With new features being introduced all the time, it’s time to take stock and ask ourselves which are genuinely “can’t live without” and which are simply “overkill” and likely adds cost to the price of the car. I’ve chosen 5 of the best and 5 of the worst! Let me know in the comments if you agree…
The best:
1 – Adaptive cruise control: On a long journey, or even in town with certain available systems, letting your car do the braking and accelerating is nice. Yes, we’re getting into slightly contentious quasi-autonomous driving here, but so long as you keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel this is a nice feature.
2 – One-touch open/closing window buttons: Yes, this has been around for years, but think about it… it’s pretty convenient, no?
3 – Automatic headlamp activation systems: No longer needing to remember to turn on your headlamps, let alone turning them off. Now that’s a bright idea…
4 – Heated seats: Once you have them, you’ll never buy another car without them.
5 – Heated steering wheel: ditto 4. above!
The worst:
1 – Lane keeping assist: If you’re not capable of keeping your car in its lane then really, you shouldn’t be driving.
2 – Paddle shifters: What is the point of wanting to shift gears manually? Hadn’t we decided against that by switching our allegiance to automatic transmissions years ago?
3 – Soft touch door closing: It might seem cool, but the reality is that you will always look behind to ensure your door has closed properly. A solid thunk sound really is just so much… simpler.
4 – Rear passenger entertainment screens: Errrr… do you not own a smartphone or tablet? Why on earth do car manufacturers still offer these?
5 – Gesture control: Waving your hand like a lunatic to turn down the volume. Yeah, like, that’s easier than simply turning a knob??
