Lexus ES Now Available with Digital Side-view Monitors in Europe
Lexus and its world-first side mirror tech finally crack European market, but when will it arrive in U.S.?
It’s been nearly two years now since Lexus started selling its ES sedan with digital side-view mirror technology in Japan. At the time, this was a world-first for a high-volume production vehicle, made possible thanks to a change in Japanese law. Now, Lexus has announced that the groundbreaking technology will make its way to the European market beginning in March, following an official introduction at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, which takes place March 5-15.
As you probably already guessed, these digital side-view mirrors replace conventional door mirrors with compact, external, high-resolution cameras linked to in-car monitors. While traditional mirrors offer up a pretty limited view, their digital replacements provide an enhanced view of the area behind and immediately alongside the vehicle. This virtually eliminates blind spots, for starters. But the digital mirrors can also automatically adjust to give an even better view while turning or reversing.
The system consists of two five-inch monitors that are positioned at the base of the front pillars. Lexus purposely placed them so they’d be closely aligned to the door mirror height. That way, they fall within the driver’s intuitive line of sight. This makes life easier on the driver by reducing any unnecessary head movement.
The actual appearance of these new side mirrors is certainly different than traditional ones. But on the plus side, they’re slim and aerodynamic, thus reducing wind noise inside the cabin. Not to mention improve the driver’s field of view. And in case you’re worried about the cameras getting frozen or dirty to the point where you can’t see, Lexus thought of that, too. The units have built-in heaters and the cameras are placed in a manner that makes them less vulnerable to snow and rain.
The system even has a luminescence sensor. Which automatically reduces glare from the headlights of vehicles behind you during night-time driving. So you ask, how does it all work? When you activate your turn signal or put the car in reverse, the mirrors automatically present you with the appropriate view. Once you’ve completed your turn or backup job, they automatically return to the standard setting. And if you really want to, you can turn this off completely.
The side-view mirrors are fully adjustable via controls on the door panel. Through an in-system menu, the driver can change all sorts of things. Including brightness, or even have them automatically retract when the car is parked. But perhaps the coolest feature of these Lexus mirrors is called automatic reference lines. When parking or driving on the road, these lines indicate certain distances from the rear bumper and side of the car. These are shown on the display, making it easy to see just how close you are to an object or another car.
Cool stuff, indeed. And even though digital side-view mirrors aren’t quite legal in America yet, European customers can reap these benefits very soon. Lexus is launching this technology in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Poland in March. The rest of Europe will follow by the end of the year. And with any luck, those of us in the states can join that list in the near future.
Photos: Lexus
Join the Club Lexus forums now!
