Recently, the 4-door sedan BMW 540i was unveiled. While there’s so much to talk about this latest offering by the well-known German manufacturer luxury vehicles, what got the attention of most was its Display Key – a fob that is the pompous lovechild of a car key and smart phone.
The primary aim of this Drive Key is to have the way you use a good old fob redefined – other than for locking, unlocking and keyless starting of the engine, it can now be employed for checking all sorts of information about the vehicle and controlling the climate of the cabin. But here’s the ultimate attention-grabbing feature of the Drive Key: it allows for remote parking of the vehicle, just like a piece of technology lifted from a sci-fi movie!
A feature-packed fob like the Drive Key surely requires charging, which can be done via its micro USB port. Fortunately, it can also be charged wirelessly – you simply have to place it on the charging pad on the car’s center console.
Here are some of the coolest things you need to know about this much-talked about Display Key:
It Boasts of a Full-Color Touchscreen
The various features of the Display Key can be accessed by means of its 2.2-inch touchscreen with a 320 x 240-pixel resolution – not that impressive, but it gets the work done. You swipe left or right to access the various functions, and you tap on icons to select a feature or display a piece of information. The full-color touchscreen, by the way, is accompanied by a few physical buttons.
It Lets You Access Various Pertinent Vehicle Details
Just like a regular car key, the Display Key enables you to lock and unlock your car, as well as get your vehicle started sans the key. However, this piece of technology also permits you to access all sorts of information about your car. The Display Key will tell you if the doors and trunk are locked, whether the windows are up or down, and which lights are on or off. Oh, and it also displays engine oil and brake fluid status.
It Allows You to Have the Cabin Preconditioned
Swiping the touchscreen to the left three times brings you to the climate control screen through which you can get the vehicle’s interiors preconditioned – so it’s always the right temperature the minute you get in. You input the departure time and the car will carry out the necessary steps to make the cabin fit your comfort level to a T. By the way, it’s very much possible to have the climate control feature activated at any given time, too.
It Enables You to Park While You’re Outside the Car
Of all the features of the Display Key, it’s the ability to have your car remotely parked that’s undeniably the coolest and most exciting. But don’t get too keyed up – the remote parking feature only lets you move the car forward and backward, which means that it can be of use only when the vehicle is centrally positioned in front of the parking space. It will surely come in handy when you’re trying to park your car in a tight space.
