Yours for £33,000, BMW that can hold a conversation

IF you’ve ever found yourself yearning for conversation on a long drive while your passengers snooze in the back seat, this could be the answer.

The latest BMW 3-series has a personality of its own – and can actually talk to you.

The car is the first to have an electronic ‘intelligent personal assistant’ that will not only answer you when you speak to it, but responds to the name you give it.

You might hope its skills extend to offering financial advice, though, as prices start at £33,610.

The hi-tech saloon – the seventh generation of the German firm’s popular range – is being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show today and is available to order from next month, with the first deliveries expected in March. The digital assistant responds initially to the prompt ‘Hey BMW’. After that the driver can ask questions or give commands such as ‘take me home’, which triggers the sat nav to find a route back to their house. Saying ‘I’m cold’ will prompt the assistant to adjust the temperature accordingly, or you can ask it whether you have any messages or where to find a petrol station on your route.

And if the cry of ‘Hey BMW’ feels too impersonal, drivers can choose a new name which the car will respond to, as well as selecting a male or female voice.

The on-board assistant learns routines, habits, and preferences with the vehicle’s functions, and can later use that knowledge to operate them and anticipate actions and answers.

BMW called it the start of a ‘new era’ and said its assistant, which is compatible with other digital voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, is ‘the ideal co-driver’.