The latest Audi A6, A7, A8, S6, S7, S8, and Q7 cars all feature the Audi Night Vision Assistant system.
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Apps and connectivity 4.5/5
Even though this is a technical assessment, it would be impermissible to neglect to remark how stunning the Audi A4 Avant is to look at. The Audi A4 Avant exudes quality and attention to detail in spades, with sharp angles, a ton of exquisite features, and almost predatory headlights. The A4 isn’t flashy with it, which is the greatest part despite all the evident design work that has gone into it. The car is gorgeous, yet it doesn’t beg to be gawked at.
That mentality is there inside as well when you open the door. The interior of the Audi is a study in clean, practical aesthetics and gives other auto interiors a congested appearance. The A4 Avant can also bathe its occupants in a color of their choosing when equipped with what Audi refers to as its Extended LED Interior Lighting Pack. You can even link a particular light setting to the Drive Select mode; for example, the lights can be set to turn red in sport mode and blue in comfort mode.
You could be excused for assuming that the Audi A4 would have relatively little connectivity given how basic the interior is and how attractive the lighting isbut you’d be incorrect.
The interior of the Audi is packed with options despite its elegant exterior. For your phone and thumb drives, there are two USB ports. Additionally, Audi includes a reliable 3.5mm AUX connection so you can play just about anything with an audio output.
A number of less common connections are also included, including a DVD drive for music CDs and DVDs and two SD card slotsconnections that are now only seen in cars that go all-out for connectivity. Since it’s 2016, the A4 undoubtedly has Bluetooth as well. Pairing my phone with the Audi was easy and quick.
In terms of apps, the Audi A4 Avant also performs well. Audi connect, a news and app aggregator that streams content from your smartphone to the car’s dashboard, may be launched by the A4 once it has been paired with your phone. You can view your Flickr images, link to your Twitter account, and surf the media on your phone in addition to the standard information like the weather and gasoline prices.
Audi connect also provides the option to use the A4 as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices. The performance of this feature depends on the network and phone being used to tether it. The Audi has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay just like several other VW Group vehicles I’ve tried, and with the latter you have access to the majority of Apple apps, Siri, and even third-party music and radio services like Spotify and TuneIn Radio.
Display and UI and general performance 5/5
It’s best to just state the obvious right away: the Audi A4 Avant costs $40,000 and lacks a touchscreen. And what about that? That’s okay, though, because the Audi manages to make it work through the use of a sharp display and intuitive, quick-responding controls. Even though CarPlay is primarily intended for touchscreen use, I found it to be simple to use and intuitive.
The Audi I examined featured the 1,450 Technology Pack, which meant it had some of Audi’s top equipment. The A4 Avant has a sleek, floating panel that looks nearly pasted on in place of a huge screen that is integrated into the dashboard, yet the design really works. You will access the majority of the car’s systems through this screen, which measures 8.3n across the diagonal and is framed in aluminum. No matter how light the interior is, the A4’s screen is sharp, easy to see, has good black level, and has distinct graphics.
The Audi, though, has a benefit over many other vehicles I’ve tested, and it goes by the name of Virtual Cockpit. This system, which is included in the 975 Light and Vision Pack, replaces your standard analogue dials with a sizable 12.3in screen and an nVidia Tegra 3 SoC (system on chip) to provide fluid, polished graphics. And the cost is definitely justified.
In actual use, I discovered this to be among the most astounding driver-focused systems available simply because it is so transparent, dependable, and smoothexactly what you want from an in-car system. The Virtual Cockpit may display your satnav map in addition to music track titles and vehicle settings, with both dials shrinking out of the way to make room for it.
The entire Audi UI can be described as being straightforward, responsive, and reliable. It cannot be overstated how everything worked as I wanted it to when I wanted it, from the main menu to the radio interface in the car. The last thing you need while traveling through an unfamiliar area or at a traffic light when you’re unsure which route to make next is to encounter a frozen screen or a perplexing menu, yet that never happened with the Audi. After a few hours of driving, I saw that I was checking everything without considering how much time I had, from the weather to changing songs at the lights. That’s significant.
The controls Audi provides you are essential because the A4 lacks a touchscreen, and I felt that they were more than capable of handling the job. Four shortcut keys, a back and home button, and a huge circular dial that can be rotated, nudged, and pushed down to choose objects flank the primary control.
Although it might seem a little tricky at first, it’s actually very simple to use and grasp, allowing me to quickly navigate the A4’s panels and menus without pausing to check the controls.
The A4 is one of the most intuitive cars I’ve ever driven when everything is taken into account, including the small yet functional steering-based controls. That’s impressive when compared to rivals like the Tesla Model S and the BMW 7-Series.
Sat nav and audio
However, being intuitive is pointless without performance to support it, and it should come as no surprise that this Volkswagen Group vehicle does. The sat nav performs all of the expected functions. Both multi-route planning and a thorough POI search are now available, and you can use them while traveling to another location.
Additionally, the Audi can retrieve data on specific POIs from Wikipedia, which is a capability I was happy to see even if it isn’t really necessary.
The voice-driven search system in the Audi A4 was just as good as that in the VW Golf GTE and Passat. Even so, the Audi’s Virtual Cockpit technology put it ahead of many of the other cars I’ve driven, despite the fact that the regular dashboard display was good.
The Audi also fared well in terms of audio, albeit not dramatically. The Audi delivered a calm and pleasant sound at ordinary settings, with enough of controlled, tight bass that never became too loose or boomy. However, when things pick up speed, the Audi’s composed resolve breaks out. The A4 is let down by buzzing in the cabin and a tendency for highs to get a little harsh. Even if you’re playing music over Bluetooth from an Android phone, the Audi has one great feature: it uses Gracenote to provide music info and album art right to the dashboard.
Driving and parking assistance
The Audi is a pleasant and elegant car to drive, and ours had the Parking Assistant Pack Advanceda 1,675 option as standard. Additionally, it came with cruise control and blind spot detection as standard equipment. The latter is present in the majority of vehicles, but the Audi’s solution is particularly ingenious; a light on the inside of the wing mirror flashes whenever a vehicle enters the blind spot area. As a final resort, the Audi also has AEB (autonomous emergency braking).
The Audi will also park itself once you’ve finished operating it. The Audi uses ultrasonic sensors to instantly scan and locate your parking place after pressing a button on the dashboard (it works with both parallel parking and perpendicular bays). It accomplished the task fast and effectively, albeit it wasn’t any better or worse than many other parking systems I’ve used. The Audi offers a park out feature as well, but it only exits the space you’re in, leaving you to straighten the car out once you’re on the road.
The Audi has you covered if you’d rather park the A4 yourself. One of the most complete camera systems I’ve seen works in conjunction with front and rear parking sensors. These can provide a top-down, 360-degree perspective as well as the front and rear of the automobile, as well as the front and back corners.
Verdict 5/5
When looking for a high-end German vehicle, Audi may not be the most obvious option, but it ought to be. Audi has emerged with one of the best-designed packages on the road today after spending many years living in the shadow of its more legendary competitors.
The Audi A4 Avant or one of its siblings is a fantastic option if you want modern yet modest appearance and all the utility of a VW car with a stronger feeling of occasion. The A4 is one of the top all-around vehicles available when you pair that refinement with practical technology like Apple CarPlay and Audi connect.
Has the Audi e-tron night vision?
The Audi e-tron has a night vision assist option. A far-infrared camera is used for the Audi e-night tron’s vision assistance. It responds to the heat that objects emit. The information can be seen in the instrument cluster or Audi virtual cockpit in black and white pictures.
While people and animals appear startlingly brilliant, the cooler surroundings appear black.
The system can detect people and larger wild animals at a distance of around 10 to 90 meters (32.8 to 295.3 ft), and it highlights them with yellow markings. The system has a range of up to 300 meters (984.3 ft). A warning sound is released if a dangerous condition is discovered. Both the head-up display and the instrument cluster display a warning symbol. Three brief light flashes are used to illuminate people outside the town borders, depending on the headlights.
How does a car’s night vision function?
Having night vision can be a major asset and offer numerous advantages if the lighting is poor. The distance of things in front of the car can be gauged using thermographic sensors that detect IR waves or heat returning to the vehicle. Knowing your stopping distance in snow and rain improves everyone’s safety when driving. The night vision feature will help you see what is in front of your car if the road is poorly lighted, allowing you to spot potential hazards earlier. You can avert an accident by using the night vision to detect not only other vehicles on the road but also pedestrians, deer, and other animals.
Is night vision on a car worth it?
When planning to purchase your next vehicle, automotive night vision is definitely something to think about because it can now consistently identify and warn you to pedestrians, cyclists, and deer beyond the range of your headlights. The most advanced systems use algorithms to detect whether an infrared hot spot is a moving, live object close to the road, and then they swivel a headlight element to alert both the driver and the object, whether it be a person or animal.
This is a far cry from the early, low-functioning systems that were available from 2000 to 2014, cost up to $3,000, and necessitated the driver’s constant eye movement from the road to the display to the road. Since then, component costs have decreased significantly, but an integrated night vision system is still unavailable for less than $2,000. Now that is. Systems may eventually cost less than $1,000, and then for scaled-down systems, as little as $500.
How passive night vision works: long range, simpler image
A grille-mounted infrared sensor is generally used by night vision systems to scan the road for heated things. The sensor, which is a video camera, records infrared light that is just above visible light. The dashboard display receives the moving image from the sensor. This is increasingly combined with advanced algorithms that can recognize people and large animals and, most recently, can sound an alarm. All night vision technology are like this.
The majority of night vision devices are passive. Consider the word “passive” as efficient rather than weak or meek. They do not require additional lighting to measure the heat produced by living things. On the LCD of the automobile, warmer objects appear as lighter images, while colder objects appear as dark images. The road and the rocks between the dark grays continue to radiate heat into the evening. It resembles viewing a photography negative in certain ways (see the image at the top of the story). One of the technologies that thrilled a generation of Americans as they watched surgical air and missile attacks from the Gulf War on CNN in vivid green tones is passive night vision, combined with light amplification goggles and scopes. (Least thrilling if you were on the ground.)
When it comes to claimed range, passive night vision wins handily, up to 1,000 feet or 300 meters. (Theoretically, that would take more than 10 seconds to go at 60 mph on a country road.) Rainy and hazy weather is excellent for passive systems. Passive sensors are used by the majority of automobiles, including BMW and Audi. On the negative side, passive systems perform worse in warmer environments. More effectively than camels against sand, they can detect polar bears against snow. For example, BMW claims that 98F is the maximum range for effectiveness (35C). Additionally, they are situated so low in the grille or beneath the bumper that, when you approach a traffic light, you virtually glance up to the level of the exhaust system on the vehicle in front of you. The vista would be pleasing to lugers.
How active night vision works: shorter range, lifelike images
An infrared illuminator, occasionally a component of the headlight cluster, is used by active night vision systems to illuminate the road in the IR band. An image with a better resolution than passive is possible. Buildings and roads are easier to see. Drivers initially mistake the road ahead for a black-and-white television because of this.
For a better view, it is feasible to position the camera higher in the vehicle, in the rearview mirror cluster. Active night vision systems’ range is limited by rain, snow, or fog, and their performance decreases with increasing distance, just like regular headlamps. The realistic image may lead some drivers to believe they can control their vehicle solely with the help of the night vision display, but this is simply untruewith the possible exception of a brief period on country roads where the illuminator clearly illuminates the pavement centerline and edge markings.
Active NV’s greatest flaw is its estimated 500650 foot (150200 meter) range. That still amounts to two football fields.
Some automakers combine passive and active sensing techniques for night vision, which Mercedes-Benz currently does (photo above). Usually, a positive, not a negative, monochrome image is displayed.
How it works on the road: Auto detection and alerting makes all the difference
Since the early 2000s, I have intermittently driven night vision vehicles, notably the Cadillac DeVille and later the Hummer. At the time, everyone had an impression on me similar to that of a dancing bear: You are so taken aback by the bear’s performance that you overlook the issue of how well it is dancing. About five years ago, night vision improved with the ability to detect pedestrians and then animals; the hazard is indicated by a light-colored rectangle. This progressed to the point where the moving things were actually coloredusually yellow for people and orange for animals.
The proactive warning, which includes an auditory alarm and a warning icon in the instrument cluster or, better yet, in the head-up display, is the true advancement. Several times while driving night vision-equipped BMWs on country roads in rural New York State and Cape Cod, the alert went off before I noticed a human or moving animal. I slowed down, made an effort to look farther ahead along the road, and ultimately, most of the time, I could make out the object. I missed the person or animal a couple of times after the alert, and I was unable to determine whether the signal was a false positive or whether the object had moved outside the warning zone by the time it was detected by spotlights.
The most remarkable night vision systems are those found in Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles. The 12.3-inch TFT instrument panel serves as your night vision display. Mercedes had active systems and a positive (B&W TV-like) rather than a negative perception of the road at first, so there was a force-be-with-you feeling that you could drive only based on the NV display. It’s simply not feasible.
Because NV doesn’t take up the white or yellow pavement border markers, it is obviously impossible to operate a passive system vehicle at night. In a shadowy world of darkness, along with the hotspots of people, animals, and car exhausts, and the in-between shadings of the pavement, buildings, and trees that maintain some warmth at night, it is impossible to be certain of the direction of the road or the bounds of the pavement. What seems negative is positive: The passive detector discovers objects farther away and informs you in time for you to take action, so you won’t be tempted to drive past the display for more than a moment or two (almost nobody is that stupid).
Passive night vision awakens your inner voyeurist. You can identify which vehicles were just recently parked for the night by looking at the heat signature in the early morning. Once I saw a car with its windows fogged over and the silhouette of a couple crouched on one side. In the early 2000s, at the height of carjacking fears, GM proposed using night vision to detect intruders or attackers hiding in the bushes next to your driveway.
Swiveling headlamps pinpoint pedestrians, animals
Now that night vision is an option, it is easier to understand why high-end, $1,000 headlamp modifications are justified. Steerable headlights, also known as adaptive headlamps, swivel with the steering wheel to improve visibility as you navigate turns. Eventually, they will also use on-board navigation to adjust the headlamps immediately before the turn.
It is feasible to direct the beam from one headlamp segment and shine it on the inconsiderate pedestrian or wildlife when the car has a numerous array of headlamps. The automaker can set a constant tracking beam or strobing (flashing) for a clearer signal depending on whether it’s a human or animal. For pedestrians, the narrowly concentrated beam may be directed at the lower body so that the pedestrian is visible to the vehicle but not blinded.
Different ways to shine the light on living objects
Night vision systems are available in Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and BMW-owned Rolls-Royce. These systems are all provided by Autoliv of Sweden, the world’s largest supplier of automotive technology and safety components like airbags and seat belts, and they all use imaging sensors made by Flir of California. The leader in the field, GM, doesn’t currently sell a night vision system. Neither does Honda/Acura, which a decade ago had night vision with a type of pedestrian detection. Due to a low take rate, Lexus discontinued selling its Night View technology (on the Lexus GS) after 2013.
The Matrix Beam headlamps of the Audi Night Vision Assistant (A6, A7, A8) are used to highlight pedestrians in the path of the car. The algorithm, like other warning systems, also finds and highlights people and animals away from the road, but only sounds the alert if the object is in danger of being hit. Price: $2,300.
There are a few extra functions exclusive to BMW Night Vision with Dynamic Light Spot (5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X5, X6, Rolls-Royce Ghost and Wraith). One of the headlamp modules transforms into a spotlight that follows the pedestrian who is in or near the roadway once the pedestrian is identified as a danger. There is a special “deer in the headlights” feature for animals. As the car approaches, the spotlight strobes (flashes) more frequently and slowly. The option is known as BMW Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection in the US. It costs $2,300 and could need the cold weather package, a $900 extra.
As a pedestrian crosses a street, Mercedes-Benz Night View Assist Plus (SL-Class, S-Class) flashes a portion of the headlight units to alert them and show the driver where they are. The 12.3-inch LCD instrument panel is used in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is our Editors’ Choice. The center stack LCD is used by Night View in the midsize E-Class. Price is $2,260.
The fully functional systems in the lab and in Europe operate in the same manner. Unfortunately, out-of-date headlamp standards in the US limit what automakers can offer. New technological advancements that might ultimately save lives have a history of being approved slowly by the US Department of Transportation and its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is the case with rear flashers that immediately strobe a car coming up behind you or night vision spotlighting. Years ago, the NHTSA banned high-performance headlights from sale. They are still unsure of how to interpret the BMW i8’s laser headlamps or the Audi matrix headlamps (seen above).