What are your favorite gimmicks of modern cars?
A lovely old VW transporter Type 2, the ultimate car for hippies of the 60s, no gimmicks!
When I was a kid in the seventies, I remember traveling in a Renault 20 of my parent´s friend and being infatuated with the electric windows in the back seat where I was riding. They were such a novelty at the time, that I kept opening and closing the window all the trip (maybe that is the origin of the canceling switch for rear usage of electric windows…).
Cars have evolved gradually from being a mere mode of transportation (still their primary function) to becoming a cocoon of comfort in which we can spend hours driving or riding without experiencing fatigue, while still connected to the outside world.
In that transition, car manufacturers have continuously added functionality and amenities to our vehicles and we are reaching a point where many of them are just, in my opinion, over the top.
I definitely believe that central locking, electric windows and climate control with air conditioning are must haves in any car. But beyond those, there has been a proliferation of features that fall more in the category of gimmicks than of solving a real need.
I have come up with ten of them. And I must say that I do love a few. But they can all be catalogued as superfluous and not needed in 99% of the time you are spending in a car. Here is my choice:
1. Umbrella incorporated inside the door. A feature that is shared by two very different brands. Rolls Royce and Skoda both offer them in some of their vehicles, and I don´t know if any other manufacturers include it. When you open the door in a rainy day, you can pull out an umbrella located inside it. Yes, you can solve that uncomfortable moment of getting wet stepping out of your car. But, how long will it take for that umbrella (custom made for that hole on the door) to be forgotten somewhere, like umbrellas usually do? I always carry one in the trunk of my cars and I have never missed having it in the door. But it solves a rare uncomfortable possibility
2. Heated steering wheel. Now available as an option in most middle to high end models. When starting up your car in a very cold morning, you can turn on your heater, your heated seats and your heated steering wheel, so that no part of your body has to sustain the rigors of winter for more than a few seconds. What´s next? Heated window switches and volume nobs? Most steering wheels nowadays are wrapped on leather or an artificial material of similar touch that are not good conductors of heat/cold. Which means that they will quickly warm up to the body temperature of your hands. Try grabbing a metal gearshift on a very cold day (like the lovely aluminum one on some Peugeots) and you will be able to tell the difference. Your bare hand instantly suffers the great conduction of cold from the metal. I have never turned the heated steering wheel on, not even in the coldest days, and I have never missed it!
3. Soft closing doors. A mechanism first seen in upscale sedans, which would take care of the final closing of the door if the inertia of the push was not enough for a full one. A total overkill. It has been a long time since manufacturers solve the two risks of an unproperly closed door. An inadvertent opening on the road or an easy burglar entry into the car. Most of us have grown the habit of learning the push needed to properly close our car doors. Incorporating a small electrical engine in each door, together with its sensors and electronics seems like a really superfluous gimmick that just adds weight and unnecessary complication to our cars.
4. Second sun visor. An additional sun visor that allows the driver to cover both front and side view from sun blinding. I must say that I tend to like this one. On the rare occasions when you are driving against a low sun and the road is twisty, you will find the uncomfortable excessive light blinding you from the front and from your side on a continuous switching mode. With only one sun visor, you will have to be moving it front to side endlessly. This is a feature that I really enjoy and have used many times. Plus, it is not a significant source of cost or complication in the car, so welcome double sun visors.
5. Massage seats. I personally prefer a good ergonomic seat, that has the right level of cushioning (not too soft, not too hard), and which most manufacturers nowadays offer. I understand heated seats, they provide immediate comfort in cold weather starts. I can stretch myself to understand ventilating seats. After all, we tend to sweat the back of our shirt on warm days when seating for a long time. But massage seats, really? It feels like the car version of the “easychair” for watching TV, which incorporates all possible movements and massages. A feature that I have never used in a car and which I find truly superfluous.
6. Auto dimming rear view mirror/s. This is one of my favorites and one which I always try to include in the cars I drive. I know, all rearview mirrors nowadays include a manual knob that can be pushed or twisted to put into view a second darker mirror that will help avoid being shined by the headlights of cars driving behind us in the dark. But the feature does not really work for me. Yes, It becomes darker and absorbs some of that shining light. But in the process, you get to see the images on the two mirrors that are encased, and you lose clarity on the view of the image behind you. Plus, the manual feature is not available for the side mirrors, which can also direct strong reflecting light to your eyes. Automatic dimming mirrors is a superfluous feature, but one that I truly appreciate, and which provides an additional safety to the driving experience.
7. Door protectors. A partial solution to an everyday problem for cars driving in cities. When parked side to side, people tend to hit the car on the side with the door when opening it. This creates a myriad small dents in the side and the edge of doors in any city car. Citröen has lately created some “air bumps”, soft plastic attachments on the side of the doors that absorb most of the dents. And Skoda, in some of its models, includes an even better solution. A small plastic piece that folds out with an easy mechanical trick and covers the edge of the door when it opens, so that it does not leave a dent if it hits other cars. And it hides away when the door is closed again, so it does not alter the aesthetics of the car. Quite a neat solution I must say.
8. Reversing trace my steps memory. A very recent one, launched by BMW in some of its models. When reversing, the driver can select if he wants the car to steer autonomously in order to mimic the last movement of the car when going forward. Imagine a tight garage in which you are forced to reverse because there is another car in your way and not space for the two of them. Or parking in a tight space after maneuvering around some nasty cement columns. On paper it is impressive, especially when you see that car´s steering wheel working on its own while you gradually reverse back your steps. In practice, there are very few situations in which you will find it helpful. To me, a fantastic tour de force that will rarely be used.
9. Dual view infotainment screens. Made most popular by Land Rover as an option in some of their models. It allows the screen to display a different view for the driver and the front passenger at the same time. The driver may be looking at the navigation map while the passenger watches a movie. It seems like the perfect solution for the need to keep the driver alert, while the passenger can fill up the trip time with some entertainment on the central screen. In reality, a flawed solution that is very rarely used. Flawed because the way it is technically done is by devoting half of the screen´s pixels to the driver and half to the passenger. In essence, the resolution of the screen is cut in half for both of them. At the time it was first implemented, that smaller resolution was clearly noticeable and a bit distracting. And, in any case, I have rarely seen a front passenger that is watching some entertainment during a trip. Back seat passengers are more enclosed inside the car and can enjoy some movies or videogames while riding. A solution that many parents have really embraced, and which is now quite affordable with tablets. But the front passenger is exposed in full to the distraction of the road and the screen is located to his/her left, so looking at it for a long time would probably cause neck pain and sea sickness.
10. Gesture control. A few BMW and VW cars have incorporated a feature that allows the driver to control some functions of the infotainment system using had gestures. For example, skipping to the next track or stored station by swiping your hand in front of the screen from left to right. I do not find this feature specially useful. First of all, it lack precision. I have tried it, and it is quite easy to have the system interpreting a command when you are just moving or gesturing normally inside the car. Secondly, they do require the driver to take his right hand off the wheel and make those gestures in an exaggerated format, with some distraction involved. I love steering wheel controls. They really provide the balance of basic functionality (nowadays becoming quite extensive), and easy accessibility without taking your hands off the wheel and with minimum distraction. But gesture controls, I find to be quite a useless gimmick.
As you can see, I find some of those features useful, while others seem to me like complete overkill. I would love to hear your opinion on this topic.
Which is your favorite superfluous feature of modern cars?
About the author: Jaime Requeijo has been a car lover most of his life. As a business executive, he has been lucky to combine his passion with work in companies like Peugeot and LeasePlan. Now he enjoys giving advice on mobility as a consultant and writing about his favorite car topics.
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to be a technical paper. Its purpose is to entertain and to inform people about the some of the features that are available to people riding in cars. When mentioning technical aspect, I have tried to do adequate research and careful statement of facts. I may have made some wrong technological assumptions or imperfect explanations. If that were the case, my apologies. Please feel free to contact me if you can help me improve the accuracy of the article. (jaime.requeijo@gmail.com). Thank you for reading it. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it!
