BMW had two big winners in a poll run by the most popular car magazine in Germany, Auto Motor und Sport together with CHIP Magazine. The readers of these two magazines were asked to choose from more than 80 technologies in 11 categories in the “Car Connectivity Award” and the BMW 7 Series rose above all other contenders. At the same time, the BMW M2 was voted the “Best new design of 2016” in the compact cars category.

The BMW 7 Series performed impressively in the readers’ poll. It is the world’s first series-produced car that can be maneuvered in out of perpendicular parking spaces or garages without a driver at the wheel, thanks to the new Remote Parking Control function. This function is activated by the driver outside using the newly developed BMW Display Key and carried out semi-automatically by the car. This, however, is just one of the new features that convinced the audience to vote for the 7 Series.

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Likewise showcasing exceptional connectivity are the services from ConnectedDrive in the 7 Series. They include Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI), Online Entertainment and Intelligent Emergency Call with accident severity detection. For all BMW ConnectedDrive services, the SIM card embedded as standard in the car establishes the connection with the mobile phone network.

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As for the BMW M2, being inspired by the company’s history in motor racing, the car sends out a visual statement with its wide hips and aggressive front fascia. And now the “autonis” readers poll by “auto motor und sport” has provided further evidence of how this eye-catching design flair has captured the imagination of the public. The BMW M2 Coupe took the title of “Best new design of 2016” in the compact car category, accounting for 34.3 per cent of the votes cast. The Germans can therefore celebrate back-to-back victories, with the 1 Series having topped last year’s “autonis” poll in the same class.

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18,229 readers took part in the “autonis” survey, which was held for the 16th time this year. Readers were presented with a choice of 115 vehicles presented over the past 12 months. The models were split into 10 categories and votes could be submitted from 9 June – 24 July. Each reader could cast four votes in each category: two for the models they considered to be particularly successful designs and two for those they liked the least. The winners were calculated from the difference between the results.