After the ten-hour job and then workout in the fitness center, too tired to drive home yourself? No problem. According to the visions of the Peugeot -Developers, the driver could not just sit relaxed behind the folded steering wheel, check emails or watch TV and let the autonomous system play the chauffeur. With its “smart watch”, the car even knows how exhausted its passenger is before boarding and whether it would make more sense in this case to activate the autonomous driving mode. This close connection with his car, or rather the “smartphone on wheels”, should soon become part of everyday life. Aude Brille, head of strategy at Peugeot, sees a time horizon of less than ten years for this. "Mobility is easier and more relaxed than ever before," said Brille.
At the Geneva Motor Show, Peugeot will present its ideas in the form of a compact and compact sports suit called Instinct, which is more like a tuned shooting brake than a practical family vehicle. Gilles Vidal, design director at Peugeot, naturally knows the right answer. "We do not automatically see autonomous driving in a people sedan, in which the seats can be turned and the passengers can chat vis-à-vis." The driver should not only be able to decide whether and when he wants to be in autonomous mode, but also in what way he wants to be driven autonomously. "We differentiate between soft and sharp," says Matthias Hossann, the project manager for the Instinct study. "The machine knows the preferences of its driver very well via machine learning, so it also knows when driving from the highway to the winding and empty country road that the" Drive Boost Mode "is now automatically recommended." Here all "senses" of the instinct are then "focused". It can then be driven like any sports suit today.
"Drive Relax" is the second of four modes. The Instinct then assists its driver as much as possible, but without switching to autonomous. For example, the traffic jam pilot or the light assistant are activated at night. Mode number three is called "Autonom Soft", meaning soft acceleration, relaxed pace and not necessarily the shortest route. “The trip then takes a little longer, but the driver can read in peace or watch a film,” says Hossann. The fourth mode is probably quite unique: “Autonom Sharp”. "This is a sportier thing, of course always within the traffic rules," says Hossann. From today's perspective, however, it can be doubted whether drivers will actually use this mode later.
Under the hood of the 4,54 meter long and only 1,32 high Instinct is a 300 hp plug-in petrol hybrid, a forerunner of technology that Peugeot will offer in production vehicles from 2019. Debut should be in the SUV 3008. The body of the Instinct is made entirely of carbon, a huge panoramic glass roof ensures the best light in the interior.
Peugeot continues on the path of the i-Cockpit with the fittings. The very small steering wheel is still positioned below the displays. So you don't look through the spokes, but over the wreath. Four series models already have this arrangement. The latest innovation is the 5008. If the autonomous driving mode is activated in Instinct, the minivolant folds down into the dashboard and gives the driver significantly more freedom of movement. At the same time, the seat moves into a more comfortable lying position.
In the meantime, the French manufacturer wants to have developed a number of new interior materials. In Instinct, many parts still come from the 3D printer. "We even used wafer-thin concrete for some cladding," says design director Gilles Vidal, "surfaces can hardly express more purism." (Michael Specht / SP-X)