VW will need to hustle if it’s going to make automated driving a practical reality by 2025, and it appears it’s moving quickly. The automaker is now testing self-driving versions of the e-Golf in real-world conditions in Hamburg — the first time its driverless vehicles have roamed a major German city. They’re Level 4 vehicles (fully autonomous in most situations) that will putt around a roughly 1.9-mile section of a “digital test bed,” but they’ll have to contend with urban traffic like anyone else.

The cars will be loaded to the hilt with sensors, including 14 (!) cameras, 11 laser scanners and seven radars, not to mention enough computing to rival “15 laptops.” This is still early tech, then, although it will ensure that the car isn’t caught off-guard by pedestrians or less-than-courteous cars.
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