I was at VR/AR world in London this morning. I saw this booth where the man wearing the Virtual Reality headset was walking around the C-HR vehicle and was able to peer inside and open doors etc using the hand controllers. I didn't get a chance to try it myself, but was curious if this is an option that Toyota is offering yet? If not, would this interest you next time you're looking at a new Prius? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Sounds fine, as long as he didn't leave it in drive, neutral and just the parking brake set .. or with the lights on!
I've always been wary of VR headsets, ever since this Red Dwarf episode twentysomething years ago. whether you like how a car looks, and what difference changes in colour and sunroofs and different-sized screens and things like that might make. So I think it's an excellent first step in terms of deciding on a shortlist of what you want, and an excellent final step in deciding on exact specifications once you've chose a car. I still think, though, that you need to sit in a real one to decide whether it's what you want to be driving every day. My Dad had an Audi A6 in the late 90s. It was a nice car in almost every way, but it gave me appalling cramp in my left leg (it was fine for Dad, just not for me). VR wouldn't tell me that that would happen. I can also imagine that a VR simulation (I initially typed " Tongues and thrusting aside.... Yes, it's a good idea in terms of working out" there - Freudian slip, given their track record) might not be especially honest about things like engine noise and ride quality. So I think VR is a useful part of the process, but I don't think it's enough on its own.
Virtual Reality can replace car dealerships and let you custom order a car directly from the manufacturer. The "dealership" can be like a Tesla dealership, with just one of each model, and VR can let you experience the rest and custom-order the car. I definitely think this is the way of the future.
Before the 2nd generation 2016 Volvo XC90 came out, Volvo had a Virtual Reality campaign where you signed up on a website and they sent you a Google Cardboard to put your phone in after downloading an app and it gave you a virtual reality experience of sitting in and driving around the vehicle since they still were not on dealer lots to see or test drive. This was probably sometime in early 2015, possibly very late 2014. Actually, the website about it is still around: Google Cardboard XC90 Experience | Volvo Cars
