Automakers have been experimenting with smart technologies for a few years now, and this led to the creation of some very clever vehicles that you can talk to and tell them to access certain functions without taking your hands off the steering wheel.
The best part is that you do not have to spend a fortune for a high-end luxury model to enjoy such features, as even the new generation of Volkswagen’s mainstream Golf can get the job done. When equipped with the three-zone climate control, it adds the Smart Climate menu that allows users to activate specific functions through voice control.
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Some of the commands that you can give to the car include ‘warm feet’, ‘cold feet’, ‘warm hands’ and so on, which makes it automatically adjust the temperature and direct the air flow to where it is needed. Saying ‘clear view’ will demist the windows, while ‘fresh air’ will blow a cool breeze throughout the cockpit. ‘I am cold’ or ‘I am warm’ voice commands also work, and you can even tell it to ‘make it four degrees warmer’, or inform it that ‘there’s a draught’ or ‘it’s stuffy’.
You don’t have to be driving the 2020 Golf to play with this technology either, as it detects whether it comes from the driver or front seat passenger. Should you wish to do it the good ol’ fashion way – i.e. manually, then you can do so by sliding your finger(s) over the touch-sensitive buttons located at the bottom of the infotainment system, or just use the display. It’s worth noting that the Smart Climate functions are activated temporarily and will eventually revert to the previous active settings for the A/C.