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With electric vehicles becoming more popular, many are coming across autonomous technology. These are the five levels of autonomous driving.
‘Autonomy’, like ‘EV’ and ‘Hybrid’, earns a new meaning in the context of motoring in the 21st century. As safety and environmental expectations have evolved, the technology used in car manufacture has developed to an almost unrecognisable standard.
Though we are still miles from completely driverless cars, when considering the different levels of autonomous driving, we might be closer than you think. In this article, we discuss the six levels ( from 0 to 5) of autonomous driving and what each represents.
With electric vehicles (EVs) becoming a more popular option for personal car leasing, many are coming across the phrase ‘autonomy’. What they may not know is that with electric cars, there are different levels of autonomous driving that you may or may not have access to.
As the UK plans to ban the sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030, electric vehicles will only gain a stronger foothold in the market and allow more people to feel the benefits of autonomous driving technology. However, it’s not as simple as “self-driving cars”, getting your hands on a new Tesla Model Y will give you a different level of autonomous driving than a new Volkswagen ID.3 or BMW i4. There are five stages that different cars on the road go up to. We explain each of them in detail in this article.
Level 0 Autonomous Driving: No Automation
Level 0 describes cars as we have generally known them, with no self-driving features whatsoever. The driver is in full control of the vehicle, from reacting to hazards to parallel parking, and all actions are fulfilled by the human behind the wheel.
Level 1 Autonomous Driving: Driver Assist
Level 1 is increasingly becoming the new ‘norm’ for newer models of all fuel types. This level allows you to give the car more control over speed and distance with modes such as adaptive cruise control and park assist. These are good examples of split control between the driver and the car. When ACC is activated, the car maintains a steady distance from vehicles in front while the driver remains responsible for steering. When using park assist, the car organises the steering while the driver takes ownership of the speed.
Level 2 Autonomous Driving: Hands-Off
Level 2 of driving autonomy allows the car control over steering, acceleration and braking. However, despite being labelled ‘hands-off’ the driver must always be prepared to restore control in the event of system failure. As per safety regulations, the driver must always have their hands on the steering wheel.
Level 2 automation is illegal in the UK at present, but the government is developing a system to introduce driverless vehicles to British roads within the next year, so a new Tesla lease could be fully utilised in our not-too-distant motoring future.
Level 3 Autonomous Driving: Partial Automation
At level 3, you can start to take your hands and your eyes off the road. The car can control itself entirely, and conversely, tells the driver when they should intervene. Therefore, level 3 cars are the first true example of automated driving with the driver making minimal decisions.
This level of autonomy relies on refined maps, radars and sensors that create a digital picture of the surrounding landscape which the car intelligently translates and reacts to. The new Audi A8 can combat motorway traffic jams provided the speed does not exceed 37mph and there is a physical barrier dividing it from oncoming traffic.
Though the technology exists in the UK (the Audi A8 was the first level 3-ready autonomous car on the roads), it lies dormant while the required laws and regulations are implemented, and the necessary features that allow the system to work are installed. Until these features are introduced, level 3 autonomous driving is illegal in the UK.
Level 4 Autonomous Driving: ‘Mind-Off’ Automation
Level 4 of automation technology is still in development and is not seen on any public road worldwide yet. Level 4 automation encompasses all that level 3 provides, in addition to the ability for the driver to entirely disengage from the controls while in motion. The self-driving capabilities of this type of car is either geofenced, which restricts usage to certain areas, or used for slow-moving traffic.
Level 5 Autonomous Driving: Driver Optional
The final level of driving autonomy is the full reconfiguration of a car’s operational design. With the driver becoming optional, the layout no longer needs to accommodate the traditional functions used to operate a vehicle. This evolution of autonomy will not restrict the car to thoroughly supervised surroundings, such as city centres. Instead, through infinite sophisticated data, cars will become almost conscious.
Get Access To Autonomy with an Electric Car Lease
While the latter levels of autonomy aren’t within reach just yet, you can have access to many personal car leases that give you autonomy at cars2buy. We collect the most trusted EV lease deals across the UK so that you can find them all in one place and be confident that you are getting a quality lease offer. The beauty of leasing is that the best specs the motoring world can offer are continually within your grasp. Fancy a new Tesla lease to step into the future of motoring? Click here to see the best leasing deals on the market here at cars2buy.
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