Mini Connected app picks music based on your driving style

Want your music to dynamically change in reaction to your driving style, tweet while you're on the move and update Facebook on the motorway? There's an app -- and a car -- for that.

Those who buy a new Mini with the navigation system fitted will be able to take advantage of the Mini Connected app. This allows iPhones and iPods to link directly to the car using the iPod Out feature, which places the gadget's menus directly on to a display in the centre of the speedometer.

From here, drivers can use the car's media controls to choose music for playback on the car's speakers or select the Dynamic Music function, which selects tracks based on your driving style.

Fling your Mini around like a bat out of hell and it'll select rousing, high-tempo tracks to spur you on. Amble around in traffic, however, and it'll choose slower tracks that better fit the mood.

Tracks for all music styles can be pre-selected by the user. You simply create a couple of playlists for each mood and the car chooses the playlists based on how it's being driven. At present, it's not been confirmed how the car will make its music choices, but it'll likely analyse engine revs, overall speed and feedback from the phone's accelerometers. 

Dynamic music is just the tip of the Mini Connected iceberg. The app will also allow drivers to stream Internet radio stations from the Web, which will hugely increase the choice of music available to the user, although it'll eat into your phone's data allowance. It will also allow the driver to send Twitter and Facebook updates on the go and get tips on the efficiency of their driving using a feature known as the Minimalism Analyser.

Mini's given no precise date for the availability of the Mini Connected app, but it tells us this functionality will only work in Minis fitted with the navigation system or the forthcoming Mini Visual Boost enhanced radio display.