IN THIS FEATURE A lesson from Asimov A helping hand, not a babysitter Quick thinker Don't try this around town Allowing you to focus on what matters

Does ADAS really make your life any easier? To an extent, definitely. After just an hour behind the wheel, I found myself relaxing and learning to trust it. You don't worry so much about the positioning of your car within the lane, which allows you to focus on other things. Like signs of erratic driving from the car half a mile ahead, or mobile speed traps.

This is the real benefit. Not the decreased physical effort - a regular Accord's controls aren't exactly what you'd call demanding. But rather the ability to relax, to look around you more, to take in the 'big picture'. It makes you a safer driver.

Honda plans only to offer the system on automatic-equipped 2.4 Executive models, at a ballpark price of around £1,000. And the only other manufacturer offering such a system is Mercedes, on its forthcoming S-Class. So you'll have to be pretty high up the company food chain to find this on your shopping list.

Nevertheless, it won't be long before technology like this becomes as common a feature as regular cruise control is now. And from there it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the world's first driverless car. A senior Honda technician told me we're looking at 10, maybe 15 years, tops. Then Asimov's machines will really rule the world - or the roads at least.