[knightrider_7]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Parking sensor "off" button

This one also leaves us scratching our heads. Why would anyone want to disable the parking sensors?

A few months back, my friend's Brezza got hit at the back and the sensors were dislocated and went inside into the rear bumper. It was making continuous sound (as if you are very close to an obstacle, which was the case with that particular sensor) whenever he put the car on the reverse gear.

Turning off the sensor was the only solution till the damage was rectified.

[Blow Horn Ok]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Car AC's air flow modes! Why would anybody want to "get cold feet"?

Attachment 1794821

Useless at most of the times but aspire's manual asks to set the temperature to highest point, turn on the fresh air mode and guide the air towards feet for 2-3 mins to dehumidify the cooling coil and avoid pungent smell from ac vents.

[Nalin1]

This is my 'favorite' useless feature-

Parking sensor off.

Someone told me that this feature exists because if the parking sensor fails/malfunctions, the beeps never stop! In such a scenario you can turn if off .

[PrideRed]

My List goes as below:

1. DRL's: Frankly some of them look them UGLY ex: the one in facelift Creta-screams Chinese. My Grandpa used to ask, are these cars having issues? As back in his days only cars with problem would switch on lights during day time.
2. Cooled Glovebox: Don't remember using it ever. Neither gets you a chilled beverage nor helps the ice-cream. A melted chocolate might benefit, but I would not throw the mess out in glovebox.
3. Push Button Start: I know it is part of the keyless entry experience,reminds me of our Amby which came with push button start.
4. Leather seats(Personal opinion): I always find the fabric seats more functional and comfortable. The leather ones look good though.

[batish]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Car AC's air flow modes! Why would anybody want to "get cold feet"?

Can't think about cold feet but warm air does help in winters sometimes. Even when there are freezing temperatures outside it's useful.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Car AC's air flow modes! Why would anybody want to "get cold feet"?

Sometimes I use that mode to dry my sweaty feet Hopefully, I don't get a 'cold feet'.

What I feel as useless in most cars is the Start/Stop button and to quite an extent, keyless entry too.

Rest, cars in my garage are essentially feature poor and belonging to the last decade, hence in all probability, this is all of my 2 cents for this discussion

Regards,
Saket.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Guess which one is it?

Is it some sort of a Fiat or an older Ford? I also saw your signature.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Surely looking forward to a car with cruise control whenever the next upgrade happens, and setting up at at a sane speed which can be maintained on such roads (around 100kmph).

I agree. Though no immediate plans for a new car, I might try to retrofit Cruise control in my Abarth if its possible.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

The discussion reminds me of the saying - "One man's meat is another man's poison".

Also, how times have changed.

My car is 7.5 years old now and the times have surely moved on. Just realized that we have moved on from "Parking Sensors are aftermarket" -> "Parking Sensors are good to have" -> "Parking sensors are essential" -> "Rear parking camera + sensors standard" -> "Why would anyone disable the parking sensors?" all in just seven years.

Also went from "Standard audio system with steering controls" -> "Touchscreen audio system" -> "Touchscreen Satnav" -> "Why would anyone want Satnav" in those seven years too. Voice controls and gesture controls came and went too!

Wish the same was true about engine tech too! Same old 1.3 Multijets, 1.5 iVTecs, 1.5 dCis to talk about - back then and back now. (With the exception of may be VW).

[RJK]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Car AC's air flow modes! Why would anybody want to "get cold feet"?

Attachment 1794821

I use it on a daily basis! It's one of the most important features for me in the car, mate. You guessed it, I've sweaty feet

[ask99]

Originally Posted by Sahil

While I know a lot of people will differ but I find cruise control feature in India completely useless. I have never used it and don't see myself ever doing so either.

On the contrary I value cruise control on my manual XUV. In this day of speed cameras and restrictive speeds on some very good roads, I find it very helpful to set it at 60 or 65 as needed and cruise along the smooth tarmacs of the new flyovers and birdges.

Without it I have to constantly keep an eye on my speed and ensure I'm not getting into illegal speeds, as it's so easy to hit 100 on some of these roads that differentiation between 60 & 70 becomes impossible without checking the speedo!

[Jeevith]

For me those sunglasses holders are pretty useless. For one, they either scratch your glasses (because more often than not they're not properly lined on the inside) and more annoyingly they rattle .

[VineetG]

Great to see a thread like this started. Hope car makers also see this and stop putting in useless or outdated features with limited utility and charge a premium for those.

Personally, i would not like to pay for these features, many of which are touted as premium in cars.
- Touch Screen/Gesture Controls (Would pay extra for physical buttons). It's really a pain using these touch screens : Lack of response, finger prints, poor visibility in sunlight, and of course the safety aspect. One needs to look at the screen, instead of getting the tactile feel of a button without glancing off the road. I am sure touchscreens cost less than a panel of nice looking physical buttons, but car makers are touting them as premium

- Similarly, Voice controls : Do they ever work?

- Navigation : We have google maps on our phones, right?

- Built in Apps : I mean, why distract users by providing apps on your dashboard, while driving? We have our smartphones. We can always park our car, use the apps and move along. And with bluetooth pairing, all music streaming can be done from phone

- Android/Apple Car play : I would rather save money and use my phone if i need to. Just need to sync the music via bluetooth. Using a phone while driving is itself not recommended.

- Sun Roof : These were meant for European countries, where people crave for sunlight. In India, we have more sunlight than we can handle. And given the dust, pollution and extreme weather here, we can't open our windows and drive at any time, let alone a sunroof. Then add to it issues like leakage, creaking noises. I would not take one even for free.

- All Black "Premium Interiors" : While this is a personal choice, i really don't like it. It makes the cabin dull and drab, and feels smaller and claustrophobic. Also, imagine how much extra heat the black leather seats will absorb. In one test in USA by a magazine ( I don't recall), temperature in cars with black interiors were about 10-13 Degrees Fahrenheit higher than their beige counterparts.
People might say that beige become dirty. Well, black also becomes as dirty, it just does'nt show, and you end up driving a dirty car. A nice 2 tone interior scheme works best.

- Cruise control : Another feature with limited use. I can take it for free, but won't pay for it. I see many people asking for cruise control on variants, but i personally think its mainly useless on India roads.

- TPMS : Again, a feature that adds to your costs. What's wrong with getting your tire pressure checked every 15 days? Make it a habit and you should be fine.

- Auto Headlight on/off : As a driver, one should know when to switch on/off the headlights. Well, if it's for free, then fine.

- Push Button Start : Put it if you have to, but don't tout it as a premium feature. I would prefer the old key turn

All these electronics not only add to the costs, but also the complexity, raising the maintenance costs whenever things go wrong.

Rgds

[deadguy25]

Originally Posted by GTO

It was also useful when I used to smoke (ventilation + getting the smoke out).

Sun roof: That would be one of the best uses of it, atleast in Bangalore, since it is getting more and more dusty and polluted by the day.

[lamborghini]

I quite like some of the features mentioned by others:

1) Sunroof: In Mumbai it's not cool 9 months a year, but those 3 months in a car with a sunroof is pure bliss! Not to mention other advantages: ventilation (tilt mode), and ambience (tiguan is a brilliant example - compare the HL with the CL trim side by side).

2) Parking sensor off button: I mean no harm having it. We anyways need a manual button to turn on the parking sensors in tight situations (when we don't have to engage reverse gear). May as well give the option to turn it off - especially for those people who hate the annoying beeping noise.

3) Interior light off switch: Again needed. We're enthusiasts, we're careful. But what about chauffeur driven cars - where the driver is sitting in the car waiting for his boss to finish his meeting. The light would be very annoying for the driver - and I've seen this with all my drivers!

4) AM Radio - I believe in some countries cars need to have an AM receptor for any public warnings / messages. I could be wrong though.

5) in-built navigation - yes, Google maps is definitely better but at a risk: battery drainage, poor network, etc. Yes - it has improved but in some areas it can still be a little confusing and annoying to have to look up at the phone instead of something that is easily visible to the driver.

However, I completely agree about some of the stuff - and I'd like to add one feature to the list: Auto Headlights. I hate it in the C, and in some cars like the Laura - the headlights used to come on everytime I unlocked the door (when they were in Auto mode), and then switched off when I started the car, and came back on.
Unlike auto-wipers, switching on the HLs is a one time task.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Car AC's air flow modes! Why would anybody want to "get cold feet"?

Attachment 1794821

Let me put 2 use-cases for air flow to the feet:

1. During winters - Car cabin cools too much overnight and switching on the heater with air flow directed towards feet makes your feet comfortable

2. Car doors were open and a lot of mosquitoes have entered the car - use air flow to your feet with full blast, keep the windows open and drive off the car. Air flow will make the mosquitoes come out and fly away to the outside through the windows.