Five most useless features in a car
Discussion
SilverWraith said:
Enjoyed the comments. For me the prize goes to the Golf bottle opener (WTF?) but my pet hate is cup holders. Never a practical size for anything I want to drink and always in a very awkward position forcing you to take your eyes off the road to find the drink. I use my wife to hold my drink! I just hold my hand out with eyes firmly fixed on the road and the beverage of choice is delivered smoothly into my hand (and it works in reverse!)
As a Rolls-Royce man, I have to say the absence of the push-button door closing in the front of the Phantom is unbelievable. Introduced for the rear passengers as the suicide doors prevent one from reaching the door once in necessitating the need for a button. But, have they not sat in the front and realised that the doors, which are huge, are a long way out to reach so if one is even average hieght you practically have to get out of the car to pull the door in!
But...doesn't one normally have a chauffeur for that sort of thing?As a Rolls-Royce man, I have to say the absence of the push-button door closing in the front of the Phantom is unbelievable. Introduced for the rear passengers as the suicide doors prevent one from reaching the door once in necessitating the need for a button. But, have they not sat in the front and realised that the doors, which are huge, are a long way out to reach so if one is even average hieght you practically have to get out of the car to pull the door in!
Toaster Pilot said:
Do you need to use the fob to open the door? My Laguna II had keyless - walk up to the car with the card in pocket, open the door (sensor behind handle unlocks the door when it senses your hand and knows the card is close), get in, start, drive.
Wifes' 2011 Saab 9-5 does the same, but if you happen to have the keyfob in your hand, then there is a little compartment in the centre cubby especially shaped for it (this can also be used for one start only, if your fob battery has depleted). To lock, just stroke some raised lines on the door handle.My Toyota GT86 does the same . . .
chopper602 said:
Wifes' 2011 Saab 9-5 does the same, but if you happen to have the keyfob in your hand, then there is a little compartment in the centre cubby especially shaped for it (this can also be used for one start only, if your fob battery has depleted). To lock, just stroke some raised lines on the door handle.
My Toyota GT86 does the same . . .
My Laguna would lock the doors when you are far enough away (or you can lock manually using the buttons on the card, if you're concerned about the security of that)My Toyota GT86 does the same . . .
I love the electric seats and memory functions in the Jag, programmed to a key so when I get in the seat, steering wheel, pedals and mirrors are set for me. And of course the easy exit setting , take key out and the steering wheel moves out of the way and seat slides back to make it easier to get out.
Most useless - Built in satnav, front foglights, voice control
Most useless - Built in satnav, front foglights, voice control
Halmyre said:
SilverWraith said:
Enjoyed the comments. For me the prize goes to the Golf bottle opener (WTF?) but my pet hate is cup holders. Never a practical size for anything I want to drink and always in a very awkward position forcing you to take your eyes off the road to find the drink. I use my wife to hold my drink! I just hold my hand out with eyes firmly fixed on the road and the beverage of choice is delivered smoothly into my hand (and it works in reverse!)
As a Rolls-Royce man, I have to say the absence of the push-button door closing in the front of the Phantom is unbelievable. Introduced for the rear passengers as the suicide doors prevent one from reaching the door once in necessitating the need for a button. But, have they not sat in the front and realised that the doors, which are huge, are a long way out to reach so if one is even average hieght you practically have to get out of the car to pull the door in!
But...doesn't one normally have a chauffeur for that sort of thing?As a Rolls-Royce man, I have to say the absence of the push-button door closing in the front of the Phantom is unbelievable. Introduced for the rear passengers as the suicide doors prevent one from reaching the door once in necessitating the need for a button. But, have they not sat in the front and realised that the doors, which are huge, are a long way out to reach so if one is even average hieght you practically have to get out of the car to pull the door in!
Halmyre said:
This is a personal observation - YMMV.
ELECTRIC SEAT ADJUSTMENT
Maybe it helps if only you ever drive the car, or you and your partner are the same height, but this was definitely the least-used feature on one of my cars – in eight years of ownership, I never touched it after the first couple of weeks of fiddlage. Once you've got the rake/height/lumbar/fore-and-aft positions, how often do you subsequently adjust them?
I really like electric seats in a luxury car. I recall reading somewhere that they're not really that much heavier than manual seats either. But they allow you to get those minute, incremental adjustments to the seat that let you get really comfortable. The only manual seat I've tried that could really match them was the seat in my MR2 Turbo, it was very adjustable!ELECTRIC SEAT ADJUSTMENT
Maybe it helps if only you ever drive the car, or you and your partner are the same height, but this was definitely the least-used feature on one of my cars – in eight years of ownership, I never touched it after the first couple of weeks of fiddlage. Once you've got the rake/height/lumbar/fore-and-aft positions, how often do you subsequently adjust them?
I had them in my Audi A8, where there was a control on the driver's door pocket that controlled the memory function. You could save your seating and wheel adjustment preferences to these buttons. So when my wife got in the car, she could press her setting button and the wheel and seat would revert to her saved position. When I got back in the car, I'd press my setting button and I'd within a second or two I'd have the seat, wheel and headrest perfect again!
Edited by Baryonyx on Wednesday 6th November 14:01
croyde said:
That horrible plastic dull chrome look that you see on most car dashboards and steering wheels these days.
Love my almost minimalist black interior in my E36 and hated that silver plastic that I had in my Boxster 987.
Absolutely this.Love my almost minimalist black interior in my E36 and hated that silver plastic that I had in my Boxster 987.
Is there a plastic-fake-chrome-trim mountain somewhere, that needs disposed of?
I really don't understand why adding plastic-fake-chrome-trim to an interior is supposed to make it better, when the reality is, it makes it worse.
SilverWraith said:
... my pet hate is cup holders. Never a practical size for anything I want to drink and always in a very awkward position forcing you to take your eyes off the road to find the drink. I use my wife to hold my drink! I just hold my hand out with eyes firmly fixed on the road and the beverage of choice is delivered smoothly into my hand (and it works in reverse!)...
Don't knock cup holders until you've had to do 30,000 miles a year in a car without any. My company car (current Renault Megane) has no cup holders at all! Almost unbelievably irritating when every car I've had for the past 12 years has had cup holders. The wife does an admirable job when shes in the car but she also has to work so I can't take her everywhere. Incidentally best cup holders I've ever had in a car are the ones in the Mk4 VW Golf. Adjustable, sturdy, and with a cool push button deployment mechanism (I'm easily pleased).
Most stupid feature on a car: electronic parking brake. Stupid unreliable cost-cutting nonsense (talking from bitter - and expensive - experience).
stewjohnst said:
Probably the soft close doors on mine (they saw me coming)
Yes, it's kind of cool for a bit but anyone that doesn't know the car has it assumes they've not closed the door properly and then reopens and slam it again.
Also voice activation, it's clearly not geared around a gruff northern accent as it never does anything I bloody want it to, somebody at BMW must have a sense of humour though as it manages to translate f
k off as 'cancel' perfectly every time.
I love soft close doors, not because its useful in any way (unless you're very old) but because its just a cool thing to have… I can get out of the car, start walking away from the car whilst giving the door a firm push as i'm walking away (but still facing away from the car), keep walking whilst having my hand in my pocket to cover the 'lock' button on my key fob, wait to hear the door suck itself in, and then press the button to lock. It looks really really slick.Yes, it's kind of cool for a bit but anyone that doesn't know the car has it assumes they've not closed the door properly and then reopens and slam it again.
Also voice activation, it's clearly not geared around a gruff northern accent as it never does anything I bloody want it to, somebody at BMW must have a sense of humour though as it manages to translate f
k off as 'cancel' perfectly every time.I don't have it on my new car though.
STW2010 said:
300bhp/ton said:
Seriously, seeing a car at 2 miles away instead of 1500 yards away offers what realtime advantage?
That's 30 seconds if both cars are doing 120 mph. 
Back on topic, I'd vote for rain-sensing wipers and dark-sensing headlights. Never worked out whether these were for people who can't tell if it's raining and/or dark, or for those who struggle to operate the appropriate stalk. Worrying, either way.
FerrousOxide said:
STW2010 said:
300bhp/ton said:
Seriously, seeing a car at 2 miles away instead of 1500 yards away offers what realtime advantage?
That's 30 seconds if both cars are doing 120 mph. Baryonyx said:
I really like electric seats in a luxury car. I recall reading somewhere that they're not really that much heavier than manual seats either.
They removed something like 80kg(!) from the E46 M3 by swapping the electric seats out for manual ones in the CSL. Still I can see the point if they have a memory function. Completely pointless if they don't, IMO.
kambites said:
They removed something like 80kg(!) from the E46 M3 by swapping the electric seats out for manual ones in the CSL.
Still I can see the point if they have a memory function. Completely pointless if they don't, IMO.
thats apples and pears really. Luxury spec electrics vs fixed back racey type things. Still I can see the point if they have a memory function. Completely pointless if they don't, IMO.
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