I have spoken a great deal in the past about advancements in vehicle technology, but what I have not spoken about so much are the changing expectations of drivers: more and more the car is becoming a multimedia hotspot.
Drivers want to be able to plug in their MP3 player, and passengers want to be able to charge their tablet device, while for many fleet drivers the car is becoming a mobile office where they can park up and work on their emails or make some business calls.
This is a point proven by Hyundai, which has announced that it will be the first car manufacturer to replace the in-car cigarette lighter jack with a USB port.
The initial roll-out will be in Korea from October, but it’s a fair bet to assume that this approach will be adopted in other countries and by other manufacturers.
Of course, in many countries this is a response to a decline in the popularity of smoking. However, Hyundai also says that the research that informed this decision showed that many drivers use the current lighter jack to charge mobile phones or tablet computers rather than for lighting cigarettes.
Depending on your motivations, for drivers and companies, selecting a modern vehicle can be as much about the technology that it delivers as the performance.
We have an expectation that our vehicles will be packed full of useful gadgets, which support the way that we communicate and the way we travel.
We also expect an integrated approach, with the technology that we use in the home environment synching up with our vehicle.
Without wanting to promote any particular brands, if we have a certain MP3 player, we expect our vehicle to be compatible with it; if we have a certain tablet, we expect to be able to charge it in our car.
This is a great benefit for modern drivers and one that adds an extra layer of flexibility and comfort. What it also reinforces is that when selecting a vehicle, you need to think as much about the internal gadgets that you want as you do about the model, engine or colour that you go for.