Petrolheads share what features they want / don't want in their cars

Some of these are gimmicky, not user-friendly, expensive to maintain or more of a hindrance rather than utility.

BHPian xway recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

What feature you DON'T WANT in your new car?

We have a list of features we need in our new cars, but there are many of us who also have features that we do not want in a new car.

This post is to understand and identify some of the popular and not-so-popular features that many do not prefer to have.

I have been on the lookout for a new car, and as with everyone, there are mind-numbing options across segments, budgets and categories.

Over the years many features have become mainstream and now are available in many cars which used to be luxuries earlier. There are many features though which were available earlier but are now removed.

Many more are marked as luxury though belong to the basic category just to up the premium quotient and pricing for higher-up models.

While checking out practicality I find many of these upgrades are not as useful as marketed. In fact, I would be glad not to have them rather than have them. Some of these are gimmicky, not user-friendly, expensive to maintain or more of a hindrance rather than utility.

Having spent some months researching these are some that I did not desire in my new car:

ALL DIGITAL INSTRUMENT CLUSTER

I know this looks premium and is marketed as high-end, top models have this as a differentiator compared to base models. It looks fresh and upmarket

When I evaluated it had a lot of graphics, glare and animations which I could not digest in my car. It was more distracting than the analogue smoothness and reality feel that it provides.

Call me old school but I still need my analog Speedometer and RPM meters. You can have some digital real estate on the screen too somewhere, but an analogue Fuel gauge, Speedometer, Tachometer and Temperature display is a must-have for me. I don't mind the digital display addition to this but the manual ones are no compromise at all.

In fact, I rejected many cars which did not have this and went for something that provided the analogue setup.

TOUCH SCREEN BUTTONS

Is this just me or does anyone else feel this too?

I need that tactile feedback or click when I press something important on my car, be it AC controls or Volume or Mute.

Again many models these days provide all touch screen systems with large real estate and no physical buttons at all.

It looks fancy and glamorous and allows one to operate everything digitally touching the screen.

Practically the physical buttons are instant and do not face any lag or software issues and should be a must for operational purposes.

SUNROOF

I do not want to start a debate here but just share what I experienced and feel for Sunroof here in our country.

Sunroof these days is a feature that marks as being arrived in a car. You find it available in the top ends mostly. The bigger the sunroof the more premium the car is. There are smaller versions of it put into budget cars too for offering a premium feature feel at an affordable cost.

I am sure the good points about a sunroof are known to most, and they are right. The issues with having it and adding to maintaining it with more mechanical parts are also true.

I would not mind having it if I could use it even 25% of the time, but in reality, it may not be used at all for months or years barring a few outings here and there when the weather supports it. Forget the sunroof how many times can we travel in the car these days with windows down and weather gods, pollution permitting?

WOODEN FINISH PLASTICS / CHEAP FABRIC INSERTS

There are many items to enhance the look of the dashboard and the interiors of the car. These add a premium touch and provide a great experience since this is what you will be viewing all the time driving your car.

I love premium interiors and leather or wood finishes provide for a plush look. The soft-touch materials also provide a higher level of comfort.

What I do not like is the cheap plastic and glossy faux wooden inserts that are added. Markets are filled with these plastic panels and one can get them pretty cheap too.

But when a car manufacturer themselves provide these in their offerings then it gets difficult to bear. I mean I would rather have hard plastic than have cheap fabric inserts or plastic piano glossy panels around.

Case in point Grand Vitara base version contains fabric inserts on door side, which made the car look pretty bad to me. Not to mention the fake plastic dual-colour insert on the dashboard also added to the overall feel, which made me reject the car in spite of it ticking all other boxes.

I would rather have the default hard plastic than the cheap fabric or plastic wooden inserts.

FLUSH / PULL-TYPE DOOR HANDLES

The pull-type handles were part of last-generation affordable cars starting Maruti 800 and continuing in many models to date. These are basic mechanisms to open the car and look like a cost-cut alternative.

Now a new trend of Flush type door handles is going on. Looks are subjective but I think it makes the doors look bland and too flat to my liking. It's good that as these come body colored else would surely look even worse.

Somehow I find both these types thin and bland, the door feel is missing that one gets to grab them and pull to open the door.

Moreover, the character and look of the door also feel compromised with a flat body and concealed handles.

ALL BLACK INTERIORS

Many models from Toyota/Maruti/Skoda come with all-black interiors, which to me do not appeal to and impact my decision to buy these cars.

I stepped into Taigun, Hyryder and many other cars to come out disappointed stepping into all black. I do not mind the black dashboard but if the seats too are black it makes the interiors look smaller.

Though this is a personal choice, I prefer it to have some contrasts or at least different colour seats.

I loved the interiors of Ertiga, Carens and XUV700 for the beige interiors that made it look more roomy and bright.

WIRELESS CHARGER

Again a premium feature available in top variants but is becoming more and more mainstream.

The issue with making it mainstream and bringing the cost down leads to quality issues.

I have heard many facing slow charging and heating issues with it.

The premium charged for this feature does not justify the value. In any case, there are easy options for plug-and-play wireless charges available that are very cheap and easily attached to your car.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Damn, I sure have a list of modern features I'd never want in my next car.

• ADAS: Always switch it off. Just not my thing.
• Touchscreens for everything! Car designers really have to understand that physical buttons for crucial functions are mandatory. Brands like Mercedes even have touch-type controls on the steering wheel!
• Useless subscription features. Still have to see one that offers a lot of value & utility.
• New trend of large rims and low profile tyres that only look good, but aren't practical at all (stiffer ride, prone to damage on bad highways).
• Puncture repair kits (even Maruti is following the herd). Please give me a full-size spare, or I will pray that the CEOs of such auto companies are stranded on the highway with a torn/damaged tyre and a bent wheel.
• AMTs. There should be a law banning these jerky, unrefined ATs that we are still seeing in new launches.
• Neutral toward electrically adjustable seats. They are needed for seat memory functions, but I find manual adjustment to be way quicker! Still, memory seats are a highly-rated feature for me, so can't complain about this.
• Voice commands - every manufacturer has a version of them, but I prefer physical controls over voice commands. Not to mention, they interrupt the music playing and conversations too. Some of them don't even get your commands right, and you have to learn specific phrases.

Here's what BHPian Roy.S had to say on the matter:

The idling start/stop system. I just got a Thar RWD diesel and absolutely despise this feature. What makes it worse is the strange placement of the button that disables this.

I am also in complete agreement with most of the list of wouldn't want "features" listed by the OP.

Wouldn't mind a sunroof and the Thar has all black interiors that I quite like.

Here's what BHPian fhdowntheline had to say on the matter:

I voted for the following:

1. Sunroof: In my view the most useless and dangerous feature (in some circumstances) that is currently the darling of our largely "etiquette-free" Indian driving public. I have owned a car with a pano-sunroof but used it maybe once or twice only for a few seconds. What pleasure our people get popping their torso out of the car, especially in our dirty, dusty landscape, I can't imagine.
2. Digital Instrument Cluster: Well, now I have one with an almost full digital instrument cluster (Verna) and another with a largely analogue cluster (Swift). And I must say, the Swift is the better one in my eyes. The constant flickering of digits can really eat into your concentration, especially on a short trip in an urban environment. With the Swift, I can focus on actually driving the car instead of unconsciously monitoring vehicle speed vs RPM level. Even the 80 kph warning is less obtrusive, just a few "casio-like" beeps, rather than the bell chime of the Verna. The Verna no doubt feels more sharp and modern in terms of the cockpit layout, but the Swift feels more ergonomic from the driver's perspective.

And yes, one that is not listed: Idle Stop-Start system. It is better configured in the Verna than the Swift- in the latter case, it intrudes at the most awkward of moments. Especially when you have to contend with an AMT box. I usually end up disabling it in slow-moving traffic.

Here's what BHPian saikishor had to say on the matter:

I wouldn't want any of the subscription-connected car tech nonsense in my next car. My current car doesn't have it, and I would prefer my next car to not have it.

Alternatively, I wouldn't want beige/light-colored interiors in my next car. I am a sucker for dark interiors. The somehow feel much more premium than beige interiors.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.