BMW’s electronic locks can delay door opening when cyclists approach from behind. New emergency steering can automatically guide car around unexpected road hazards. Safety upgrades debut on iX3 before spreading across the wider BMW model lineup. You know that moment when you’re about to open your door, but a cyclist suddenly appears, and you breathe a sigh of relief that you saw them just in time? BMW’s Neue Klasse cars have you covered even if you don’t. They won’t just beep at you if they spot a hazard. If they think you’re about to cause a dooring accident, they can temporarily refuse to let you out. The enhanced Exit Warning system debuts with BMW’s Neue Klasse technology in the new 2027 iX3. Side radars monitor approaching vehicles, bikes and other road users, and if opening the door could cause a collision, the electronic lock delays release until the danger has passed. Related: BMW Thinks Drivers Under 45 Are Done Poking Buttons. Other Brands Disagree BMW isn’t first here, to be fair. Lexus introduced its e-Latch Safe Exit Assist on the NX several years ago, preventing the door from unlatching when its blind-spot sensors detect approaching traffic. Audi also offers exit-warning systems that briefly delay or prevent door opening when they spot cyclists or vehicles approaching from behind. But BMW says another Neue Klasse trick is currently unique among rivals. Its emergency steering intervention can steer the car around an obstacle while remaining within its lane. BMW gives examples including somebody unexpectedly stepping into the road and an unseen cyclist appearing in poor light. Steers Away From Danger There’s plenty more electronic supervision lurking underneath. The car can steer away from a potential side impact collision, while its emergency braking system can now react to animals. If the driver becomes incapacitated, the Attentiveness Assistant can take control, stop the car, switch on the hazards and automatically make an emergency call. BMW has even tackled that horrifying parking-lot moment when someone mistakes the accelerator for the brake. At speeds up to 1.2 mph (2 kmh), if there’s an obstacle within one meter and the accelerator is suddenly mashed unusually hard, the car can override that input and stop itself. So married and miserable iX3 owners better go to Plan B on that wife/husband murder plot. The iX3 gets first dibs on these features, which are made possible by a new water-cooled driver-assistance computer with roughly 20 times the processing power of its predecessor. But BMW says they’ll spread across multiple model lines, with the i3, X5 and 7-Series specifically named among the cars following the iX3. BMW