What feature in your car could you not live without?

[GDRRiley]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Mine has been super reliable so far (150,000 km and counting). I can switch into manual mode and baby the transmission if I want to accelerate and switch gears in a precise manner.

at least so far the 1/2 cars that have them aren't going so well. an early 20 teens MDX is doing fine at 50k miles but a 2015 Traverse (same thing as an Arcadia) isn't doing so well. 2 to 3 isn't shifting smooth

[Letgomyleghoe]

6 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I'm not sure how long they've been around for - but at least 10-15 years now if not longer.

I’ve driven a Kia van from 2005 and a (2017?) Nissan Rogue, My daily drive is a 1995 subaru outback manual, and my project car is a 1971 Chevy shortbed, also manual lol.

[Letgomyleghoe]

6 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

usually the answer is step on it, my 2000 civic will happy run it out to redline before shifting

Vtec? I’ve driven a 2005 Kia van that never hit near redline and a 2017 Nissan Rogue, I think I got the Nissan Rogue to redline once or twice, I actually enjoyed driving that car tbh.

[atxcyclist]

My current car has a small engine and a stick-shift, so I'm not very choosy about features. I also ride a motorcycle most days. Though I will say that I wouldn't mess around with a carbureted engine for a daily driver. Been there, done that, no thanks. Outside of that, power steering is nice, but not really needed on a small vehicle. 

[rcmaehl]

7 hours ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

Ive never heard of this tiptronic lol that’s cool asf. I don’t think I’ve ever driven a car that had both modes, But I haven’t really driven to many cars in the 2000-2020 range

tiptronic by default doesn't really allow any fun. Thankfully any enthusiast with a programmer can set it into test mode that converts it to a manual without any safeguards or a third pedal. Just don't money shift it.

[MadAnt250]

7 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

I love all these new 6+ speed automatics, most totally don't have long term issues.

LOL to your sarcasm.

TH400's and 700R4's seem to last longer and are way cheaper to fix. Don't take it as fact, it is just based form my observations and experience.

 

And a feature I cannot live without... A low rev burbling, gas guzzling V8.

[Zodiark1593]

On 10/14/2020 at 5:31 PM, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Well my cars are as basic as you can get by today's standard. No backup camera, no fancy driver aids (just ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control), no fancy entertainment just the factory monochrome LCD unit with Aux, no heated mirrors, and no sunroof. None of them even have Bluetooth built in, I have to use my Aukey receiver for that. So pretty much every feature my cars have are requirements at this point. 

My car doesn’t even have power locks.

 

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

My car doesn’t even have power locks.

 

This may actually be good.  There was a safety issue noticed with powered locks:  If the car goes into water they can short trapping the occupants inside.

[GDRRiley]

6 hours ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

Vtec? I’ve driven a 2005 Kia van that never hit near redline and a 2017 Nissan Rogue, I think I got the Nissan Rogue to redline once or twice, I actually enjoyed driving that car tbh.

yeah. vtec is fun. no matter what car I've driven with it from MDX to Civics to CRVs all at about half petal will push to just before it kicks in then just a little more on the petal and they'll run out to red line

 

4 hours ago, MadAnt250 said:

And a feature I cannot live without... A low rev burbling, gas guzzling V8.

if you'd said 454 or LS I'd agree

[Sarra]

Feature I can't live without? Turbocharging. Won't own a vehicle, at least for long, without a Turbo.

[Donut417]

Heated seats. In 2010 I bought a 2006 Ford Focus and it had heated seats. It was the greatest thing ever. So when I went to lease my new 2018 Nissan Rouge, I got the model with the heated seats. 

[jones177]

With me it's a stick.

I am on my 5th WRX. This time a STI but I have had 2 Civics and an Acura with sticks as well. 

My favorite commuting car was the BRZ since it was geared perfectly for crawling in heavy traffic.

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, jones177 said:

With me it's a stick.

I am on my 5th WRX. This time a STI but I have had 2 Civics and an Acura with sticks as well. 

My favorite commuting car was the BRZ since it was geared perfectly for crawling in heavy traffic.

Thats a feature that kinda dead in the US. Very few cars are offered with that option now. 

[Derkoli]

Is it just me who doesn't really like manual transmission's, or automatics that don't have a manual feature? IMO, I love DCT/PDK transmissions. My next car is having a PDK and god I love the idea of one. Don't have to replace the clutch every 10 minutes on a high power car.

[Donut417]

2 minutes ago, Derkoli said:

Is it just me who doesn't really like manual transmission's,

I cant even drive one. My sister is 4 years older than me. When she took drivers ed, they learned on a manual transmission. When I took it a few years later, they were all automatics. I understand the basics, but I could never drive one confidently down the road. 

[Derkoli]

Just now, Donut417 said:

I cant even drive one. My sister is 4 years older than me. When she took drivers ed, they learned on a manual transmission. When I took it a few years later, they were all automatics. I understand the basics, but I could never drive one confidently down the road. 

I can drive with one, but they just annoy me. Slow changes, clutch gets slowly fried etc.

 

I just love the idea of a PDK. Two little flaps to do all your shifting, with launch control.

[Tristerin]

Steering Wheel

[Commodus]

I have to ask: those of you who insist on a manual, V8, a turbo or other conventional car feature, how do you feel about the shift to electric cars? And keep in mind it's a question of when you buy an EV, not if, because there will be mandates for new car sales in some places by 2035-2040 even if your favorite brand hasn't shifted entirely to EVs by then. And even if you hold on, gas stations might become rarer and rarer by that point.

 

I'm all for it, frankly. Besides the whole planet-saving thing, there's an instant torque that tends to make you forget about all those 'classic' combustion engine features. I've been in a Tesla Model S... that wave of power was wonderful.

 

 

[jones177]

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

Thats a feature that kinda dead in the US. Very few cars are offered with that option now. 

I am a driving enthusiast just like I am a computer enthusiast. 

Most driving enthusiast like stick just like most computer enthusiasts like to build their own. 

Both may be a bit strange to anyone who considers cars and computers appliances. 

 

 

 

 

[Donut417]

36 minutes ago, Commodus said:

And even if you hold on, gas stations might become rarer and rarer by that point.

I doubt that. Most places probably dont even have the electrical infrastructure to handle all of these electric cars. Also there are a lot of appliances that use gas. Such as lawn mowers, chain saws, weed trimmers, etc. Granted there might not be as many gas pumps at stations as they convert to also supply charging for EVs. 

[3 Lions]

1 hour ago, Commodus said:

those of you who insist on a manual, V8, a turbo or other conventional car feature, how do you feel about the shift to electric cars?

In the UK at least, the infrastructure just isn't there yet for EV's. Far too many faulty charging points and software that's just too clunky, it's not really improved much since they became more mainstream on the roads. I think by the time they nail electric powered vehicles, another method will be around the corner and electric will be old news.

[Godlygamer23]

Remote Start, particularly because in the winter, it automatically turns on the heater as well as the rear defroster(which also controls the side mirror heaters), and in the summer, turns on the air conditioner. 

[Godlygamer23]

On 10/14/2020 at 7:58 PM, TempestCatto said:

It runs and drives.

I feel like that's not a feature, but a bare minimum requirement lol. 

[aDoomGuy]

Hmmm... Sports mode and Steptronic if it is automatic transmission. I had to drive a Mazda the other day and headlights that turn on and off automatically.. I realized that I can't live without that lol. Rain sensor... Handsfree and AC. In the winter I literally can't live without spikes in the tires.  

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Just now, aDoomGuy said:

Hmmm... Sports mode and Steptronic if it is automatic transmission. I had to drive a Mazda the other day and headlights that turn on and off automatically.. I realized that I can't live without that lol. Rain sensor... Handsfree and AC. In the winter I literally can't live without spikes in the tires.  

*Insert joke about BMWs and turn signals here*