TomTom’s got a new activity tracker – for your car
Curfer keeps an eye on your driving, and what’s going on under the bonnet
When it comes to fitness tracking, why stop at that fancy wearable sat on your wrist?
Counting steps and recording your pulse is great and all, but now there’s something that’ll do the same for your car. Well, swap heart rate for engine temperatures and your half-way there.
TomTom’s Curfer is a tiny dongle that records your car’s vital signs, beaming things like battery voltage, oil temperatures and boost pressure straight to your smartphone, so you can spot any little problems before they turn into expensive MOT bills.
It plugs straight into the OBD slot (got a car less than 10 years old? It’s definitely got one of these lurking under the bonnet) and pairs over Bluetooth to your phone.
Tap the car’s year and make into TomTom’s app and it’ll compare your motor’s vital signs to the factory-fresh version, so you can see what’s fading or wearing out over time.
You’re under scrutiny, too. The built-in accelerometer watches your driving style, scoring you on acceleration, braking and fuel efficiency. Did you really need the aircon on full blast for that trip to Tesco? It cost an extra 0.5mpg just to feel the chill for 10 minutes.
That info will give you tips on how to improve your driving and make your car last longer. TomTom reckons it’ll help you reduce brake and tyre wear, and improve fuel economy too.
Oh, and it’ll save where you’ve parked, so there’ll be no more wandering the car park, blipper held up to the sky.
Not bad for a £59 fire-and-forget dongle that takes all of five minutes to fit. It’s going on sale later this month.
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Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
