditioning)
The idea is that you want to feel the road and maintain control of the car for more spirited driving
complaining about the bumps on the road and felt a bit nauseous because the corners pulled harder that they wanted
I was able to press the Drive Mode button and quickly select comfort mode, which helped everyone feel less like they were on a track.I could
see someone tweaking the settings to provide a blend of comfort and tighter control, leaving the suspension on comfort but choosing to
tightening up the steering, for example.Image 1 of 3Image credit: Josiah BondyImage 2 of 3Image credit: Josiah BondyImage 3 of 3Image
credit: Josiah BondyAs usual, my thoughts drifted to how this might change as cars become ever more advanced
It might be settings for whether the autonomous car tech is more aggressive about passing other cars and getting us to a destination
faster.It might have more to do with making all of the suspension settings more comfortable during certain parts of a drive, but then we
would take over on country roads when the corners and straightaways are a bit more fun and challenging.On The Roadis TheIndianSubcontinent's
regular look at the futuristic tech in today's hottest cars
John Brandon, a journalist who's been writing about cars for 12 years, puts a new car and its cutting-edge tech through the paces every
One goal: To find out which new technologies will lead us to fullydriverless cars
