New cars have a lot of new features. What do you like…and what don’t you like…and why? I’ll start.
My new car has auto windshield wipers (so did my last two cars), and auto high beams that turn off if a car is coming toward you. I like both features, because they work well, and I don’t have to worry about these things when driving.
My new car has Google activated just about everything. It’s nice to say “hey Google” answer give a direction like changing the temperature, getting GPS directions, etc…just by speaking. No stopping or reaching for knobs.
Directional headlights. I drive on rural and twisty roads…and these work very well.
I don’t like the lane correction feature, but I can turn that off. I know I’m in the lane, but it says I’m not. Same with switching lanes when the road narrows or widens. It expects me to put my turn signal on…
Love the side mirrors red light flashing when a car is in your blind spot.
Don’t like the lane correction sound.
Would be nice to have car play wireless (now present on most cars).
Absolutely hate that they’ve done away with actual car keys. The key fobs are huge and easily forgotten. Also hate that the headlights are so bright and aren’t angled properly so that they shine directly into oncoming traffic.
This is my #1 “if I were Benevolent Dictator For Life” thing that I would deal with, with a cost-of-the-car tax for every single vehicle rolled off the lot with too-high headlights. Teslas are the absolute worst for this, especially the SUVs.
I also don’t like the thing in some modern cars that means that you can’t coast. I guess it’s regenerative braking in electric vehicles? Being able to coast well is my main “drive like a bicyclist” hack, and I’m pretty sure I won’t buy a car that forces the driver to be in “you can only speed up or the car will actively slow down” mode.
I like the GPS and keyless door locks. Everything else is annoying and would not be missed. I miss my navy blue '96 Windstar. Color is the most important feature for me.
I’m a “car guy” so some of this might not be a consideration to many…
The lack of ease of basic maintenance. Oil change interval might have gone from 3K to 10K miles but now requires the removal of panels under the car just to get to the drain plug. And with some cars resetting the maintenance-minder notification can only be done by the dealer (or an after-market purchased device). Many engine bays are so packed with wiring and tubing, good luck doing spark plugs on your own.
For those that complain about the headlights/lighting - blame gov’t bodies for that. There’s all kinds of sophisticated lighting available in Europe and elsewhere but not in the USA.
Like - heated seats and steering wheel (the wheel seems like such an odd thing until you have it on a cold winter morning, then you’ll understand). Like the blind spot “warnings” - very helpful. Like the emergency braking but it’s done successfully in some brands and not so much in others. Love/Hate active cruise - a great feature but the gap it leaves is just enough for people to cut you off.
Hate lane keep assist!
Hate TOUCH SCREENS! I don’t want to pull my eyes off the road to touch a screen when a button/knob on the dash or center console could be pushed/turned.
Hate vehicle weight. All these different systems and safety features literally add hundreds of pounds (or more) to a vehicle.
I don’t have a Tesla but my friends do, and I hate that everything is on a tablet. And that too off to the right. I like seeing my indicators behind the steering wheel, the way it has been for over a century.
My daughter, on the other hand, thinks it’s very cool. So I guess it’s a generational thing.
One of my cars is a ‘20, perhaps the sweet spot of having some advanced features while still retaining a key. I love that I benefit from back-up camera, lane keeping assist, cross-traffic, yet can opt NOT to open my door with a sensor’s loud beep. I feel more secure, as a woman in a parking garage, putting my key right in the door when I get there. Long live the Honda Fit!
One of my favorite features is adaptive cruise control, where you set a default speed but then it uses radar to adjust to the car in front of you. Many systems can come to a complete stop in stop-and-go traffic but in the cars I’ve had that doesn’t work so great with kinda abrupt stops from 1-2mph to dead stop. Where it does work great is in moderate traffic on the freeway where cars are slowing a bit and then resuming. The cruise control takes care of the break and gas, I just need to aim the car.
I also like the sensors that warn of approaching cross-traffic when backing out of a spot. I turn and look, I use the mirrors, but the beeps are a helpful assist and sometimes pedestrians are hard to see if they’re right in line with a roof pillar.
My cruise control increases or decreases in 5 MPH increments. Sometimes I only want to go 2-3 miles slower or faster. I don’t like the limiting factor.
I hate headlights that “automatically come on when needed.” They don’t, at least not here in the gloomy Pacific Northwest. I see SO MANY vehicles with their lights off when they really should be on, not so the driver can see ahead but so that other people can see those gray vehicles that blend into the roadway. I taught my kids, “If you can tell at a glance if someone’s headlights are on or off, then yours should be on.” If I were empress of the world, headlights on would be the default for all vehicles.
As the driver of a 2014 Subaru (admittedly it was loaded for back then!) I am am learning about features I didn’t know exist.
Backup cameras are a wonderful invention and I can’t wait to have lane assist or blind spot warnings - as I get older I am overly concerned about those blind spots!
