Automotive technology keeps getting more advanced. From systems to keep drivers and passengers safe to innovations that help improve ride quality and fuel efficiency and advanced tech that’s purely for entertainment, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

Whether you’re shopping for an affordable sedan or a European luxury SUV, you’ll be treated to the latest technology that seems to be right out of the future.

Electric Leveling Control

Some of the new electric models coming to a Hyundai dealer near you will have a new feature designed to not only protect the EV battery but also help increase driving range and even make it easier for the driver and passengers to get in and out. What is this technology, you might wonder? It’s called Electric Leveling Control and will automatically lift or lower the ride height of the Hyundai depending on what it needs.

Rough roads may call for lifting the ride height, but if you’re on a smooth highway, it will ride lower to increase aerodynamics and extend the battery range.

Night Vision Technology

If you’ve ever had something run out of the darkness across your path when you’re driving at night, you’ve probably wished for night vision goggles so you could see it coming. The added danger of driving at night with reduced visibility has prompted some automakers to create and offer a night vision system.

In most cases, the system uses several infrared lamps to light the road in front of the car. The system then relays that information to the driver through a camera to the driver information screen or the infotainment touchscreen.

Summon Your Vehicle

Just a few manufacturers offer this feature, but it is extremely cool. Imagine having your car come to you instead of you having to find your car. Just press a button on your phone or the key fob, and it will call the car to your location. Its original intent was to retrieve a car that’s in a tight parking spot or other low-speed situations, so you have to be within a certain distance for it to work.

Don’t be surprised if calling your car to come get you from miles away comes
down the line sometime in the future. Ford has already applied for a patent for technology that enables its vehicles to repossess themselves.

Augmented Reality Windshields

Head-up displays are not a new feature and come in many vehicles these days, but augmented reality windshields are coming, and when you get behind the wheel, it just might feel like you’re in a Star Wars movie or in the cockpit of a fighter jet.

This technology uses a video camera and a head-up display to turn the windshield into a 3D virtual screen complete with holographic images displayed in full color that range from bright sunlight to storm and dark conditions.

Automate Valet

BMW and Valeo are working on a technology that would allow drivers to drop their car off at a designated drop-off zone. The car would then take over to find a parking spot and then use its automated driving system to make its way there and park itself.

Like Time, Technology Keeps Moving Forward

When you see the newly available (and upcoming) automotive technology, it’s clear that we’re living in the digital future science fiction writers dreamed of. Just without the flying cars (yet).