Sony Has Built A Car And It Has 33 Speakers!

• The Vision-S features 33 sensors both outside and inside the car to monitor the car’s surroundings and passengers.
• A panoramic screen cut into five sections spans the width of the dashboard.
• Sony aims to achieve Level 4 autonomy through software updates eventually.

Sony has revealed its first-ever concept car at CES 2020, the Vision-S. The Japanese electronics giant exhibited a prototype of the electric vehicle (EV) at the Consumer Electronics Show. The Vision-S is a connected car with an advanced user interface and Level 2+ advanced driver assistance tech. It features various sensors and technologies that Sony has perfected over the years.

On the outside, the Vision-S gets sedan-like proportions and a coupe-like roofline. At 4895mm, it is a tad shorter in length than a Honda Accord. Other than its Porsche Taycan-esque headlamps and absent wing mirrors, the Vision-S has a familiar electric car design. Underneath its skin, the Vision S houses 19 ultrasonic and radar sensors and 3 LiDAR sensors to monitor its surroundings. So it has all the hardware it needs for autonomous driving, even though its autonomous driving abilities are currently advertised as driver assistance features.

The first thing you notice when you step inside the Vision-S is the panoramic screen on the dash. It spans the entire width of the car and is divided into sections. At the centre lies the touch-sensitive infotainment display, flanked by a driver’s instrument display on one side and the passenger’s infotainment screen on the other. At the corners lie two side-view mirror screens.

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Five screens are hardly the draw of this car. Sony is known for its hi-fi audio, and that’s what you get in the Vision-S. There are speakers in each of the four seats and a total of 33 speakers in the car. Sony calls it 360 Reality Audio. Sony says it can make passengers feel like the artist performing the song is right in front of them.

Sony’s ‘Safety Cocoon’ - a system which continuously monitors up to 500 yards in front of the car, and 250 yards on each side and behind the car - also debuts on the Vision-S. It claims to detect obstacles and hazards around the car quicker than the driver and is capable of making emergency stopping or swerving manoeuvers.

Ultrathin battery packs stored under the floor sends power to the motor on each axle. Each motor is good for 270PS of power, which takes the total up to 540PS. Sony claims that the Vision-S will get to 100kmph from a standstill in 4.8 seconds, and on to a top speed of 240kmph. Unlike BMW’s i3, Sony has equipped its car with wide 245-section tyres at the front and 275-section tyres at the rear. Does this mean that the powertrain will have an electronically controlled rearward bias?

Air springs mounted on double wishbones should give the Vision-S a good balance of ride and handling. But is Sony’s car about ownership or driving experience at all? The company hasn’t quoted range numbers or battery capacity. But it does claim a weight of 2350kg. It remains to be seen how well the Vision-S performs in the real world, but it is refreshing to see a company not chasing Tesla’s aspirations. Sony’s car is all about user experience. But can the Vision-S differentiate itself from the Faraday Future FF91s and Honda e’s of the world? Watch this space to find out.