The BMW Yi impressed us when it arrived without a driver, then ensured it took up two spaces in the car park, something that will appeal to traditional BMW drivers.
It comes with three modes of self-driving. 'Traditional BMW style', where it automatically tailgates other cars; 'BMW Plus', which tailgates close enough to read the designer label on the shirt of the driver in front, or 'Boring Old Fart', which is not dissimilar to the driving style of other road users.
We gave it to our intern, Mandy, to trial, advising her it would be best to use 'Boring Old Fart' mode until she got the hang of it. Her report the following day said she was very impressed with the satnav facility, as the car knew exactly where the best dogging sites and red light districts were in any Tory voting town she named, although it was a bit hesitant when she gave the name of a red wall town and asked her to confirm she was sure she wanted to go there.
Commenting on the interior, Mandy thought the back seat was extremely comfortable to lie on but said one of her stiletto heels got caught in the door handle, so it would be best to wear pumps.
BMW anticipates the vehicle will be mostly popular in Newcastle where the locals can pronounce the model correctly.
Image: Scozzy | Pixabay