Best features to look for when buying a new car.

[Horse]

Yup. I would buy a car without all that.

'Would'? Or 'did', as sole current vehicle?

[Horse]

home mechanic

Current cars have, really, passed that point. But do most owners care?

[jont-]

home mechanic

Current cars have, really, passed that point. But do most owners care?

Speak for yourself. But even smaller garages shouldn't have to spend £000s on diagnostic crap to handle basic servicing.

[Strangely Brown]

Yup. I would buy a car without all that.

'Would'? Or 'did', as sole current vehicle?

"Would", but they are just not around in any practical form or at a price point that I am prepared to accept. My last "analogue" vehicle was the S1 Elise and I am looking at possible replacements for the Saab, MX5 and Jimny all the time. Of the things that get my attention I am almost invariably put off by the mad levels of electronic crap on anything even remotely recent.

With more and more people choosing not to own vehicles outright instead just leasing, driving and giving it back, it is easy to see why they just don't care. Yet another symptom of the instant gratification society in which we all now exist.

[Horse]

Yup. I would buy a car without all that.

'Would'? Or 'did', as sole current vehicle?

With more and more people choosing not to own vehicles outright instead just leasing, driving and giving it back, it is easy to see why they just don't care. Yet another symptom of the instant gratification society in which we all now exist.

Can't argue with any of that [caveat: my previous car was part-ex'd after I'd added several years and 110,000 miles, the one before went after I added 44,000 and took it to 186,000 miles].

As an acquaintance said, years ago: most drivers are just appliance operators.

Cars are often just white goods, but with with wheels and bragging rights.

[sussex2]

I live in Spain where people are noticeably 'tight' when buying new cars.
You have to hunt for an auto box, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control etc etc..but when you find it you can get it at a good price.
Nobody is interested in big wheels or the flashy bits.

It depends on the market but, purely personally, the safety packs (adaptive cruise control in particular) are well worth having even if used rarely. They things teach you how the next generation of personal mobility is going to be rigged and are, when you use them, genuinely useful.

ps Coasting downhill is a popular pursuit in Spain as many people think it saves fuel - the age of technology has left many behind it.

[waremark]

I love driving simple cars but I also rather like modern toys. They enliven driving when it is otherwise constrained by traffic and low speed limits. This week I have been driving two highly equipped new cars and have been playing with the toys. Ignore this post if you have little interest in modern car tech.

Both the new cars have adaptive cruise control, auto hold and stop start. While following another car they respond to what it does, including coming to a complete stop, where auto-hold and stop start come into play. When the car in front moves off, you move off. A particular negative is that if the car in front changes to a different lane, you immediately speed up towards the speed set on the CC, which is not always appropriate. Think of approaching traffic lights on red (yes, I was trying this driving into a city), your CC is set for the speed limit (see below), and the car in front changes to a different lane. Prompt action needed to stop acceleration. At the moment I am enjoying the novelty, and on a busy motorway I am sure the adaptive system comes into its own, but obviously you cannot relax so I think that in stop start traffic this alternative to using your own feet is more fun and interesting than useful.

The auto hold and stop start part of it however seems really nice to have. My new Jaguar is easy to stop smoothly. There is a small delay before the auto hold comes on and the engine stops. You wait with feet off without having to do anything else. When you touch the accelerator to move off the engine starts and the brake releases again quite smoothly. I believe the brake lights stay on while auto hold is operating, which some would consider antisocial.

Now the cruise control. In the new M3 which I have been running in for my son, there is a feature for setting the CC to the prevailing speed limit. As I have it set, each time the speed limit changes it offers to change the CC to the new limit. You press a button with your thumb to confirm. You can set it up to go a few mph over the limit - you can set the amount over the limit you want to use separately for up to 40 mph and over 40 mph. You can also have it change the CC automatically rather than proposing the change. I like the proposing the change setup - which it does a little before you get to the limit change, but then waits for the change before applying the new speed.

The Jag does not have this. In the Jag there is a feature for the speed limiter to change automatically to the speed limit, but it only works for the limiter not for the CC, and it does not let you set it up for anything over the speed limit. I cannot see myself using this as I never use a speed limiter. It does have a 'speed limit warning system' - the head up display projected onto the lower part of the windscreen displays the speedo speed alongside the limit, and the limit flashes if you go over the limit. I have this set to flash at an indicated 5 mph over the limit.

Both cars have all round camera views - very nice - and automatic parking systems. I have not yet managed to use an automatic parking system.

Both cars have adaptive headlights. If you haven't used these, you are missing something, particularly if you are getting on in years. As these are set up, you can use the left stalk to alternate between the excellent main beam and automatic mode. Automatic mode cuts out parts of the beam which it thinks may cause dazzle, so for example your lights can shine a long way down the curb without shining on traffic in front or towards you. I'm sure many people leave them on auto, but I find that misses out on times when I want the lights on main beam, so I use main beam as normal, but auto instead of dipped when there is someone to be dazzled by mains.

One feature on the M3 I hated - the lane keeping system which can steer you down the centre of a lane. Every time I overtook or was overtaken I found myself fighting the system because I wanted to position away from the vehicle next to me but the computer insisted on sticking to the centre of my lane. Of course it also stopped me from changing lanes without indicating. The Jag system is much more limited just giving a slight sensation through the wheel if you change lanes without indicating. It is not unpleasant but I have turned it off.

There are numerous other comfort and 'safety' toys but I doubt anyone has got this far without my going on even longer! Best wishes all, Mark

[jcochrane]

Nice read Mark. My car also has many of these useful features. I particularly like the head lights moving with the steering and the auto mode as you describe. Adaptive CC in heavy single lane traffic in London is a dream. Like you the only feature I don’t use is lane assist although I imagine, if suddenly caught out with drowsiness on a motorway, might help you get to the next service station safely.

[Horse]

if suddenly caught out with drowsiness on a motorway, might help you get to the next service station safely.

[Derail]
FWIW, from listening (I can't remember who and when) to researchers on this, onset of drowsiness isn't sudden. IIRC there are warning signs like yawning before microsleeps occur.

Google says:
- Difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, or heavy eyelids.
- Daydreaming; wandering/disconnected thoughts.
- Trouble remembering the last few miles driven; missing exits or traffic signs.
- Yawning repeatedly or rubbing your eyes.

From a distance perspective, even getting to the next junction doesn't mean there will be somewhere easily accessible to stop. I think this is a big failing of our motorway network, there should be more stopping points with basic facilities.
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[Gareth]

- Trouble remembering the last few miles driven

While I know what you mean, this struck me as funny as I try to leave past things in the past. I've been calling it "dwell time" -- how long I dwell on something instead of focusing on what I'm doing now and what's up ahead. Am finding it's harder to 'move on' these days, out of practice, I suppose.