Volkswagen is giving its IQ.DRIVE driver-assistance system a substantial technology upgrade for 2027, adding more capable lane changing, emergency pull-over functionality and improved predictive cruise control across several models.
The upgrades apply to Volkswagen vehicles using the MQB Evo and MEB platforms, including the Atlas family, Golf family, Tiguan and ID. Buzz. The basic IQ.DRIVE package remains standard across Volkswagen’s U.S. lineup, with Travel Assist, Front Assist, Active Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Traffic Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Assist and Emergency Assist included.
The more interesting changes are the new tricks those systems can perform.
Let the Car Change Lanes
Travel Assist gains driver-initiated assisted lane changing on additional models. When Travel Assist is active and the vehicle is traveling above 45 mph, the driver can use the turn signal to request a lane change.
The system checks adjacent traffic using the vehicle’s rear radar sensors and will make the move if the lane is clear. If traffic prevents the maneuver, a wait-to-clear function can hold the request for up to 12 seconds.
It’s a fairly sensible approach to assisted driving: the driver still tells the car what they want to do, while the vehicle handles some of the tedious business of figuring out whether there is actually somewhere to go.
Emergency Assist Plus Can Pull Over
Perhaps the more significant upgrade is Emergency Assist Plus. Designed for situations where the driver may become incapacitated, the system can now guide the vehicle toward the roadside.
The system requires Lane Assist or Travel Assist to be active. If it detects repeated lane departures without driver intervention—or, with Travel Assist, no steering-wheel input for 25 seconds—it begins attempting to get the driver’s attention.
If the driver doesn’t respond, the vehicle can move toward the shoulder when the forward-facing camera determines sufficient space is available. If there isn’t enough room, it will move toward the far-right lane instead.
During the maneuver, the vehicle uses brake lights, turn signals and hazard lights to communicate what it is doing. Once stopped, it shifts into Park, unlocks the doors, turns on the lights, activates the emergency call function and continues flashing the hazards and sounding the horn.
That’s a considerably more useful response to an incapacitated driver than simply yelling at them through the speakers.
Predictive Cruise Control Gets Predictably Better
Volkswagen is also updating Predictive Adaptive Cruise Control for 2027. The system can respond more quickly to increased speed limits after notifying the driver, with accelerator input allowing the driver to accept the change. Drivers can reject a proposed speed change using the steering-wheel Res button.
The system also expands its operation to ramps, including exit deceleration and guidance based on navigation information or turn-signal input.
Certain 2027 models also receive an upgraded rearview camera system capable of detecting pedestrians behind the vehicle. When reversing between 1 and 6 mph, the system can automatically apply the brakes if it detects a pedestrian.
The ID. Buzz Gets Cloud Assistance
The 2027 ID. Buzz gets another layer of assistance through Road Experience Management data, included as part of the In-Vehicle Premium subscription service.
The cloud-based system gathers information from real-world vehicles about things such as lane markings, road signs and street lighting. That information can help improve mapping and provide additional data for the vehicle’s driver-assistance systems.
For example, if lane markings are difficult for the vehicle’s cameras to see, map data can provide additional information to help the vehicle remain centered. Traffic data can also help the vehicle determine an appropriate speed based on surrounding traffic, up to the posted limit.
Volkswagen is including a one-year trial of In-Vehicle Premium with the 2027 ID. Buzz. The package also includes Premium Navigation and Speech, AirConsole gaming, What3Words navigation and a Wi-Fi hotspot providing access to the Volkswagen App Store.
The bigger story here isn’t that Volkswagen has suddenly invented autonomous driving. It hasn’t. Instead, IQ.DRIVE is becoming more capable at the mundane—and occasionally very important—parts of driving.
Assisted lane changes, better cruise-control prediction, pedestrian detection and the ability to move an incapacitated driver toward the roadside are the sorts of incremental improvements that could make advanced driver assistance genuinely more useful. And, perhaps more importantly, they still leave the driver responsible for telling the car where it needs to go.
