BBC_Top_Gear_South_Africa_June_2017

BEST BIT
Siri unlocks a vast
range of functions –
e.g. “Tell me what I’m
doing next Tuesday”
WORST BIT
Apple’s walled-garden
approach means
integration with cars’
own systems is clunky
CarPlay – along with the
similar Android Auto –
should let you swerve the
slightly ridiculous price
many carmakers ask for a built-in
connected satnav. It also opens up
the world of voice commands that
actually work. Er, most of the time.
CarPlay is built free into your
iPhone. If your car supports it, plug
in by USB and it blanks your phone’s
screen, putting a simplified version
onto the car’s screen. It always looks
very iOS; the graphic style and fonts
never match your car’s own.
The Maps app shows roads
colour-coded for jams. Or at least, it
does if you’ve got 3G or 4G. If you’re
in a low-signal area you’re a stuffed
bunny. No traffic. No roads either.
However, you can preload a
destination, and it caches the route,
giving you turn-by-turn arrows as
you drive based purely on GPS
location.
A long press of the virtual home
button gives you Siri, so you can
voice-command a destination, dial
acontact,dictateorhearatext,or
call up music – from iTunes or
streaming services.
Mostly, it knocks any car’s
built-in voice recognition into the
weeds. That’s because Siri sends
your voice to high-capacity
decoders in the cloud. For the same
reason, it’s totally incapacitated by
a weak signal.
CarPlay works with twist ’n’
press controller wheels. But that’s
clumsy. It’s better on a touchscreen.
Annoyingly in many car ranges, by
thetimeyou’vespecceda
touchscreen, you’re probably paying
for onboard navigation anyway.
THE
IDIOT’S
GUIDE
TO...
Apple
CarPlay
MODS ’N’ SHOCKERS
MEET THE BENTAYGA’S
UGLY SISTER
Lumma Design is no stranger to TopGear. We have described its BMW
X6 as “retina-searing”. So what, pray tell, should we make of this, its
modified Bentley Bentayga? In short, they’ve taken an already
width-restrictor-shy car and made it even more likely to block city
streets. Bulbous new wheelarches house 24-inch wheels, though you
can spec some diddly little 22-inch castors if you’re concerned about
kerbs. Or tyre bills. There is plentiful carbon, though it’s unlikely to
chisel much away from the wide body’s weight. Good job there’s a
power upgrade for the not-at-all-underpowered V8 diesel that Bentley
offers. Because who doesn’t need more torque than a LaFerrari?
JUNE 2017
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