Premium car features you would pay extra NOT to have

[Lucan]

I have never seen the point of alloy wheels

As we are considering paying extra not to have, why not replace them with steel wheels? I did with mine. There are companies such as NHT that offer steel wheels, mostly for the classic, hot-rod and off-road markets. The worst thing about alloys is that unless you clean and polish them all the time, they corrode after a while with ugly white scabs. Of course this does not concern most buyers from new because they trade in after a couple of years and are more interested in the showroom bling.

 

[SeanG]

I don't see the point in the sequential shift option using the 'gear stick' on my Hyundai i30N DCT - its got paddles so its easier to just use them

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't see the point in the sequential shift option using the 'gear stick' on my Hyundai i30N DCT - its got paddles so its easier to just use them

I don't see the point in flappy paddle gearboxes. You either want an auto or you don't.

 

[SeanG]

I don't see the point in flappy paddle gearboxes. You either want an auto or you don't.

I thought that initially - but they have their uses such as when overtaking or pulling out at a roundabout. They also stick the car into manual so you can take it up to the red line rather than the auto box changing up at lower revs.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I thought that initially - but they have their uses such as when overtaking or pulling out at a roundabout.

Floor it in an auto and it'll drop the gear (if it's any good).

They also stick the car into manual so you can take it up to the red line rather than the auto box changing up at lower revs.

Can't see why I'd want to, but then that's not my driving style.

 

[gg1]

I thought that initially - but they have their uses such as when overtaking or pulling out at a roundabout.

Can't say I've ever felt insufficient acceleration on a roundabout with my automatic, and if I'm overtaking on a single carriageway road I select sport mode on the auto box (the only time I ever use it).

 

[DustyBin]

I thought that initially - but they have their uses such as when overtaking or pulling out at a roundabout. They also stick the car into manual so you can take it up to the red line rather than the auto box changing up at lower revs.

A few years ago I got saddled with a Golf GTI for a couple of months which had the DSG box and a similar set up. The problem was that it was never truly manual and overrode your input if it didn’t like what you were doing. There may have been a way to overcome this, I’m not sure as I only had it for a few weeks, but I found it really annoying.

To be honest I like manuals. A well-weighted, precise, short throw ‘box like the ones offered by Ford and Honda are a joy to use, and require some skill on the part of the driver to get the most out of them. Personally I’m happy to sacrifice a bit of outright acceleration to achieve a more involving overall experience.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A few years ago I got saddled with a Golf GTI for a couple of months which had the DSG box and a similar set up. The problem was that it was never truly manual and overrode your input if it didn’t like what you were doing. There may have been a way to overcome this, I’m not sure as I only had it for a few weeks, but I found it really annoying.

To be honest I like manuals. A well-weighted, precise, short throw ‘box like the ones offered by Ford and Honda are a joy to use, and require some skill on the part of the driver to get the most out of them. Personally I’m happy to sacrifice a bit of outright acceleration to achieve a more involving overall experience.

Which basically sums up my thoughts - you either want an auto or you don't. A flappy paddle gearbox is a bad manual and a bad auto.

 

[SeanG]

Can't say I've ever felt insufficient acceleration on a roundabout with my automatic, and if I'm overtaking on a single carriageway road I select sport mode on the auto box (the only time I ever use it).

Its not so much the slow acceleration, its the split second that it takes to select the gear from a standing start, which of course in a manual you are already in

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Apr 2023 ==

A few years ago I got saddled with a Golf GTI for a couple of months which had the DSG box and a similar set up. The problem was that it was never truly manual and overrode your input if it didn’t like what you were doing. There may have been a way to overcome this, I’m not sure as I only had it for a few weeks, but I found it really annoying.

To be honest I like manuals. A well-weighted, precise, short throw ‘box like the ones offered by Ford and Honda are a joy to use, and require some skill on the part of the driver to get the most out of them. Personally I’m happy to sacrifice a bit of outright acceleration to achieve a more involving overall experience.

My take on it is that for 15-20% of the time a manual would be the better option for 'spirited' driving, whereas for 80-85% of the time the automatic is better for daily driving in traffic etc

 

[william.martin]

Electric tail gate - annoying if you say you own something that will fit in but it won't shut 'just in case.'

Not sure if it appears anywhere else however on the 2016 honda Jazz it comes up on the infotainment screen before it lets you use the reversing camera or change the radio station etc without tapping the screen that say 'please make sure your driving licence is valid and you have checked oil pressure, washer fluid, tyre pressure (etc.) Please make sure you fully read the owners manual before beginning your journey.' The most annoying thing about that is the button to continue will only work if you have the most perfectly shaped sausage fingers because of 'accidental touch prevention.'

 

[greyman42]

I don't see the point in flappy paddle gearboxes. You either want an auto or you don't.

I would agree with you but i wonder if they are targeted at people who still like to be able to change gear manually but without having to use a clutch?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would agree with you but i wonder if they are targeted at people who still like to be able to change gear manually but without having to use a clutch?

Clearly they offer that, but I can't see why I'd want that unless it was because I didn't have use of my left leg.

 

[gg1]

Clearly they offer that, but I can't see why I'd want that unless it was because I didn't have use of my left leg.

Not that unusual for people to switch from manuals to automatics because of leg/knee problems, both my dad and mother in law switched for that reason, they found it uncomfortable to use the clutch pedal.

 

[bspahh]

Clearly they offer that, but I can't see why I'd want that unless it was because I didn't have use of my left leg.

Its useful as a compromise when a car is shared, and one person wants an automatic, and the other wants to control when the car changes gear. It doesn't cost much to add as a feature, and is fairly unobtrusive if you want a full automatic.

 

[RichJF]

Idiotic indicators lights that move in the direction the car is intending to turn.

 

[PG]

Idiotic indicators lights that move in the direction the car is intending to turn.

Handy to have them on Audi's as they can be quite revealing (and thus useful) to other road users when the driver doesn't believe that they are supposed to use the actual indicators

 

[tomuk]

Its useful as a compromise when a car is shared, and one person wants an automatic, and the other wants to control when the car changes gear. It doesn't cost much to add as a feature, and is fairly unobtrusive if you want a full automatic.

Apart from on 'performance' models the reality is that the car will override what the driver selects with the flappy paddles.

 

[DustyBin]

Handy to have them on Audi's as they can be quite revealing (and thus useful) to other road users when the driver doesn't believe that they are supposed to use the actual indicators

They are the actual indicators though, that’s the problem!

One of our cars has them. They’re nothing to get upset about IMO; completely pointless but look quite cool.

 

[PG]

They are the actual indicators though, that’s the problem!

One of our cars has them. They’re nothing to get upset about IMO; completely pointless but look quite cool.

Opps, silly me I realise now what @RichJF was referring to. I thought of the front fog lights which illuminate on the side that the steering is pointing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Opps, silly me I realise now what @RichJF was referring to. I thought of the front fog lights which illuminate on the side that the steering is pointing.

The purpose of those is to better illuminate the road you're turning into, and thus they aren't pointless.

I think the OP means the normal yellow indicators which instead of just flashing "move" in the direction of the turn. A fairly pointless gimmick but easily done in software I guess.

 

[PG]

The purpose of those is to better illuminate the road you're turning into, and thus they aren't pointless.

Indeed that is their purpose but they are also handy for spotting turning manoeuvres by those for whom the use of indicators is too much bother. So no they aren't pointless at all.

Edit: <pedant alert> I'd have described the colour of indicators as orange not yellow!

 

[scragend]

An issue I found at first with the fog lights that come on when you turn is on roundabouts. On some models the lights can be quite slow to go off again, so the fog light can come on as a driver enters the roundabout, not intending to leave at the first exit but just following the shape of the roundabout, but as they do so the light doesn't respond all that quickly to the subsequent steering back to the right again. At a glance said light could be mistaken for a left indicator - obviously it's not orange and it doesn't flash so it shouldn't be thus mistaken really if you're paying attention but the first time I ever saw one of these I did think at first that the driver was taking the exit when he wasn't.

My car has headlights which pivot as you turn the corner, which I think is a better solution for illuminating the road that you are turning into.

 

[PG]

My car has headlights which pivot as you turn the corner, which I think is a better solution for illuminating the road that you are turning into.

I suppose the fog lights thing is a non-premium inferior implementation of this done for economic reasons.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I suppose the fog lights thing is a non-premium inferior implementation of this done for economic reasons.

A cheaper option that works fine and with fewer moving parts is less likely to cause expensive failures.

 

[DustyBin]

Headlight technology has come a long way over the last few years when you think about it.

The first car I had with really good headlights was a 2004 Focus ST170 with optional xenons. I then had various cars with halogen and later LED projector lights (the latter are excellent), and my latest purchase has LED matrix lights which are very clever and do away with the separate fog lights (similar to what @scragend refers to above to I suspect).

Whilst changing a bulb on the Sierra (or Granada) is a far more enjoyable experience (on time and cost grounds), I do appreciate being able to see where I’m going after dark!

 

[birchesgreen]

Opps, silly me I realise now what @RichJF was referring to. I thought of the front fog lights which illuminate on the side that the steering is pointing.

When one of my colleagues got a new car it had this feature, another of my colleagues thought there was a fault with her car and told her she should get it checked as the light was coming on when she turned in the car park.

Amusingly the same feature was on his own car but he had no idea...

 

[Bletchleyite]

When one of my colleagues got a new car it had this feature, another of my colleagues thought there was a fault with her car and told her she should get it checked as the light was coming on when she turned in the car park.

Amusingly the same feature was on his own car but he had no idea...

I have a mate who had only ever seen it with one on and thought a bulb had gone...

 

[cactustwirly]

Floor it in an auto and it'll drop the gear (if it's any good).



Can't see why I'd want to, but then that's not my driving style.

But you're driving a 1.6 Diesel Kuga?
It's a bit different to a 3.0L petrol, where you'd want to have a bit of fun and take it to the redline, maybe on some fast A roads or up a motorway slip road

 

[Bletchleyite]

But you're driving a 1.6 Diesel Kuga?
It's a bit different to a 3.0L petrol, where you'd want to have a bit of fun and take it to the redline, maybe on some fast A roads or up a motorway slip road

If I had a 3.0 petrol I would want a good, slick manual transmission. Why would a petrolhead want to hand over stuff to the car?

I can see why some prefer a manual and some an auto, but I just don't see any point at all in flappy paddles.

 

[cactustwirly]

If I had a 3.0 petrol I would want a good, slick manual transmission. Why would a petrolhead want to hand over stuff to the car?

I can see why some prefer a manual and some an auto, but I just don't see any point at all in flappy paddles.

But a 8 speed Auto is also a lot faster.
Lots of performance cars are built as Auto only with flappy paddles