Premium car features you would pay extra NOT to have

[Bletchleyite]

But a 8 speed Auto is also a lot faster.

As I said, if I'm driving a performance car for the enjoyment I want to feel in control, which means as much manual stuff as possible. Unless driving it mostly on a track just raw speed is of no advantage, it's not like you can use it legally.

Lots of performance cars are built as Auto only with flappy paddles

I would, as per the thread title, pay extra not to have that feature.

 

[DustyBin]

As I said, if I'm driving a performance car for the enjoyment I want to feel in control, which means as much manual stuff as possible. Unless driving it mostly on a track just raw speed is of no advantage, it's not like you can use it legally.

Agreed, but we (and manual performance cars) are a dying breed!

 

[dcbwhaley]

Re the last point, I used to own a 2008 bottom of the range Golf which had a handy feature, holding down the lock button on the remote for a few seconds closed any open windows. No car I've had since has had the same feature.

I had a car with that feature once: think it was a Honda.
Why does turning the ignition off on most cars disable the electric windows?

I had a Peugeot once where opening the door reenabled the electric window.
But that was the car where the electric windows and the indicators shared a fuse. When the fuse blew I could neither use the indicators nor wind down the windows to give hand signals.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I had a car with that feature once: think it was a Honda.
Why does turning the ignition off on most cars disable the electric windows?

To stop someone poking a coathanger through the side of the door and pressing the window open button to get into the car and steal its contents, perhaps? OK, you could disable them on locking instead, but it does work.

 

[Dr_Paul]

A flappy paddle gearbox is a bad manual and a bad auto.

That's a new one for me: can somebody define a flappy paddle gearbox?

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's a new one for me: can somebody define a flappy paddle gearbox?

It's basically an auto but can be controlled manually using "paddles" on the steering wheel. No clutch.

 

[RailWonderer]

That's a new one for me: can somebody define a flappy paddle gearbox?

Also called a semiautomatic.

As I said, if I'm driving a performance car for the enjoyment I want to feel in control, which means as much manual stuff as possible. Unless driving it mostly on a track just raw speed is of no advantage, it's not like you can use it legally.

Manufacturers are using more 8, 9 and even 10 speed gearboxes which you cannot use with a manual. More gears means the engine keeps in a lower rev range so it strains less and uses fuel more efficiently. A good trade off when you don't necessaily want to feel sporty, when you just want a comfort cruise.

 

[tomuk]

That's a new one for me: can somebody define a flappy paddle gearbox?

It means a gearbox with paddle shifters on the steering column. The actual gearbox controlled can vary from a robotised manual, a dual clutch box, a conventional automatic to a cvt. Apart from high end sport\premium models due to poor implementation and real world driving conditions they are pretty pointless and just allow you to pretend your Lewis Hamilton for five minutes before you never use the function again.

 

[MotCO]

Going back to indicators, I find the strobing indicators off-putting (i.e. ones that 'travel' along the light panel). What's wrong with a simple flashing light? When the hazard lights are on, the lights move in different directions!

 

[PG]

What's wrong with a simple flashing light?

Short answer: nothing!

 

[dangie]

Going back to indicators….. What's wrong with a simple flashing light?…

Short answer: nothing!

Not flashy enough……. By that I mean more bling for the manufacturer to sell cars to the gullible.

 

[DustyBin]

Not flashy enough……. By that I mean more bling for the manufacturer to sell cars to the gullible.

Funilly enough we were behind an Audi yesterday that indicated (yes really!), and the Mrs commented that she doesn’t like sweeping indicators as they “look stupid”. I pointed out that my car has them too, to which she replied “well don’t palm it off onto me when you’re bored with it”. I’m thinking of keeping it long term anyway, so every cloud and all that!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 May 2023 ==

One I don’t think has been mentioned yet; dual tailpipes. Specifically the ones that exit on opposite sides of the car, as opposed to side by side.

They actually make sense if you have a V engine, and if the car is a performance model they add to the aesthetic, but does an everyday family saloon need them? It’s added weight and cost for the sake of it.

 

[MotCO]

One I don’t think has been mentioned yet; dual tailpipes. Specifically the ones that exit on opposite sides of the car, as opposed to side by side.

They actually make sense if you have a V engine, and if the car is a performance model they add to the aesthetic, but does an everyday family saloon need them? It’s added weight and cost for the sake of it.

There is one model of car - I forget which - which has 4 tailpipes, but the actual exhaust leaves the car some way back by the rear wheels! It is purely decorative!

 

[66701GBRF]

Not flashy enough……. By that I mean more bling for the manufacturer to sell cars to the gullible.

How does a particular styling choice make someone gullible?

 

[dangie]

How does a particular styling choice make someone gullible?

I’ve just Googled gullible and one definition was ‘an attempt to persuade the public to spend their money’. That’ll do for me. Style over Substance.

Note: I’ve been gullible loads of times…..

 

[route101]

My car has driver assist, I have never used it.

I can connect my phone to the car but I cant get any of the apps like Google maps to connect for sat nav.

 

[johncrossley]

I'm not sure if this counts as 'premium' but tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is annoying. It has come on twice in the last couple of months even though the tyres are fine.

 

[route101]

I'm not sure if this counts as 'premium' but tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is annoying. It has come on twice in the last couple of months even though the tyres are fine.

I had the system alert me after I filled my tyres with air. You have to reset the system.

 

[johncrossley]

I had the system alert me after I filled my tyres with air. You have to reset the system.

Every time I check the tyres and add air if necessary, I press the button and drive for a while as mentioned in the manual. But the alert still comes on after a few days and when I check the tyres there is nothing wrong. So I have to wait for the tyres to cool down, check the tyre pressures again then press the button.

 

[route101]

Every time I check the tyres and add air if necessary, I press the button and drive for a while as mentioned in the manual. But the alert still comes on after a few days and when I check the tyres there is nothing wrong. So I have to wait for the tyres to cool down, check the tyre pressures again then press the button.

I am finding the feel of the tyres in my car quite grainy at the moment, I feel the road surface. My tyres have just been filled with air and don't appear flat.

 

[robbeech]

Every time I check the tyres and add air if necessary, I press the button and drive for a while as mentioned in the manual. But the alert still comes on after a few days and when I check the tyres there is nothing wrong. So I have to wait for the tyres to cool down, check the tyre pressures again then press the button.

The “basic” type of tyre pressure systems that work off of the relative rotation speed of the wheels are generally quite mediocre. Mine flags up issues from time to time when there’s nothing wrong, although it did show up a genuine serious puncture once in plenty of time for me to get something done about it before I headed for 150 miles on a motorway so I’d sooner take a couple of nuisance errors.
My last car had the system with electronic valves in it that showed the actual pressures. That was better, providing you accounted to rounding.
36psi is anywhere between 35.5 and 36.49 psi but 35.5 is deemed too low so puts on the warning. Massive oversight.