So, imagine the situation whereby you are out and about but have an important meeting scheduled. You have your smartphone and your iPad with you but need the latest report figures. You connect your smart phone to the car via Bluetooth, having charged your iPad via the iPod docking cable. Now, with the iPad Wi-Fi tethered, you connect over your company VPN to access those report figures. Then simply dial in to the meeting, using the in-car stereo system for audio, while referring to your iPad for critical data. Up to six Wi-Fi devices can be tethered simultaneously, allowing a colleague or two to enjoy the same level of access, should the need arise.
Varied repertoire
Other features too, allow easy use of communication features while on the move. Whether using a SIM in the car or a connected phone, voice control is provided, but should a particular contact prove elusive through voice commands, a multifunction touchpad is also provided. Normally allowing easy selection of radio stations in entertainment mode, when suing the communication functions, it reverts to a handwriting recognition pad to write out the letters of a contact name. In practice, this rarely required looking at the pad until the system found the name and allowed selection to dial. This simple feature characterised the general level of unintrusiveness the MMI system delivers for the driver, where the emphasis is on usability without compromising safety. This is carried through in other features such as the head-up display where not only is the current speed displayed, but also current speed limits, navigation directions and cruise control settings and interventions.
The cruise control uses an adaptive system involving the parking sensors so that if a car moves in front of the A6 while using the cruise control, it reacts and maintains a safe distance based on speed.
Another very useful element is the navigation system. Hard drive based, it also has access via an SD card slot in the dashboard. This allows a Google Maps route to be plotted and saved, and then uploaded to the car directly. En route, the navigation system can integrate with Google Maps via its data connection overlaying topographical information, as well as route information.
The overall result then is of a car that recognises that an executive class saloon can no longer trade only on the driving experience. If a car is to be seriously considered by high value, high productivity individuals, it must integrate with their style of usage, which include accommodating their chosen personal technology devices. The A6 C7 accomplishes this with the same class and aplomb as its driving experience.
Development room
However, while the connectivity and integration capabilities are certainly impressive, a little further work would make a significant step forward. For example, calendar display via the Bluetooth connection to a smart phone would be extremely useful, as would being able to detect addresses from appointments, for display in the navigation system. Indeed, it may not be long to wait before we see an smart phone operating system integrated with a car infotainment system to facilitate such integration.
Other tech highlights include parking assist, pedestrian detection at night and full LED, adaptive headlights.
There’s connectivity for multiple devices which can share the 3G uplink. (Image: Audi)
As a development that is available right now, the Audi MMI with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi tethering offers a greater level of integration and usability than has been available heretofore and is likely to make it a major selling point for C Suite individuals. There is no question that the A6 can stand with any rivals in the market in terms of build quality and driving experience, as well as optional extras, from a Bang & Olufsen sound system, to LED headlights. With the MMI system, the A6 now stands as a prime contender for the upper echelons of fleet car options or for those individuals who have the privilege of specifying their own company car. With such productivity capabilities, it would be hard for even the most jealous bean counter to object.
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