Honda has committed to putting the world’s first predictive cruise control system on the market.

Called i-ACC (for Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control), the technology is able to predict when other drivers cut into your lane. The system differs from traditional adaptive cruise control systems in that it keeps an eye on cars in neighboring lanes and their movements, using its camera and radar and a specially developed algorithm. When a car cuts into your lane, the system will apply the brakes gradually, responding up to five seconds earlier than current adaptive cruise control systems.

Current systems are designed primarily to keep a pre-determined distance in front, so when cars cut in unexpectedly the braking can be harsh.

European market Honda CR-Vs will be the first cars to adopt i-ACC. In that region, drivers often travel between the UK, which drives on the left, and the rest of Europe, which drives on the right. The technology is smart enough to recognize which country you are in and adapt accordingly, monitoring the lanes that cars are more likely to merge from.

European Honda CR-Vs also receive a new 1.6L i-DTEC diesel engine and a 9-speed automatic transmission. i-ACC will be available on 2015 model year cars, solely on the Executive trim level.

Now that cars can predict lane cutting, all we need is an A.I. that can experience road rage.

Smack dab in the midst of the madness that is the Tokyo Auto Salon, CES and the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, Honda has quietly released a new three-row hybrid model called the Jade in its home market.

Surprisingly, the Jade actually debuted in China in 2013, modeled closely after the Concept S shown at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The Jade is a five-door wagon that is approximate in shape and size to the Toyota Prius v, except that on the inside it utilizes a unique 2+2+2 seating configuration. That’s two rows of two buckets each, with some rather luxurious-looking armrests in the middle section, and a two-butt bench in the rearmost row.

Power comes from Honda’s i-DCD hybrid-electric drivetrain, which consists of a 108hp 1.5L Atkinson cycle DOHC i-VTEC engine, a 30hp electric motor and a 7-speed dual clutch transmission sandwiched between the two. It’s the same powertrain that propels the Japan-market Fit Hybrid and recently launched Grace hybrid sedan. The Chinese-market version, on the other hand, uses a 1.8L petrol engine instead.

Styling is actually rather sleek, more cohesive than the Prius v and what one imagines a Civic Wagon would look like if that variant hadn’t vanished after 1991. The Jade also comes with a full suite of the Honda Sensing safety package that includes technologies such as collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, suppression of road departure and false starts, and sign recognition.

The Jade goes on sale in Japan on February 13. Honda has not indicated whether the Jade will be offered in North America.

A report coming out of England indicates that Renault is considering launching a retro-inspired city car that would slot between the new third-generation Twingo and the Clio. The Paris-based automaker is in the early stages of building a prototype that will help it decide whether or not to move forward with the project.
The yet-unnamed hatchback will feature roughly the same silhouette as the first-generation Renault 5 (pictured), a small city-friendly car built from 1972 to 1985 and briefly sold as the LeCar in the United States. Stretching about 149 inches long, it will feature four doors, blacked out door pillars and short overhangs on both ends.

The retro-inspired treatment will be toned down on the inside, where the car will be fitted with high-tech equipment such as a fully digital dashboard made up of two seven-inch LCD screens located directly behind the steering wheel and a pair of massive 15.9-inch screens that will replace the rest of the dash. The infotainment system is being designed to work with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Power for the 1,830-pound car will come from an evolution of the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that currently powers the aforementioned Twingo. A more expensive plug-in hybrid model capable of returning up to 111 mpg in a mixed cycle could join the lineup later in the production run.

The project is still at the embryonic stage of development. If given the green light for production, Renault’s upcoming 5-inspired city car isn’t expected to land in showrooms until 2018 at the earliest.