Clever little details you discovered after buying your car?
Discussion
After having my C Class a few months, I noticed one day that if the sunroof is tilted open, when the speed passes 50mph, it half closes to reduce wind noise. Slow below 40mph and it tilts fully again. And when you drop the rear seat backs to extend the boot, the passenger seat motors forward a little to give more room for loads.
The Golf I had a few years ago, after owning the car for the best part of a year I discovered (only because the ventilation fan was running fast so the noise change was more noticeable) that when reverse gear was selected, the ventilation system switched automatically to Recirculate to avoid exhaust fumes being pulled into the car as it was reversed. Back into a forward gear and it reverted back to outside air ventilation.
What I love about stuff like this is that it wasn't specified by the marketing department to help sell the car initially (because when you look in the showroom or test drive it, it's extremely unlikely you would notice them). A designer or an engineer has added these just to quietly improve the ownership experience slightly.
I'm curious to hear what other clever little quirks or features have been discovered on cars that weren't obvious initially?
The Golf I had a few years ago, after owning the car for the best part of a year I discovered (only because the ventilation fan was running fast so the noise change was more noticeable) that when reverse gear was selected, the ventilation system switched automatically to Recirculate to avoid exhaust fumes being pulled into the car as it was reversed. Back into a forward gear and it reverted back to outside air ventilation.
What I love about stuff like this is that it wasn't specified by the marketing department to help sell the car initially (because when you look in the showroom or test drive it, it's extremely unlikely you would notice them). A designer or an engineer has added these just to quietly improve the ownership experience slightly.
I'm curious to hear what other clever little quirks or features have been discovered on cars that weren't obvious initially?
Ari said:
After having my C Class a few months, I noticed one day that if the sunroof is tilted open, when the speed passes 50mph, it half closes to reduce wind noise. Slow below 40mph and it tilts fully again. And when you drop the rear seat backs to extend the boot, the passenger seat motors forward a little to give more room for loads.
The Golf I had a few years ago, after owning the car for the best part of a year I discovered (only because the ventilation fan was running fast so the noise change was more noticeable) that when reverse gear was selected, the ventilation system switched automatically to Recirculate to avoid exhaust fumes being pulled into the car as it was reversed. Back into a forward gear and it reverted back to outside air ventilation.
What I love about stuff like this is that it wasn't specified by the marketing department to help sell the car initially (because when you look in the showroom or test drive it, it's extremely unlikely you would notice them). A designer or an engineer has added these just to quietly improve the ownership experience slightly.
I'm curious to hear what other clever little quirks or features have been discovered on cars that weren't obvious initially?
Whoever designed the wiper mechanism control logic for my BMW allowed me to squirt as much screenwash as I want -- without any swipe -- so long as I do it in bursts of under half a second. It means I can dump loads of fluid on a really dirty screen before the wipers scrape their way across the glass.The Golf I had a few years ago, after owning the car for the best part of a year I discovered (only because the ventilation fan was running fast so the noise change was more noticeable) that when reverse gear was selected, the ventilation system switched automatically to Recirculate to avoid exhaust fumes being pulled into the car as it was reversed. Back into a forward gear and it reverted back to outside air ventilation.
What I love about stuff like this is that it wasn't specified by the marketing department to help sell the car initially (because when you look in the showroom or test drive it, it's extremely unlikely you would notice them). A designer or an engineer has added these just to quietly improve the ownership experience slightly.
I'm curious to hear what other clever little quirks or features have been discovered on cars that weren't obvious initially?
It's actually really helpful, I miss it when I'm in other cars.
What age C Class - I used to have one. It didn't have either of those features, but I don't recall ever seeing them mentioned on owners forums.
The recirc thing has been on VW Group cars for many years. You can disable it in most now in the infotainment screen and it's worth doing as the car ages as the motor often wears and runs continuously (sounds like a hard drive "seeking") and it's not trivial job to change it.
The thing I recall being impressed by - but can't remember which car it first happened on, might have been C Class - was wipers that dropped into intermittant mode when the car was stopped at traffic lights etc. I suppose made a bit redundant now by auto-wipers.
The recirc thing has been on VW Group cars for many years. You can disable it in most now in the infotainment screen and it's worth doing as the car ages as the motor often wears and runs continuously (sounds like a hard drive "seeking") and it's not trivial job to change it.
The thing I recall being impressed by - but can't remember which car it first happened on, might have been C Class - was wipers that dropped into intermittant mode when the car was stopped at traffic lights etc. I suppose made a bit redundant now by auto-wipers.
2014 E class. The HVAC fan switches to a low speed to reduce noise when the handsfree phone is in use.
Also the rear seat backs have brackets to secure the load bay cover when the seats are folded flat, the load bay cover then has a net which unrolls to form a barrier behind the front seats.
Also the rear seat backs have brackets to secure the load bay cover when the seats are folded flat, the load bay cover then has a net which unrolls to form a barrier behind the front seats.
csd19 said:
mikey_b said:
Kia Sportage. If it's raining and the front wipers are turned on, then when you select reverse gear it flicks the rear wiper on to help make reversing easier.
I remember the Rover 200 from 1996 had that same feature, I'm sure it was featured in their adverts as well.I’ve got a BMW i5, but I suspect this applies to all BMWs with the latest iDrive. Big brother is watching, as if you do the same thing at the same place more than once, it asks you if you want to automate that action. So now when I arrive at the gym the car know i open the window to tab a fob to open the barrier. And so it opens the window as I approach the barrier without me doing anything
The second thing , which might be in the manual or marketing stuff but I haven’t read that, is that in adaptive regen mode the car brakes itself for corners and cars in front etc …so, driving cross country you can drive very briskly just using the accelerator . Lift off as you approach the corner and the car will choose how much to brake and when to navigate the bend. And I have to say it takes quite a ‘sporting’ approach to cornering
Sounds annoying, but actually makes for a very relaxed way of making pretty brisk progress!!
The second thing , which might be in the manual or marketing stuff but I haven’t read that, is that in adaptive regen mode the car brakes itself for corners and cars in front etc …so, driving cross country you can drive very briskly just using the accelerator . Lift off as you approach the corner and the car will choose how much to brake and when to navigate the bend. And I have to say it takes quite a ‘sporting’ approach to cornering
Sounds annoying, but actually makes for a very relaxed way of making pretty brisk progress!!Edited by PSRG on Wednesday 17th July 21:50
The ID3 has a scrolling light bar that runs full width of the dash where it meets the window. One of the things it does which I find really useful is scroll across in the direction of satnav instructions. A really useful visual reminder if you're like me and zone out from the satnav voice or map sometimes 
CraigyMc said:
Whoever designed the wiper mechanism control logic for my BMW allowed me to squirt as much screenwash as I want -- without any swipe -- so long as I do it in bursts of under half a second. It means I can dump loads of fluid on a really dirty screen before the wipers scrape their way across the glass.
It's actually really helpful, I miss it when I'm in other cars.
Conversely, the “geniuses” at Jaguar decided that the most you are allowed to deposit on the screen before the wipers wipe is a teaspoonful. It's actually really helpful, I miss it when I'm in other cars.
Sheepshanks said:
What age C Class - I used to have one. It didn't have either of those features, but I don't recall ever seeing them mentioned on owners forums.
The recirc thing has been on VW Group cars for many years. You can disable it in most now in the infotainment screen and it's worth doing as the car ages as the motor often wears and runs continuously (sounds like a hard drive "seeking") and it's not trivial job to change it.
The thing I recall being impressed by - but can't remember which car it first happened on, might have been C Class - was wipers that dropped into intermittant mode when the car was stopped at traffic lights etc. I suppose made a bit redundant now by auto-wipers.
I had a 1990 BMW 525 where the wipers would drop into intermittant mode when the car was stopped.The recirc thing has been on VW Group cars for many years. You can disable it in most now in the infotainment screen and it's worth doing as the car ages as the motor often wears and runs continuously (sounds like a hard drive "seeking") and it's not trivial job to change it.
The thing I recall being impressed by - but can't remember which car it first happened on, might have been C Class - was wipers that dropped into intermittant mode when the car was stopped at traffic lights etc. I suppose made a bit redundant now by auto-wipers.
BMW E92 335d would put your CD track back to the start when you got back in the car
I specifically recall a magazine advert for the Rover 800 Fastback in the late 80s being one of those
On the flip side, a 2000 Rover 25 doesn’t have a low fuel indicator. Don’t ask me how I know…
csd19 said:
mikey_b said:
Kia Sportage. If it's raining and the front wipers are turned on, then when you select reverse gear it flicks the rear wiper on to help make reversing easier.
I remember the Rover 200 from 1996 had that same feature, I'm sure it was featured in their adverts as well.On the flip side, a 2000 Rover 25 doesn’t have a low fuel indicator. Don’t ask me how I know…
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