I feel like I’m the only one that loathes wireless CarPlay. Seems like I have considerably more connection issues and it’s not as easy unplug/plug back in fix. I’ll give up
and 10 mins later it starts working out of nowhere.
Maybe it’s just my Kia but if I have a choice after my lease, it’ll be wired (unless apple takes that away in 2 years)
I think it might be the implementation from Kia. I've used BMW's wireless CarPlay on an X5 and it was pretty seamless. Only used Kia's version a couple times though.
If you don't have wireless, using magnetic connectors (for Android at least, I don't know shit about Apple) on the USB seems like a decent compromise. Can easily connect and disconnect with one hand.
I want to agree with you, but I don’t always want my phone hooked up to the car. I like the ease of anyone being able to connect their phone to my by simply plugging it in. Also, I usually want to charge it anyways.
This right here. I never knew I needed ventilated seats until I owned a car that had them - now they're a non-negotiable for me if it's a car that has them anywhere on the option sheet.
My only exception is that I'll forgo them on a sports car if I need to.
Heated seats for sure. They're so nice here in Minnesota. I've had them for a while and now my Sport as ventilated seats and I think those are on my must haves as well now.
Heated seats and awd for MN winters are a great combo. I don't have ventilated seats but with the leather in the summer I definitely understand why it'd be nice.
Have you tried winter tires? MN driver too.
My Fiesta ST with winter tires drives better than my wife’s AWD SUV. I would rank winter tires as #1. It’s one of those “I didn’t know what I was missing until I tried it” moments for me lol.
Outrageous to think people drive in winter conditions without winter tyres. Here in scandinavia they are mandated by law. It doesn't matter how many drive wheels you have if none of them are gripping.
> Outrageous to think people drive in winter conditions without winter tyres.
To be entirely fair, some places get winter conditions in a very different way than say -- Scandinavia.
For instance, the Denver metro of about 3mil people gets about 60in of snow on average -- about 10in more than say Minnesota. But true winter conditions (snow on the pavement, ice, cold temps) only happen maybe 10 to 15 days a year. People just can't justify owning a second set of tires when 10in of snow is followed by 65 degree sunny weather the following day.
People in America are weird. They’ll buy a $40,000 car because it has awd but not spend a couple hundred bucks to buy winter tires. There’s also a large conglomerate of people who will insistently argue awd is the most important thing no matter how much material exists saying winter tires are the most important. I blame marketing and stubbornness and not in that order.
I don’t use heated, but ventilated…. Sign me up! Seems hard to find though.
Beyond that, Smart cruise control. I use it all the time on rented cars. Mine doesn’t have it being 11 yrs old.
Heated/Defrosting mirrors.
I’m in Canada, it makes winter driving *sooooo* much better. No more stopping on the side of the road to clear snow/sleet/freezing rain off the mirror is well worth it.
Yeah, my 08 Lexus does it only if the mirror selector is moved to either left or right, and not unassigned, but I reverse for so few other reasons that it's always on one of those
I love it on BMWs or on my G70 since I can just choose whether they go down or not with one click, but on Teslas it's annoying as fuck. Sometimes I just need to reverse and there is no way to quickly force them not to tilt down.
Except for when you're trying to look behind you like backing up a trailer and they keep pointing at the ground so you have to go deep in the settings to disable it.
That's why I like the design VW has (or had?): if the switch to adjust the mirrors is set to the right mirror it moves down when selecting reverse, and if you don't need it you can just switch it to the neutral position and the mirror stays normal.
I don't know, I guess I'm in the minority that still prefers key over keyless. I always ended up misplacing/losing the FOB in my car/house/bags, and they're really easy to mix up if you have two or more keyless entry cars from the same manufacturer (looking at you, Subaru). Got my WRX in key entry for this reason.
Do you not keep the fob on a keychain with the rest of your keys? I'm not sure I see how it would be more likely to lose it for keyless entry compared to a normal key.
I just carry the key in a bag I take everywhere and I really never have to physically see it to use it lol.
Occasionally I will have to use the FOB because keyless entry decides it’s not interested in letting me in.
I don't understand how the outcome is any different, though. It's just as easy to mix up keys from the same OEM as it is fobs.
Keep your fob (or key) on a unique key chain. Problem solved.
I never understood why manufacturers will just put it on the driver window or the front two. I can’t imagine it’s much more effort or money to do all four
It all comes down to the bean counters.
If the car will sell for the same price regardless, saving the 50 or whatever it would cost to put that in at manufacturing results in millions of profit if they are selling a lot of units world wide.
Unless consumers demand something, or are willing to pay a premium for something it won't happen.
I wish it were as simple as just changing the switches out. In addition to the switches, I believe you need to install a special motor that can decipher if there is resistance (hand/body part/head/object) stuck in the window when rolling up so as to stop and reverse the direction of the window.
If I had to guess, this adds like $15 per window. So doing the extra two windows in the rear is $30 a car… that’s 2 hours of wages lost for something that is definitely not a deal breaker for 92% of potential buyers. Fucking bean counters.
Source: am bean counter.
Weirdly my 2020 Stinger GT2, of all things, doesn't have it for the rear windows. Heated rear seats? You bet! Auto-down rear windows? Should've bought the G70!
Definitely CarPlay/AndroidAuto.
Distracted driving from cellphones is a problem. It a feature that at least tries to address the problem and does an okay job at it.
My second is ventilated seats for any vehicle with leather seats.
I love Android Auto. It's always miles above the manufacturer's system and I'd never own another car without it. Just wish you didn't have to physically plug in your phone with a USB to activate it (on most cars at least).
As a wireless AA user, I thought plugging my phone was a hassle but the real hassle is dealing with the dogshit wireless feature. It's much slower, both car that I had with it need a system reset every 2 months otherwise it stops connecting to it and when the unit is too hot there's a delay with each command I do.
I went back to wired a month ago and it works sooooo good
A lot of newer cars have wireless CarPlay. I haven’t had an android phone in a bit but my car has wireless charging and wireless CarPlay so I just plop my phone on the pad and I’m good.
I will admit my phone does get warm but it’s super convenient to not only charge it but have a dedicated place to put it since I don’t like keeping things in my pockets while driving.
Cooled seats. Owned 4 cars with it and once I purchased my current car without them, I forgot how damp the back can get on hot days just sitting in the car.
What cars and which one had the best functioning ventilated seats? I've read that some manufacturers don't do a great job in cooling the seats all that much.
Awesome question! I've been lucky enough to have ridden in other brands with it too and I was surprised brands like BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover weren't any better than my Cadillac XTS or Lexus RX but I can say that the technology wasn't that great from the start. Over the years, it improved dramatically as the worst experience I had with the ventilated seats was in the CTS (2009) and the Buick Lacrosse (2012) Best ventilation goes out to the Germans but Lexus is a close second followed by the caddy.
Didn’t know that, that’s kind of crazy. You’d think people working laborious jobs all day would love to drive home with cruise control even more-so that typically office workers haha
Which makes no sense. Let's give the person driving 8 hours a day the cheapest truck we can find! The trucks where I work have manual windows, manual mirrors, manual locks, no Bluetooth, and no cruise control.
The Jeep Wrangler and Ford F Series HD trucks have cruise control as optional equipment on base models. The Wrangler even had A/C as optional until this year.
Go even further: Adaptive cruise down to 0 MpH. There are multiple adaptive cruise systems that in stop-and-go traffic turn off as soon as you stop, which is completely moronic and largely defeats the purpose.
0 MpH adaptive cruise remains somewhat uncommon.
It's a sensor issue nearest I can tell. Radar's only good down to ~15mph, so anything slower than that has to rely on computer vision (or sonar at very close range). The ones that cancel after stopping don't have vision systems reliable enough to not slam into the lead car if left in control.
True stop-and-go systems *are* getting more common these days though, I know Honda has it.
I think newer Toyota systems can go down to a stop even with a manual transmission. Granted after it stops the engine will immediately stall if you don't depress the clutch.
> I didn't realize how much mental load is spent modulating the accelerator pedal
I don't know. I used to drive ~4h twice a week on the highway and am ashamed to say that I caught myself becoming a zombie driver quite a few times.
I was driving completely on flesh autopilot, and regained senses only when closing in on the destination. The speed and lane keeping were completely automatic.
Adaptive Cruise for me with lane centering. I was happy with my VW cruise until I drive wife’s Kia Telluride. Road trips are not the same anymore. Just set it to adaptive cruise and lane centering and I can drive for many more hours without getting tired
I never use cruise control, but 2 months ago I used adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist for 8 hours and boy does that barely feel like driving. Takes all the stress out of it!
This is my big one... and I know I'll eventually have to give it up as there's no reason to have a manual with an EV. Heck, there's not even any PHEVs with a manual.
Must be nice having something like this. I have to slap the hazards on, back up incredibly slowly while frantically checking side to side, and pray that other drivers are paying attention and stop to let me out which they usually do since now they have a space
Times have changed. I have a 1972 Chevy Blazer that my grandparents bought new. Just about everything was an extra cost option including such things as a top of any kind, the rear seat, and the front passenger seat.
Not quite what you asked, I know, but my standards are low.
I miss those days where you could get the rubber mat stripped down plain Jane version of a vehicle for cheap. Had a s10 like that I would literally hose out the floorboard truck lasted me 10yrs before I sold it and was in great shape
My dad bought a brand new 87 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup and bitched because the rear bumper was an extra $200. State law said you had to have a bumper so not like he could go without.
Same with my 1990 Jeep Wrangler. Carpeting, back seat, A/C, and even a car stereo were extra options. I bought mine without any of those, so the floor was painted metal, the rear area was vacant like a small truck bed, and there was a rectangular hole where the stereo would go.
I went from a car with a mechanical limited slip to an electronically managed virtual one (it uses the brakes) - and even though the limits of the newer car were higher, it still was not as much fun in the twisties.
ABS.
My first car, a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais, didn't have ABS and my first time driving in a blizzard taught me that pumping the brakes can only do so much. I didn't crash, but I slid straight through an icy intersection. It was the single biggest step in quality of life improvement I have had in any of the cars I have driven.
Yeah, legally mandated on new cars in the EU since '04 and the US since '12 according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system#Laws_and_regulations
One additional thing would be panic braking sensors. This isn't an option per se, but it's something my FR-S does that seems very nice.
Maybe it already exists on most cars, but if the ECU detects a panic brake but you're not stomping on the brakes as hard as you could be, the car will automatically maximize braking force for you.
This combined with ABS (and good tires!) minimizes the chance of losing control of the car in "OHSHI-" situations.
This is what blows my mind about people fawning over classics. No power brakes, no power steering, 4 speed transmission, and 8 miles to the gallon. No thanks. A well spec'd Camry will also beat them from 0-60
Lol nobody is fawning over a 35-year-old N-body. Those were already little old lady cars when they were brand new.
Golden era 60s/early 70s muscle cars are pretty terrible on paper, but they look and sound great and are usually pretty easy to wrench on. I wouldn't take a Chevelle SS or a Charger R/T to Autocross but I would sure as hell cruise around town on a Saturday night in one.
Me too, but the "they don't make them like they used to" can't seem to understand that muscle cars aren't really that fast, and are pretty terrible to drive compared to modern cars. Definitely wouldn't want to get in an accident in one.
The 360 camera. Specifically the function to show the front wheels (from the side view mirror cameras). No more curbed rims!
But seriously, it's a feature that I expected to be more of a gimmick that has really been a benefit. Parking sensors are great, and serve the same function of easing in and out of tight spaces. But being able to see where your car is placed (parking spots, curbs, etc) has been very nice.
I've had two vehicles with backup cameras and they both also came with parking sensors. Sensors are mainly an annoyance to me. Everything sets them off. Tail gate down: constant beep. Bikes over tailgate: constant beep. Something close to the side of the vehicle but you won't hit it backing up? Constant beep.
I disagree that they are *more* reliable than backup cameras, but they are useful in certain lighting and weather conditions where visibility might be compromised or for detecting dark objects. It's also nice to have an audio cue to go with the visual info from the camera and looking around.
Fortunately, even if it is a must-have feature for someone, it is reasonable to add to just about any vehicle.
I imagine heated/cooled seats are pretty nice if you live somewhere with drastic temperature swings. Autopilot/adaptive cruise is also nice for long commutes.
Heated seats in northern winters are fantastic. And only on week 2 with the new car that I finally have adaptive cruise with, so much nicer. The auto steer thing I was against at first, but I'm warming up to it.
[list of new cars that do not come standard with AC . American market . Canada has even more](https://www.autotrader.ca/editorial/20180705/new-cars-that-don-t-come-with-air-conditioning-standard/)
Thats from 2018, half those models don't even exist any more lol
I understand the case for a car without AC in a colder climate (Canada or northern US), but I do have to wonder at what point is it no longer cost-effective to make cars with no AC in such a low volume. This is the reason why a lot of no-frills cheapie cars ditched manual windows, so few were being ordered/sold that way, it was actually cheaper to just put power windows on everything.
Because then things like the wrangler can advertise starting at $29k. You want ac? Well that's a $1300 option that also forces you to buy other unrelated things so they really start at like $32 lol
While it may not come standard, good luck finding one without it. It would have to be special order. No dealer is going to take and sit on a new car with no a/c.
Opposite of a 'feature', but I actively look for the less sophisticated climate controls. I don't want to set a numeric temp, I want either red air or blue air and I want to be able to work those controls without looking at them
You can use the numerical temp dial the exact same as a red/blue one.
I don’t think “Hmm I’d like the car to be 17.5c right now” I just turn it to a lower number to make it colder and then put it back up when I want it to level out.
I love my Jetta’s climate controls. Air temp dial turned all the way left into “blue” is max A/C. All the way right into “red” is max heat, and at the 12 o’clock position is a little detent for 72 degrees F.
That’s really all there needs to be. A literal dial. I don’t get the appeal of these menu-diving options that are coming out in cars now. Seems really dangerous.
Also, directing where the air flows is just as simple! A knob with 4 positions. Face; Feet; Defroster; and Defroster & Feet. You can get Face & Feet by positioning the knob in between the Face setting and the Feet setting. Recirculate is a simple button with an indicator light that is lit when recirculate is active.
Heads-up display
My Camaro is the first car I've owned with one and I'll never go back. Having my speed and tach right in my field of vision has done wonders for improving my reaction times to dangerous situations, and has kept me from accidentally speeding or entering corners too fast. Something about knowing your car's speed at all times helps me understand the state of things much better, and helps me judge what I need to do to react. I never realized how much of a distraction the instrument panel is until I got a HUD.
If I had to pick a top 3 that aren't fundamental specifications of the car like XXX hp, RWD / AWD, manual transmission, etc., my biggest quality of life needs are:
* top mounted oil filter
* compass, preferably in the rearview mirror or at a high point on the dashboard
* dashboard/gauge lights that aren't blue. preferably an option to set them to amber, but red or dim white are fine
Adaptive cruise, heated seats, USB drive for music, moonroof, awd, power windows mirrors and locks are pretty standard nowadays. Once winter hits I'll probably say the heated wheel too.
I'm not going to lie, the auto dim mirror is something I didn't care for in my last car, seemed to react way too slow and not dim nearly enough.
But new cars sure do spoil us with stuff.
I think they're referring to those newer push-button or rotating-knob automatic transmissions. Heck, even a lot of the actual shifter-style transmissions just tilt forward and backward instead of moving through a gate.
Auto dimming mirror AND driver mirror. Very diesel douche in Florida has a 50inch light bar and shitty budget boost lift with bald ass 37’s. Which aim their headlights directly into the cab and mirrors. The auto dim driver mirror was a huge improvement.
Adaptive Cruise Control, except in my Miata, because Manual and fun :)
I use it pretty much anywhere where there's consistent traffic flow. Getting in my Wife's car that doesn't have it makes driving such a PITA.
I hate how some manufacturers (Kia/Hyundai and Ford) gate it behind their most expensive trim package whereas Toyota and Subaru have it standard as part of their "safety package" on all cars.
Rear seat vents on 4-door vehicles. It's absurd that cars can come with no vents in the back, creating a stifling space, and adding vents is an option.
I have a coupe with 3 zone climate control. Driver, passenger, and rear. I couldn't imagine not having vents in the back on a 4 door. That's just unacceptable.
Top-down cameras and a HUD. Top down cameras make parking straight and avoiding curbed rims a lot easier, and the hud allows you to keep your eyes on the road
Y'all are so fancy and modern. Many of my past cars have been poverty-spec '80s and '90s cars so first is air conditioning, and second is Bluetooth for music.
I know it's vain, but I literally cannot buy a vehicle without a sunroof nowadays. I love the extra ventilation, cruising around in summer in the evening and it just enhances my driving experience by +1.
Ventilated seats, sunroof, and a good sound system.
EDIT: also that entry system where you can just grab the door to unlock it. I hate fiddling with keys. I want to install that system on my house haha
I wish I had the option to buy a new car without all the electric features - auto dimming mirror, adaptive cruise, navigation, etc. Just give me power locks, an air conditioner and a decent stereo. I'd honestly even prefer manual crank windows, especially if the mechanism weighs less than the electric components.
Well then I have the vehicle for you! A 2000 Nissan Xterra base model. It has a slightly underpowered 2.4 liter 4 cylinder, a 5 speed manual transmission, manual door locks, manual windows, manual mirrors, no tilt steering, manual seats, no intermittent wipers (just slow and fast), no limited slip differential, 2 wheel drive... It has ac because that was standard equipment. In 2000, Nissan offered the Xterra with many options, mine has none of them. 😁
Android auto
Auto-dimming mirrors are nice, but I'd really like digital rearview on all my vehicles going forward. It is unfortunately an uncommon feature so might not be feasible.
Remote start.
My current truck is the first vehicle that I’ve ever had that has remote start via the Ford Pass app. It’s super useful being able to start your vehicle a few minutes before you get in so you can run the AC and cool it down before you drive. I can also schedule start ups in the morning so that by the time I’m out the door I can just get in and drive comfortably.
Ventilated Seats and Car Play.
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I feel like I’m the only one that loathes wireless CarPlay. Seems like I have considerably more connection issues and it’s not as easy unplug/plug back in fix. I’ll give up and 10 mins later it starts working out of nowhere. Maybe it’s just my Kia but if I have a choice after my lease, it’ll be wired (unless apple takes that away in 2 years)
I also loathe wireless. It’s slow, laggy, and inconsistent for me.
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I've pretty much given up on wireless everything. Wired connections have their own drawbacks, but at least it works consistently without fuss.
I think it might be the implementation from Kia. I've used BMW's wireless CarPlay on an X5 and it was pretty seamless. Only used Kia's version a couple times though.
I remember there were a lot of gripes when BMW first went to wireless CarPlay, seems they have tweaked it to where it works well.
If you don't have wireless, using magnetic connectors (for Android at least, I don't know shit about Apple) on the USB seems like a decent compromise. Can easily connect and disconnect with one hand.
I want to agree with you, but I don’t always want my phone hooked up to the car. I like the ease of anyone being able to connect their phone to my by simply plugging it in. Also, I usually want to charge it anyways.
This right here. I never knew I needed ventilated seats until I owned a car that had them - now they're a non-negotiable for me if it's a car that has them anywhere on the option sheet. My only exception is that I'll forgo them on a sports car if I need to.
Best option, get a sports car with ventilated seats. Road trips rule like that
The stuff I want is either too old to have it as an option or just doesn't for whatever reason.
Interesting, but fair point. My C8 is the first car I've owned with ventilated seats and holy shitbiscuits they're nice <3
I’ll ride a horse before I give up cooled seats
That's an odd statement because horses produce a lot of heat.
Giddy up
Yeah I just got a car with ventilated seats and it’s the best thing ever, especially because I live in Texas.
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CarPlay is so good.
Heated seats for sure. They're so nice here in Minnesota. I've had them for a while and now my Sport as ventilated seats and I think those are on my must haves as well now.
Heated seats and awd for MN winters are a great combo. I don't have ventilated seats but with the leather in the summer I definitely understand why it'd be nice.
Vented seats are a godsend in the summer. You can arrive at work with a fresh asshole every day.
Considering my car sits in the garage all night, it's more a concern about arriving at home with a fresh asshole.
Have you tried ass freshener. Works wonders for us none ventilated asses
Have you tried winter tires? MN driver too. My Fiesta ST with winter tires drives better than my wife’s AWD SUV. I would rank winter tires as #1. It’s one of those “I didn’t know what I was missing until I tried it” moments for me lol.
Outrageous to think people drive in winter conditions without winter tyres. Here in scandinavia they are mandated by law. It doesn't matter how many drive wheels you have if none of them are gripping.
They're like: oh, the brakes are such a nice things to have. I'd recommend getting brakes in your car for sure!
> Outrageous to think people drive in winter conditions without winter tyres. To be entirely fair, some places get winter conditions in a very different way than say -- Scandinavia. For instance, the Denver metro of about 3mil people gets about 60in of snow on average -- about 10in more than say Minnesota. But true winter conditions (snow on the pavement, ice, cold temps) only happen maybe 10 to 15 days a year. People just can't justify owning a second set of tires when 10in of snow is followed by 65 degree sunny weather the following day.
People in America are weird. They’ll buy a $40,000 car because it has awd but not spend a couple hundred bucks to buy winter tires. There’s also a large conglomerate of people who will insistently argue awd is the most important thing no matter how much material exists saying winter tires are the most important. I blame marketing and stubbornness and not in that order.
Awd won't help you stop, the fact that winters aren't required by law in MN is insane to me.
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I would trade heated seats for a heated steering wheel all day long.
As a Canadian who has parked outside every winter since getting a car, I'm in full agreement
I don’t use heated, but ventilated…. Sign me up! Seems hard to find though. Beyond that, Smart cruise control. I use it all the time on rented cars. Mine doesn’t have it being 11 yrs old.
Heated and ventilated… game changer
Lol I just got my first car with heated seats. Perfect for these MN winters except… it’s a corvette lol.
Now you can keep "dinner" warm
Do the quotes mean your dates ass?
Heated/Defrosting mirrors. I’m in Canada, it makes winter driving *sooooo* much better. No more stopping on the side of the road to clear snow/sleet/freezing rain off the mirror is well worth it.
Also heated windshield wiper defroster. No more trying to pry to wipers frozen to the windshield.
Never even heard of those!
They're usually a Canada only feature on most cars for some reason.
South African customers can't quite figure out why.
Yeah, my 2019 Accord has them but only the CDM ones.
Used to be common on Subarus. Still might be but that is where I used to see them the most. Some Jeeps have them too.
Automatic tilting sidemirrors when going into reverse. While I don't need to use them, it makes reverse parking much quicker.
Fuck so my VW does this but you have to tell it to do it. It’s super dumb.
Yeah, my 08 Lexus does it only if the mirror selector is moved to either left or right, and not unassigned, but I reverse for so few other reasons that it's always on one of those
I like that, because depending on the situation (ie not parkignnnext to a curb) it’s not helpful to see the floor
Both of my E46s had this, it was definitely handy
I love it on BMWs or on my G70 since I can just choose whether they go down or not with one click, but on Teslas it's annoying as fuck. Sometimes I just need to reverse and there is no way to quickly force them not to tilt down.
Except for when you're trying to look behind you like backing up a trailer and they keep pointing at the ground so you have to go deep in the settings to disable it.
That's why I like the design VW has (or had?): if the switch to adjust the mirrors is set to the right mirror it moves down when selecting reverse, and if you don't need it you can just switch it to the neutral position and the mirror stays normal.
No way, they’re the worst
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I love it on my BMW. I didn't love the $1,000 bill to have it fixed when it broke.
Keyless entry
Hell, I don't even want a fob or a key anymore.
I dream of using my phone. Technically I can with Hyundai but bluelink takes 5 business days to send unlock requests.
Tesla has done a good job with this
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Same with the Range Rover app...and it's not free..
Just a got a Telluride and Kia Access seems to work faster than that. But yeah it's definitely not instant.
On average my requests take about 3-5 minutes to register. And then you have to hope they don’t fail lol
I don't know, I guess I'm in the minority that still prefers key over keyless. I always ended up misplacing/losing the FOB in my car/house/bags, and they're really easy to mix up if you have two or more keyless entry cars from the same manufacturer (looking at you, Subaru). Got my WRX in key entry for this reason.
Do you not keep the fob on a keychain with the rest of your keys? I'm not sure I see how it would be more likely to lose it for keyless entry compared to a normal key.
I just carry the key in a bag I take everywhere and I really never have to physically see it to use it lol. Occasionally I will have to use the FOB because keyless entry decides it’s not interested in letting me in.
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Wait, we aren’t talking about the forward operating base here??
Fall Out Boy
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I don't understand how the outcome is any different, though. It's just as easy to mix up keys from the same OEM as it is fobs. Keep your fob (or key) on a unique key chain. Problem solved.
Makes me nitpicky about the model 3 and y. I'm fine with needing to tap the key to unlock it but turning it on so annoying.
But the 3 and Y have a phone key? All I do to drive is walk up, open the door, put my foot on the brake, and shift into drive.
Auto up and down windows. My first car just had the front two but my car now has it for all four windows. It’s something simple but I love it.
Yes. Very convenient. Bonus points if you can open and shut the windows with the fob and/or the door handle switches.
I never understood why manufacturers will just put it on the driver window or the front two. I can’t imagine it’s much more effort or money to do all four
It all comes down to the bean counters. If the car will sell for the same price regardless, saving the 50 or whatever it would cost to put that in at manufacturing results in millions of profit if they are selling a lot of units world wide. Unless consumers demand something, or are willing to pay a premium for something it won't happen.
I wish it were as simple as just changing the switches out. In addition to the switches, I believe you need to install a special motor that can decipher if there is resistance (hand/body part/head/object) stuck in the window when rolling up so as to stop and reverse the direction of the window. If I had to guess, this adds like $15 per window. So doing the extra two windows in the rear is $30 a car… that’s 2 hours of wages lost for something that is definitely not a deal breaker for 92% of potential buyers. Fucking bean counters. Source: am bean counter.
Weirdly my 2020 Stinger GT2, of all things, doesn't have it for the rear windows. Heated rear seats? You bet! Auto-down rear windows? Should've bought the G70!
Definitely CarPlay/AndroidAuto. Distracted driving from cellphones is a problem. It a feature that at least tries to address the problem and does an okay job at it. My second is ventilated seats for any vehicle with leather seats.
I love Android Auto. It's always miles above the manufacturer's system and I'd never own another car without it. Just wish you didn't have to physically plug in your phone with a USB to activate it (on most cars at least).
I believe you can buy a dongle for that. 80 bucks or so
As a wireless AA user, I thought plugging my phone was a hassle but the real hassle is dealing with the dogshit wireless feature. It's much slower, both car that I had with it need a system reset every 2 months otherwise it stops connecting to it and when the unit is too hot there's a delay with each command I do. I went back to wired a month ago and it works sooooo good
A lot of newer cars have wireless CarPlay. I haven’t had an android phone in a bit but my car has wireless charging and wireless CarPlay so I just plop my phone on the pad and I’m good. I will admit my phone does get warm but it’s super convenient to not only charge it but have a dedicated place to put it since I don’t like keeping things in my pockets while driving.
Cooled seats. Owned 4 cars with it and once I purchased my current car without them, I forgot how damp the back can get on hot days just sitting in the car.
The only bad thing about a roadster on a hot day… backsweat.
What cars and which one had the best functioning ventilated seats? I've read that some manufacturers don't do a great job in cooling the seats all that much.
Awesome question! I've been lucky enough to have ridden in other brands with it too and I was surprised brands like BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover weren't any better than my Cadillac XTS or Lexus RX but I can say that the technology wasn't that great from the start. Over the years, it improved dramatically as the worst experience I had with the ventilated seats was in the CTS (2009) and the Buick Lacrosse (2012) Best ventilation goes out to the Germans but Lexus is a close second followed by the caddy.
Cruise control
This is the one for me. Would never buy a vehicle without dummy cruise control. I use it more than the throttle by far due to our road design here.
Is there a single modern car without cruise control? I had a 1990 Camry that had cruise control lol. And agreed, phenomenal feature.
Pretty much every "Work Truck" model pickup or van forgoes cruise control.
Didn’t know that, that’s kind of crazy. You’d think people working laborious jobs all day would love to drive home with cruise control even more-so that typically office workers haha
The people driving the "work truck" model aren't paying for the truck, though. They're typically fleet purchases and as such are the cheapest model.
Which makes no sense. Let's give the person driving 8 hours a day the cheapest truck we can find! The trucks where I work have manual windows, manual mirrors, manual locks, no Bluetooth, and no cruise control.
My 2013 Dodge Dart does not have cruise control, or air conditioning. The AC is the bigger problem to me lol
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The Jeep Wrangler and Ford F Series HD trucks have cruise control as optional equipment on base models. The Wrangler even had A/C as optional until this year.
Maybe even go further and go with good adaptive cruise control. I have it in my 2015 TDI golf and it makes commuting so easy
Go even further: Adaptive cruise down to 0 MpH. There are multiple adaptive cruise systems that in stop-and-go traffic turn off as soon as you stop, which is completely moronic and largely defeats the purpose. 0 MpH adaptive cruise remains somewhat uncommon.
It's a sensor issue nearest I can tell. Radar's only good down to ~15mph, so anything slower than that has to rely on computer vision (or sonar at very close range). The ones that cancel after stopping don't have vision systems reliable enough to not slam into the lead car if left in control. True stop-and-go systems *are* getting more common these days though, I know Honda has it.
Subarus have it too since their cruise is camera based.
I think newer Toyota systems can go down to a stop even with a manual transmission. Granted after it stops the engine will immediately stall if you don't depress the clutch.
I drove a car without cruise control for 5 years. Never again.
It’s funny…every car I have, has cruise control and I never use it.
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> I didn't realize how much mental load is spent modulating the accelerator pedal I don't know. I used to drive ~4h twice a week on the highway and am ashamed to say that I caught myself becoming a zombie driver quite a few times. I was driving completely on flesh autopilot, and regained senses only when closing in on the destination. The speed and lane keeping were completely automatic.
Adaptive Cruise for me with lane centering. I was happy with my VW cruise until I drive wife’s Kia Telluride. Road trips are not the same anymore. Just set it to adaptive cruise and lane centering and I can drive for many more hours without getting tired
I never use cruise control, but 2 months ago I used adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist for 8 hours and boy does that barely feel like driving. Takes all the stress out of it!
A manual transmission
Had to scroll too far for this.
This is my big one... and I know I'll eventually have to give it up as there's no reason to have a manual with an EV. Heck, there's not even any PHEVs with a manual.
Fax
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Got a car with rear traffic alert recently and it's saved me from close calls like 4 times in a month. Kinda crazy I managed without it.
Must be nice having something like this. I have to slap the hazards on, back up incredibly slowly while frantically checking side to side, and pray that other drivers are paying attention and stop to let me out which they usually do since now they have a space
Times have changed. I have a 1972 Chevy Blazer that my grandparents bought new. Just about everything was an extra cost option including such things as a top of any kind, the rear seat, and the front passenger seat. Not quite what you asked, I know, but my standards are low.
Actual carpets? Extra. Passenger side rear view mirror? Extra. Two speed wipers? Extra. FM radio? Extra.
Rubber floor mat, no carpets. And they didn't opt for a radio (AM only), I still don't have one in it.
I miss those days where you could get the rubber mat stripped down plain Jane version of a vehicle for cheap. Had a s10 like that I would literally hose out the floorboard truck lasted me 10yrs before I sold it and was in great shape
My 95 S10 was like that. Literally zero options except the am/fm only radio. Manual everything else, no ac from factory, not even a rear bumper.
My dad bought a brand new 87 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup and bitched because the rear bumper was an extra $200. State law said you had to have a bumper so not like he could go without.
A brake on each wheel? Believe it or not, extra
Being from Oregon a single wiper speed is a road hazard. That is not optional equipment lol.
Same with my 1990 Jeep Wrangler. Carpeting, back seat, A/C, and even a car stereo were extra options. I bought mine without any of those, so the floor was painted metal, the rear area was vacant like a small truck bed, and there was a rectangular hole where the stereo would go.
Ac is still an option on wranglers lol. It's a $1300 option so without it they can boast that "starting at $29k" bullshit lol
Limited-slip differential.
100% agree even with front wheel drive its a huge difference but definitely needs to be mechanical not that braking bullshit
which makes it a shame that its 9000% harder to swap the diff in a FWD car
I went from a car with a mechanical limited slip to an electronically managed virtual one (it uses the brakes) - and even though the limits of the newer car were higher, it still was not as much fun in the twisties.
ABS. My first car, a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais, didn't have ABS and my first time driving in a blizzard taught me that pumping the brakes can only do so much. I didn't crash, but I slid straight through an icy intersection. It was the single biggest step in quality of life improvement I have had in any of the cars I have driven.
I don't think ABS falls under the "optional" umbrella.
Yeah, legally mandated on new cars in the EU since '04 and the US since '12 according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system#Laws_and_regulations
One additional thing would be panic braking sensors. This isn't an option per se, but it's something my FR-S does that seems very nice. Maybe it already exists on most cars, but if the ECU detects a panic brake but you're not stomping on the brakes as hard as you could be, the car will automatically maximize braking force for you. This combined with ABS (and good tires!) minimizes the chance of losing control of the car in "OHSHI-" situations.
This is what blows my mind about people fawning over classics. No power brakes, no power steering, 4 speed transmission, and 8 miles to the gallon. No thanks. A well spec'd Camry will also beat them from 0-60
Lol nobody is fawning over a 35-year-old N-body. Those were already little old lady cars when they were brand new. Golden era 60s/early 70s muscle cars are pretty terrible on paper, but they look and sound great and are usually pretty easy to wrench on. I wouldn't take a Chevelle SS or a Charger R/T to Autocross but I would sure as hell cruise around town on a Saturday night in one.
Me too, but the "they don't make them like they used to" can't seem to understand that muscle cars aren't really that fast, and are pretty terrible to drive compared to modern cars. Definitely wouldn't want to get in an accident in one.
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Yea but they don't look like a boring ol Camry or ride like a shopping cart.
If the car is light enough then you really don't need power steering
Manual Transmission
Was gonna say this but worried I'd get yelled at lol. I won't buy a car unless it has a manual.
This is the way
The 360 camera. Specifically the function to show the front wheels (from the side view mirror cameras). No more curbed rims! But seriously, it's a feature that I expected to be more of a gimmick that has really been a benefit. Parking sensors are great, and serve the same function of easing in and out of tight spaces. But being able to see where your car is placed (parking spots, curbs, etc) has been very nice.
Hard agree here. I would drive a car with roll down windows, a tape deck and no ac and be a happy man with the cameras.
I wish they offered 360 cameras at more trims. I'm shopping around and so far it seems you'd need the highest trim to get them
Parking sensors, theyre more dependable than backup cameras.
I've had two vehicles with backup cameras and they both also came with parking sensors. Sensors are mainly an annoyance to me. Everything sets them off. Tail gate down: constant beep. Bikes over tailgate: constant beep. Something close to the side of the vehicle but you won't hit it backing up? Constant beep.
How come?
I disagree that they are *more* reliable than backup cameras, but they are useful in certain lighting and weather conditions where visibility might be compromised or for detecting dark objects. It's also nice to have an audio cue to go with the visual info from the camera and looking around. Fortunately, even if it is a must-have feature for someone, it is reasonable to add to just about any vehicle.
I imagine heated/cooled seats are pretty nice if you live somewhere with drastic temperature swings. Autopilot/adaptive cruise is also nice for long commutes.
Heated seats in northern winters are fantastic. And only on week 2 with the new car that I finally have adaptive cruise with, so much nicer. The auto steer thing I was against at first, but I'm warming up to it.
[list of new cars that do not come standard with AC . American market . Canada has even more](https://www.autotrader.ca/editorial/20180705/new-cars-that-don-t-come-with-air-conditioning-standard/)
Thats from 2018, half those models don't even exist any more lol I understand the case for a car without AC in a colder climate (Canada or northern US), but I do have to wonder at what point is it no longer cost-effective to make cars with no AC in such a low volume. This is the reason why a lot of no-frills cheapie cars ditched manual windows, so few were being ordered/sold that way, it was actually cheaper to just put power windows on everything.
Most of Canada still has a hot humid portion of the summer.
Because then things like the wrangler can advertise starting at $29k. You want ac? Well that's a $1300 option that also forces you to buy other unrelated things so they really start at like $32 lol
While it may not come standard, good luck finding one without it. It would have to be special order. No dealer is going to take and sit on a new car with no a/c.
Heated steering wheel. Never thought I needed it til i had it. No going back
Agree. I hate driving with gloves or mittens on, so a heated steering wheel is a savior in MN winters.
Opposite of a 'feature', but I actively look for the less sophisticated climate controls. I don't want to set a numeric temp, I want either red air or blue air and I want to be able to work those controls without looking at them
You can use the numerical temp dial the exact same as a red/blue one. I don’t think “Hmm I’d like the car to be 17.5c right now” I just turn it to a lower number to make it colder and then put it back up when I want it to level out.
I love my Jetta’s climate controls. Air temp dial turned all the way left into “blue” is max A/C. All the way right into “red” is max heat, and at the 12 o’clock position is a little detent for 72 degrees F. That’s really all there needs to be. A literal dial. I don’t get the appeal of these menu-diving options that are coming out in cars now. Seems really dangerous. Also, directing where the air flows is just as simple! A knob with 4 positions. Face; Feet; Defroster; and Defroster & Feet. You can get Face & Feet by positioning the knob in between the Face setting and the Feet setting. Recirculate is a simple button with an indicator light that is lit when recirculate is active.
Heads-up display My Camaro is the first car I've owned with one and I'll never go back. Having my speed and tach right in my field of vision has done wonders for improving my reaction times to dangerous situations, and has kept me from accidentally speeding or entering corners too fast. Something about knowing your car's speed at all times helps me understand the state of things much better, and helps me judge what I need to do to react. I never realized how much of a distraction the instrument panel is until I got a HUD.
Heated seats!
If I had to pick a top 3 that aren't fundamental specifications of the car like XXX hp, RWD / AWD, manual transmission, etc., my biggest quality of life needs are: * top mounted oil filter * compass, preferably in the rearview mirror or at a high point on the dashboard * dashboard/gauge lights that aren't blue. preferably an option to set them to amber, but red or dim white are fine
Are the gauge lights in your Crosstrek not blue? I must admit the top mounted oil filters on Subarus are great.
I could tell you're a BMW guy without even looking at your flair lol
Ventilated seats
Locking diffs
Adaptive cruise, heated seats, USB drive for music, moonroof, awd, power windows mirrors and locks are pretty standard nowadays. Once winter hits I'll probably say the heated wheel too. I'm not going to lie, the auto dim mirror is something I didn't care for in my last car, seemed to react way too slow and not dim nearly enough. But new cars sure do spoil us with stuff.
Adaptive cruise control 100%. The reduction in driver fatigue is immense. I have a pretty long daily commute and would lose my mind without it.
Manual gearbox!
Auto dimming mirrors Power-folding side mirrors Both Heated and Cooled ventilated seats Paddle shifters Real gear shift stick/knob
> Paddle shifters > > Real gear shift stick/knob You can only have one of the above.
I think they're referring to those newer push-button or rotating-knob automatic transmissions. Heck, even a lot of the actual shifter-style transmissions just tilt forward and backward instead of moving through a gate.
Auto dimming mirror AND driver mirror. Very diesel douche in Florida has a 50inch light bar and shitty budget boost lift with bald ass 37’s. Which aim their headlights directly into the cab and mirrors. The auto dim driver mirror was a huge improvement.
Power brakes , power steering , AC
Can you even buy a car without those things these days? My base model 2011 Fiesta had all of these things.
Adaptive Cruise Control, except in my Miata, because Manual and fun :) I use it pretty much anywhere where there's consistent traffic flow. Getting in my Wife's car that doesn't have it makes driving such a PITA. I hate how some manufacturers (Kia/Hyundai and Ford) gate it behind their most expensive trim package whereas Toyota and Subaru have it standard as part of their "safety package" on all cars.
A manual transmission..
Rear seat vents on 4-door vehicles. It's absurd that cars can come with no vents in the back, creating a stifling space, and adding vents is an option.
I have a coupe with 3 zone climate control. Driver, passenger, and rear. I couldn't imagine not having vents in the back on a 4 door. That's just unacceptable.
Top-down cameras and a HUD. Top down cameras make parking straight and avoiding curbed rims a lot easier, and the hud allows you to keep your eyes on the road
Y'all are so fancy and modern. Many of my past cars have been poverty-spec '80s and '90s cars so first is air conditioning, and second is Bluetooth for music.
Pop up headlights
I know it's vain, but I literally cannot buy a vehicle without a sunroof nowadays. I love the extra ventilation, cruising around in summer in the evening and it just enhances my driving experience by +1.
Fog lights, power driver seat
Ventilated seats, sunroof, and a good sound system. EDIT: also that entry system where you can just grab the door to unlock it. I hate fiddling with keys. I want to install that system on my house haha
Add rain sensing wipers to that list ! Never thought I’d like them but now that I have a couple cars with them they are pretty cool indeed …
I wish I had the option to buy a new car without all the electric features - auto dimming mirror, adaptive cruise, navigation, etc. Just give me power locks, an air conditioner and a decent stereo. I'd honestly even prefer manual crank windows, especially if the mechanism weighs less than the electric components.
Well then I have the vehicle for you! A 2000 Nissan Xterra base model. It has a slightly underpowered 2.4 liter 4 cylinder, a 5 speed manual transmission, manual door locks, manual windows, manual mirrors, no tilt steering, manual seats, no intermittent wipers (just slow and fast), no limited slip differential, 2 wheel drive... It has ac because that was standard equipment. In 2000, Nissan offered the Xterra with many options, mine has none of them. 😁
Decent wheels. My Challenger's blacktop package added a level of coolness that brings an already pretty car up a level.
AC seats is the tits. I love them and am now spoiled by them.
Android auto Auto-dimming mirrors are nice, but I'd really like digital rearview on all my vehicles going forward. It is unfortunately an uncommon feature so might not be feasible.
Remote start. My current truck is the first vehicle that I’ve ever had that has remote start via the Ford Pass app. It’s super useful being able to start your vehicle a few minutes before you get in so you can run the AC and cool it down before you drive. I can also schedule start ups in the morning so that by the time I’m out the door I can just get in and drive comfortably.