Land Rover’s new Disco Sport might stop you losing your keys
Baby Discovery is the first car to electronically locate your valuables for you
Land Rover’s 2017 model year updates for the Discovery Sport – Top Gear’s Family Car of the Year, no less – appear pretty minor. There are four new colours, and a ‘Graphite Pack’ which makes the shiny bits on the exterior all moody and, erm, grey.
But then we discovered this could be the car that stops you being disorganised forever. And, well, that seemed worth a closer look.
Available with the optional InControl Touch Pro 10.2-inch widescreen media system (we’ve already tried it in the Evoque Cabrio and it’s great) is something called the 'Tile' app. Essentially, it’s a Bluetooth tracking device which can remotely detect tags you'll then attach to things you commonly lose. Your keys. Your sunglasses. Pets. And so on.
Land Rover’s research suggests almost two-thirds of Brits waste 15 minutes every single day looking for essential but commonly misplaced possessions, making them late and stressed. The idea of the Tile gadget is instead of tipping the sofa upside-down to find your wallet or Labrador, a prod of the InControl screen will home in on the tag’s Bluetooth signature and post its location on the display. If you’ve lost stuff in the car itself, a 90-second alarm sounds until you’ve dug it out.
This sort of technology has been around for a while in smartphones, but Land Rover reckons the Discovery Sport is the first car to have it fully built-in to its tech arsenal.
So, kids, if you’re fond of dodging schoolwork or excusing yourself from P.E. because you’ve left your pencil case and gym kit at home, it’s probably best your adults don’t buy a new Land Rover. The game’s up.
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