The Hindu Business Line : Features not featured in Indian models

Advanced features that are part of standard equipment in high-end car models abroad will either not be found in India-spec models or will be disabled before sale here. Read on to find out why.

Sat-Nav systems as in the Merc S-Class

The automobile market is now into the second decade after reforms first opened up the sector for overseas manufacturers, and there is really no dearth for choice and options for the Indian buyer in any price segment and vehicle category. This is true even for those looking at pricey super luxury and performance sports cars, where brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari, Audi and BMW rub fenders with what the rest of us drive.

But though the kind of technology and hi-tech features that many such revered brands offer as part of standard kit in markets elsewhere will be the envy of other car owners, quite a few just cannot be part of the Indianised versions. Some of these literally jaw-dropping features are not offered in the India-spec versions due to legislation that bars such technologies, or simply because we still don't have the infrastructure to support them.

Active Cruise Control

Take the example of radar-based sensors and control systems available in many of the luxury cars of today. Most applications that use this hi-tech, originally aeronautical technology are meant to enhance the car's active safety feature. While many other important and complementary safety functions have been woven in the radar-based systems, the most common is active or adaptive cruise control.

The feature of this system, compared to the regular cruise control, is the additional ability of the car to slow down and accelerate again based on the speed of the vehicle in front of or just ahead of you. By constantly bouncing off radar waves on the vehicles in front, the on-board system detects the current speed of the vehicle in front and decelerates the car. If the vehicle ahead speeds up or if you change lanes and there is a possibility of accelerating, active cruise control automatically enables the car to speed up to reach the preset cruising speed level. Adaptive cruise control systems combine radar technology and that for automated engine and gearbox control to offer this unique benefit.

Earlier (non-active) cruise control systems disengage the preset speed limit the moment the driver hits the brakes to decelerate. So, braking was not automatic and re-acceleration was also something that the driver had to do himself.

Dual stage brake lights as in the BMW 3 Series may not be available in India.

A few manufacturers that are either already in India or are planning to come in soon offer adaptive cruise control systems. However, India-specific cars such as the Mercedes Benz S-class and the BMW 5 Series vehicles will not be able to offer this feature since use of radar-based systems for private purposes is not allowed here yet.

Cars with this feature as part of standard equipment in markets abroad will either not have them in their India-spec models or will be disabled before sale here. For example, the S-Class' Distronic Plus and Brake Assist Plus technology may not be fully functional in the India-spec version.

Sat-Nav

Another example is in-car satellite-based navigation systems that are either the passive, CD/DVD-based systems or the more hi-tech subscription based real-time tracking systems.

The passive CD/DVD maps-based navigation systems should probably be able to make a debut in the Indian market in a few years time. But for now, these systems are ineffective here because of the lack of digitised maps for most Indian cities. With aerial mapping for these kind of applications having not been possible due to legislation that bars it, terrestrial mapping has been attempted on a modest scale. Such digitally converted maps are now available for a few Indian cities, but they are not accurate or very reliable.

The more sophisticated real-time, subscription-based satellite tracking and navigation systems such as On-Star and BMW Assist and Navigation, etc., will also not be able to make it into the India-spec models due to the lack of infrastructure and the absence of reliable mapping.

So, when the BMW 3 and 5 Series do make it here, early next year, they will feature a dummy button along with the front map-light console, which would have otherwise been the BMW SOS or emergency assist button. BMW's automatic emergency call feature and breakdown assistance request, including satellite-based vehicle location data is an important safety feature that is available in models abroad, but may not be available here for quite sometime to come. The similar feature in the Mercedes Benz S-Class, called Tele-Aid, will also not be available in India.

Dual stage braking

One other feature that is fast becoming very popular in most advanced car markets abroad but will not be part of standard equipment in the same India-spec cars is dual stage brake lights or brake force display.

The technology is pretty simple, but it is an important safety feature that saves lives and prevents rear collisions. Here, during emergency braking instead of the usual one brake light coming on in the rear tail lamp cluster, dual brake lighting or brake force display, as the name suggests, involves twin lights coming on to better communicate the urgency of braking to the driver of the vehicle coming right behind.

During normal deceleration only one brake light comes on and only during emergency braking does the second, brighter brake light also come on. It has been proved that just an improvement of one-sixteenth of a second in braking response time for the rear vehicle driver is enough to lead to a six-fold reduction in the possibility of rear collisions.

Obviously, this is could be an important safety feature on Indian roads, where driver response time is low and surprises lurk at every corner of the road. But, unfortunately, this feature is not yet legal on Indian roads. Changes to allow such a feature may come through soon.

Another feature that luxury car manufacturers are trying to figure out whether it will be accepted by Indian buyers is run-flat tyres. As the name suggests, these tyres are tubeless and can be run for up to 200 km even in the event of a puncture. These tyres have to be combined with tyre pressure monitors to detect a puncture and are a huge leap in safety technology.

But run-flat tyres cannot be repaired. If they are run for up to or over the specified distance limit, replacement will be the only option. Due to the technology advantage they offer, run-flat tyres also enable carmakers to do away with the spare tyre in the boot, releasing the space for other storage options.

However, with the much higher incidence of tyre cuts and punctures in India, run-flat tyres may be too expensive an option for car buyers even in the luxury segment.

BMW has run-flat tyres as standard equipment in its 3 and 5 Series cars, but is as yet to take a decision whether the Indian models will be offered with such tyres and whether the spare wheel will be offered as an option here.

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