Check Hertz, Avis, etc rental fleets. My Kia Sportage last week had a key. All the major rental car companies have used vehicle lots.
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And being an “old school guy,” I thought for sure those starter motors would wear out more quickly, because of all the constant starting. However, I’ve read that because of technology advances we, the consumer, don’t need to worry about premature wear of the auto/start components.
Also, I haven’t heard of any problems with this feature, but sure is annoying to listen to. Drives me nuts.
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I’m happy with my prius just operating silently in electric mode. I’ve never been a fan of the stop and restarting engines. It always seemed unsettling.
I have not had a vehicle with this feature, since I only have had older manual transmission vehicles or newer EVs. But I did drive someone else’s Prius with that feature, and it was not an issue, similar to your experience.
Not sure why it would be annoying in some cars now when Toyota got it right 20 years ago.
But many car keys also have RFID or similar chips as a theft reduction method. These increase the price of the key and require procedures to get the car to allow the new key.
Some recent low end Hyundai and Kia cars did not have this, and were easily stolen.
We actually have never lost BOTH keys to any car we own or rented but that’s something that weighs on our minds. Until I bought this car in 2018, we always had a ton of metal car keys (lots of duplicates). We got spoiled.
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We bought an 8yr old used Toyota in 2009 and I am still driving it. While it still passes its inspections, I wouldn’t feel good about selling it on to anyone, as it’s pretty rough! My friend saw the same car, same color in Ireland and sent me a photo and I am happy to say that theirs looked even worse than mine!
This year though, we have had to buy a “new” used car(Citroen), because of the size meeting our needs. It is also used, 2018, but absolutely fancy compared to our last, The size has made me a much more careful driver who has less parking options. The working radio, easy acceleration, improved breaking, and general comfort have me spoiled. Still has a key, but took me ages and google to figure out how to correct the time and date. Still juggling the two vehicles, and if I’m late, I take the smaller older car, so I can park more easily.
I’m nervous to buy electric because of the initial price and the cost of repairs.
I recently rented a Skoda in Europe, and it had this feature. Noticeably! And it actually took a second to restart, so pulling out into busy traffic had a bit of a heart-stopping quality to it.
My car is a hybrid, and while I’m aware of it (because of the quiet), I never give it a thought because it has no impact on the driving.
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I have 2 cars with this feature and both have easily accessed physical buttons on the center console that turn it on or off and it stays that way indefinitely until toggled otherwise (it doesn’t reset with each new drive).
I have a new model EV that is still true for most of the things on your list except the radio which does require the screen. Traditional stock for wipers, buttons for climate, etc. Not everything is like Tesla.
This is mine main pet peeve with new, despite otherwise preferring it. Repairability seems to have completely dropped off the to do list in new design. Whatever happened to the good old fashioned rubber bumper that could take minor impacts like a champ and not even need repair? EVs in particular get totaled proportionately higher in accidents because minor accidents can compromise the battery chassis which is typically so expensive to repair/replace that insurance companies automatically total them. The vehicle I have now (which overall I like) has a super fancy LED light feature that seems to appear over the painted surface of the front grille. The designer thought it was a wow factor. Never mind that they accomplished it by making the entire grille a custom fragile acrylic component that can clip after a minor rock impact and costs $5,000 to repair/replace. 
Probably more than most other areas, I find many of the bells and whistles I experience in newer vehicles such great experience improvements that I add them to my list of never buy again without it. Memory seats, now a must. Adaptive Cruise Control (as a baseline for assisted driving), now a must. Wireless CarPlay, now a must. Etc. Sure I could live without these things, but they have been so useful and made the driving experience so much better that why would I want to?
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We have tended to buy new, in part because I have found it difficult to find a later model used car with relatively low mileage that doesn’t cost significantly less than a comparable new car. Part of the reason has been that those types of used cars tend to be higher end models with features I don’t care about. Also, I have a relatively long drive to work and especially pre-covid the mileage added up quickly. Of late, also wanted to upgrade to the enhanced safety features.
Our most recent car had to be purchased during the pandemic-related shortage. It replaced an 11-year old car with about 220K miles on it. I love all the new safety features including the blind spot indicators, backup camera, Android auto and others. I don’t mind the autostop, but have a friend who was in NYC when the starter went on his car and he sat waiting for a tow for close to 7 hours. Made me think I would turn that off if driving in a city.
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I hadn’t thought about heated seats for long trips - good thought! Probably because I don’t take many long trips - except I am about to drive cross country with DC…and I think their car has them!
My spouse’s new car (a 2021) has Apple Car Play - it came with the lowest package. I do love it. We have a couple of Nissans and the low end models/trim have (or at least used to have) more features than some cars brands where you have to buy the mid-version to get.
I was looking at a Subaru Crosstrek with DC recently and was shocked to learn that the base model did not come with blind spot warning - it is not even an option! It is option on Premium and standard on Wilderness and Limited. I was surprised bc Subaru is always touting safety.
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The car we bought used 9 years ago came with heated seats. When we replaced it earlier this spring, heated seats was on the ‘must’ list – here in New England.
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For those who must park on city streets, the Subaru Crosstrek is an option to consider. Agree that the base model is unattractive due to engine size & lack of blind spot warning.
Currently considering buying the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. The engine supplies more than adequate power & the front seats are comfortable. Have two other Subarus. The Subaru Forester Wilderness is outstanding in all respects as is the turbo-charged version of the Subaru Outback.
Mazda has a solid small SUV. If I recall correctly, it is the CX-50 with the turbo engine (the base engine for the CX-50 is too weak).
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And the CX30 - which is EVERYWHERE in Nashville.
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We had friends that bought a new truck for husband, no heated seats. He did miss them! So as Christmas gift, he wife had them retroactively added (my guess is much of the needed stuff is already built into the base seats). She didn’t tell him, just turned them on when he was not looking. It was a dandy and much appreciated surprise.
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Just like software and cable and music, get ready to pay a monthly fee for the things you want in your car. Your car can do them - if you pay.
All brands are headed this way. It’s why your vehicles comes with advanced telematics. BMW started the trend - not with good results. But still have millions in revenues as do others - and we’re just in the top of the first inning.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/bmw-relents-on-heated-seat-subscription.html
Way to p’ss your loyal base off. 
IMO, anything hardware-driven like heated seats or rain-sensing wipers should come with the car. Any features that are mostly software driven like Onstar… fair game for a subscription.
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I won’t pay for Sirius radio. Every car that I’ve had that came with it, once the free month expired, no more—more junk mail for the recycling bin.
I wondered if Toyota would charge me to use the onboard GPS. No matter, I’ll use the Google Maps and play my own phone-stored music via Android Auto instead.
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I got six free months of Sirius, and an additional 3 free months. Now I’m paying $6 a month, which is fine with me. My car is the one we use for long distance trips now.
I have Google girl activated almost everything in my new car…and I won’t be a happy camper if they start charging me extra for that!
It’s kind of obvious but working for an oem a lot of obvious is missed because like many companies, the search for more profit is endless.
As the # of cars being sold won’t go up, profits need to be found somewhere.
Some are packaging so that basic things are no longer solo but in big profit packages you need to buy. Someone mentioned Crosstrek earlier.
For some OEMs it was just building higher, more expensive vehicles.
They are now backing off realizing consumers want $30 or $50k depending on the brand, not $50k or $100k plus in the same brand.
My industry crushed it the last three, four years. No one wants to go backward but we are.
Too much inventory. Lots of discounts - consumer or dealer facing (that you don’t know about but the oem gives in thought of passing on to move the deal).
By me, the big shopping malls and a few strip malls are loaded with vehicles. They have so many they are paying malls storage fees to hold them. I just pulled into dinner and here Ram has loaded the strip mall lot.
Subscriptions will likely eventually click.
They’ll find the magic formula but for now if you are taking off the lot, you’re in the driver’s seat…so to speak. Especially at 60 days on the lot, most get nervous. 120 days. Full on panic as they’re paying interest.
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