Lexus brings digital exterior mirrors to Europe
According to the manufacturer, the camera/monitor combination offers improved visibility of the area behind and immediately next to the vehicle under all driving conditions, while eliminating blind spots. Thanks to the automatic wide-angle function, turning and reversing becomes more comfortable and safe.
The design requires less head movement than conventional exterior mirrors to keep an eye on the vehicle’s surroundings. The two five-inch colour monitors are positioned at the foot of the A-pillars, at the same height as the exterior mirrors, and are therefore within the intuitive field of vision.
The cameras are mounted in slim aerodynamic housings that are significantly smaller than conventional mirror housings. This helps to reduce wind noise and increases the driver’s field of vision at an angle to the front. An integrated heating function prevents freezing and fogging, and the arrangement protects against raindrops and snowflakes. The driver can activate the de-icing function at the touch of a button. The system also has an automatic dimming function to reduce glare from following vehicles in the dark.
When the driver uses the turn signal or engages reverse gear, the digital rear-view mirror system automatically provides an enlarged field of vision of the area next to and behind the vehicle. When the driver changes direction, lane or parking manoeuvre is complete, the system automatically returns to the default setting. The driver can also select the wide-angle view manually or deactivate the function.
For safe manoeuvring of the vehicle, for example when parking, the monitors display auxiliary lines when reverse gear is engaged, showing 20 and 50 cm lateral distance to the rear bumper and 50 cm distance to the sides of the vehicle. They are not only visible on the camera’s live images, but also on the multifunction display, which shows a bird’s eye view of the vehicle.
This display is also active at higher speeds. The help lines help to estimate the safety distance to other road users. If the car is travelling at up to 70 km/h, the lines show a distance of five, ten and 15 metres; at higher speeds there is an additional line for a distance of 30 metres.
The ES300h will be demonstrated at the Geneva Motor Show; the market launch is scheduled for April. In Japan, Lexus has already had this technology in series production since 2018.
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