Never had an issue with the lane departure warning or assist in two different cars. I do use the turn signal when changing lanes.
Hmmm, seems that some cars have a very sensitive threshold for turning on the automatic headlights. Hyundai and Kia vehicles will turn them on when driving under an overpass, for example.
Ditto our Tesla. On and off quickly. I like this feature.
My headlights are on when my car is being driven auto off when the car is off. Feature can be turned off but I can’t think why I would do that
I have a high beam auto setting that is on when it’s dark and the high beams auto to regular when incoming light is seen. I don’t have to use that. I can turn them high low myself
I won’t buy another car without blind spot monitors!
My stick shift vehicle has a backup camera. That and the seat adjustments are my favorite features.
Dh’s vehicle has 360 degree sensors. I would like that on any future vehicle we purchase.
I dislike the touch screen. S24 connected my phone to car so he could listen to music during a long car trip. I was driving and not watching what he was doing. For the next week I was treated to his choice of music every time I drove the car. I never remembered that he had connected my phone until the music started and by that time I was driving and did not want to pull over to navigate the menus to disconnect the phone.
I park in a commuter lot in the morning where people sit in their cars waiting for the train. When you pull in/park it’s courtesy to turn off your headlights otherwise you’re blinding folks that might be parked across from you. And yes, that means you have to remember to turn it back on. But I agree that all too often these days we see people driving around w/o their full lights on because the daytime running lamps are providing JUST ENOUGH light for the drive to see by. And they don’t have a clue why 40 people are flashing lights at them.
My wife’s Honda Pilot (and this is a known complaint by anyone that drives one) is has an incredibly sensitive system. It goes off or tries to correct when it shouldn’t. I don’t want a system to “tug” at the wheel when I’m driving. Personal preference maybe.
Like: Power adjustable seats, Bluetooth, USB connections in rear seats.
Hate: Adaptive cruise control, Lane departure assist, anything that’s on a touchscreen to the right of the driver.
Also, RIP to power adjustable pedals. As a tall man married to a short woman, power adjustable pedals were a godsend when they started appearing on mainstream cars and minivans in the late aughts/early teens. Apparently they weren’t popular, as now they are only available in a few full-size trucks and giant SUVs.
If you took a ride in New Zealand with your husband, driving on the wrong side of the road, with you stuck close to the mountain, warning him he was too close to the STONE hill on your left, you would learn to love that lane correction feature.
We call it the marriage saver
The main feature I would like to be an option on all future cars is front and back dashcams on original purchase configuration, not after market addons. I have all the other options mentioned above except air conditioned seats which my son has and they really don’t do much other than keeping you from sticking to the seats when car has been left in the son.
Kind of gives that Boeing Max 800 vibe, doesn’t it?
I love a backup camera. Before I had one, I always needed to pull through parking spaces so I could drive straight out. Turning my head enough in order to back out was too painful. I love heated steering wheels. Heated seats are nice, but heated steering wheels feel like such a luxury as I have chronically cold hands. Rear air conditioning was a requirement for my last car purchase. I used to have to put battery operated fans, like the ones sold for strollers, on the back of the front seat headrests in order for the GDs to be comfortable in hot weather.
I love that I have my key fob in my purse and never have to take it out. I love that my doors automatically lock when I step away from the car and magically open when I touch the door handle. I love Apple CarPlay for directions, Spotify and voice texting. I love the backup camera and the notifications in my side mirrors that it isn’t safe to change lanes.
My likes are:
Automatically adjusting seats/mirrors–I share my car with my SIL who is 6’; I’m 5’4’ on a good day. The phone key for the Teslas recognizes me and automatically adjust the seats/mirrors to my preference when I open the driver’s side door
Wireless phone charging pad
Heated seats & steering wheel
Voice activated controls (turn off lights, turn on defroster, show directions to…)
Maps display with audible directions
Automatic lights on/off
No keys! (Or key fob!)
Remote car management via phone app that allows me to turn on the heat or AC when I’m on my way to the parking lot so the car’s interior temperature is not freezing or broiling when I get there
Dog Mode
Light Show Mode (the grandkids just love this!)
Apple Car Play
I didn’t realize I liked seat memory (returning it to a saved position) until my current car, which doesn’t have it. And every time someone moves the seat I remember how nice it was!
As I haven’t had a new car in 10 years I’m wondering if a lot of these features are more likely available on higher end models? Or your mid market car?
I’ll be replacing my Subaru with another Subaru in a year or two.
Backup cameras, Car Play, lane assist, and many others are very standard nowadays - pretty much every cheapo rental car had them in our experience. Eight-way power seats, heated this and that, and certain creature comforts are usually available in higher end models.
My DH Subaru – I hate the stupid climate controls, they make no sense to me. But I love the responsive handling and the heated seats (which I pooh-pooh’d until winter came…)
My new-ish car has that STUPID ANNOYING engine shutoff that you have to disengage every.single.time. The lane assist at least can be turned off for good. And the touch screen? Why do I have to look at what I am doing while I am driving? At least there is a “fan off/on” BUTTON so I can just whack that but the AC level is way too much touching/looking. And I don’t use the radio for the same reason.
But I love the backup camera and blind spot monitoring, and I like the little doodads to keep stuff from rolling around the back, and I like that there are vents for passengers too.