BEEMER ME UP..

Byline: Richard Hammond

THIS week BMW launched its new 7 Series - the fifth in the family.

It's desperately poor timing unfortunately, because apart from a large petrol-engined 4x4, I can't think of a worse type of car to try and flog at the moment.

Anyway, it sounds like quite a motor, packed full of technology.

So much that it's hard to know where to start.

Pedestrian recognition sounds interesting.

Using a night vision system, the gadget can spot a heat source up to 300 metres away and using immensely clever software, can work out whether the pedestrian is behaving abnormally and is likely to move into the path of the car.

If they are, the driver is alerted via a head up display screen. Clever, and useful if you're driving along unlit country lanes and people are staggering home from the boozer.

What else? Sideview cameras to aid parking and pulling out of awkward junctions.

Then there's a lane departure warning system and an automatic driver-horoscope display.

Made the last one up but I wouldn't put it past BMW.