[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by pavi

4th generation Honda City comes with ACC in all the models coming with touch controls for AC.

Note : My personal preferences and experience at work here.

Agreed its easier to clean without the buttons and I also agree this is a stop gap before full on 20 inch screens taking the entire dashboard. There is no going back, however many like me still like buttons. I don't have to tell you what happens if the replace a Thinkpad keyboard with a screen.

A knob can have a ring for adjustment and a switch or push action to turn on or off something. It certainly needs no line if sight to operate. The number of clicks can correspond to temperature levels or fan speed. It's far easier to hit the AC auto clickable button or AC off clickable button which is a big knob that you push than a smooth glass panel.

I drive all the big three of this segment quite frequently, Verna and Ciaz are easier to operate. My thoughts are based on my experience with better tactile systems.

[chinkara]

My 2 pence (all have been mentioned, but still)
Drive: Underpowered cars, AMT
Ride: Low slung body which makes getting up very difficult for older people
Aesthetics: Overuse of Chrome and Faux Wood. False chrome exhausts and tips- my Storme's exhaust tip has gone god knows where after the first slightly rough drive
Features: I guess I would be very irritated with a Continuous speed beep
Infotainment: I dislike merging of instrument cluster into the console. Personally rather than all the gizmos, a simple USB port that can play music from your chosen device / hard drive / Pen Drive is good enough.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by chinkara

My 2 pence (all have been mentioned, but still)
Drive: Underpowered cars, AMT
Ride: Low slung body which makes getting up very difficult for older people

I agree on the drive part. But regarding the ride, I don’t think anyone of us are still using diapers . What I meant to say is it completely depends on one’s age and health. Drive a low slung sedan and you will love it until you become (very) old enough.

Note : Yes, I am a sedan person (reasonably low slung)

[dheepak10]

The trend I hate the most about modern cars is that they tend to invite multiple threads asking what do you hate about them.

[RoverX]

DESIGN:
1. Overload of chrome, every-friggin-where. As if the chrome installed by default wasn't enough, some owners one-up that but slapping extra chrome on wing mirrors, door handles, headlamps, tail lamps, skid plates, window sills, and what not! I mean, it's a car, not a mirror! The only purpose I feel all that chrome serves is to remind the person behind them that their high beams are on!

2. Grilles cutting into headlamps and vice-versa. The latest designs from Honda and Hyundai are guilty of this abomination. What's wrong with tastefully done grilles? I personally like Tata's effort on designing the front end for the Tiago, Tigor, and Hexa.

3. Headlamps that stretch all the way back to the A-pillar! As mod Aditya sir has rightly pointed out in the Toyota Yaris review, this would be a case in another 5 years, if unchecked.

4. Offering a lame excuse of a space-saver instead of a full-sized spare wheel. A few manufacturers have the audacity to omit it entirely. It's indeed flabbergasting that the geniuses who pioneer adaptive suspensions and adaptive headlamps can't think of a better way of placing a spare wheel than strapping it on to the boot floor!

INTERIORS:
1. Deteriorating part quality. Honda, an erstwhile benchmark in interior quality has resorted to using terrible quality plastics, even in their premium offerings like the City and CR-V. Meanwhile, Maruti is shaking their common parts bin for every car, right from the Alto up to the Ciaz.

2. Feature-to-variant goof up. Nobody does it better than Hyundai (not a compliment)! The constant feature removal, not offering automatics in the top trim, difference of kit between petrol and diesel counterparts, etc. really gets my goat.

3. Blatant cost-cutting. Unclad wheel arches, unclad boot lids, interior boot panels without a proper coat of paint, exposed screws, non-adjustable head restraints, cheap sun visors (sans extenders, mirrors, and vanity lights), manually dimming mirrors even on top variants, body-coloured interior panels trying to pass off as 'cool', etc. Such measures have repercussions ranging from the car feeling cheap, to potential safety hazards.

4. A sea of beige! I happen to like well-done beige interiors, but using light colours on areas of frequent contacts like the armrests, leather seats, and in some cases even the carpets, is plain stupid. Such interiors age much faster than those in a darker colour.

5. Step-motherly treatment to the rear centre passenger. This includes not offering seat belts, no head restraints, raised section on the seat, protruding central armrest, floor hump even for FWD cars, rear AC consoles jutting out, weirdly shaped front armrest console (looking at you, Yaris), etc. This makes a properly wide car capable of carrying 5 passengers (like the Honda City), unsuitable for the 5th one over long distances.

DRIVETRAIN:
1. 3-cylinder motors. I might be one of the minority who are okay with the engine downsizing trend, but I absolutely abhor the inherent unbalanced nature of 3-pot engines, however efficient or advanced they may be. The ones like Ford's Ecoboost aren't that cheap or efficient, either, so the whole purpose of having a 3-pot motor is defeated. And the less said about Maruti Celerio's 2-cylinder diesel, the better!

2. AMTs, though cost-effective and convenient, simply can't pass for an automatic due to their jerky and ponderous nature.

3. The death of good diesel engines. The torquey punch of good diesels shall be sorely missed with the inevitable electric future.

COSTS:
1. If we analyse the pricing trend of vehicles over the last decade or two, we can see that every segment has moved up the price ladder. We can argue about the economics associated with the same, but in my opinion, it has led to the evolution of many overlapping vehicle segments within similar price brackets. I feel that the promotion of C (or C2 in today's terminology) sedans in the ₹ 10 to 15 lakhs bracket is one of the reasons for the existence of the sub-4m compact sedans. I personally feel that the Tata Indigo CS seemed to be the last car from this category to pass on the tax benefit to the customer (the top end Maruti Dzire now costs over a million bucks)

2. As GTO sir rightly pointed out, service costs have also embraced the upward trend, as service centres have now moved from 'repair' culture to 'replace' culture.

[Debajyoti]

1. Racism: AT not available in top trim, missing convenience or safety features w.r.t. their manual counterparts (Elite i20, Amaze, Compass, Creta etc.) Different seating for different fuel type or trim (CR-V 5/7 seats for petrol/diesel, Marazzo missing 8 seat option in top trim etc.)
2. Same car model name having different build quality for different markets. Some even go a notch above by doing something like the Kaptur/Captur or Kicks, where the platform itself is different.
3. Every manufacturer launching a SUV even if its totally against their heritage/character: Rolls Royce Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga, Aston DBX, Lamborghini Urus, Maserati Lavante, Jaguar F-Pace (for heaven's sake, you have Land Rover to build SUVs)
   Also the obsession of adding stickers and cladding to advertise any car as a wannabe SUV, example Celerio X (seriously?)
4. Silently removing features after few months of launch while still increasing price. Hyundai and Tata I am looking at you.
5. Cars growing in size and price with every facelift. 3 series/C-class is the new 5 series/E-class, sub 4m compact sedans costing almost same as previous gen C1 sedans etc.
6. Soft launching a car months before price reveal. Then overpricing it if the response is good.

Disclaimer: I know manufacturers have valid reasons like inflation, greed etc. or just to stay relevant and ring the cash counter. But these are the trends that I personally hate, no offence meant to any owner of above mentioned cars.
I hate the display notch trend in smartphones where it's unnecessary.They literally ruined the term "A notch above"

[octane_100]

Some of the things I dislike, in no particular order:



1. Cramming more electronics in the guise of features.



2. It seems from product presentations that car makers concentrate on ICE more than the rest of the product. There is connect this and connect that.... Hate it.


3. Low profile tyres for a bone jarring ride



4. Botched up variants ( City petrol doesn't come with manual in the ZX, Elantra doesn't have a manual top end and Creta doesn't have an automatic top end!!)


5. Reduced service intervals


6. Lastly, cars just don't feel build to last. True with luxury cars too...

[coolmind]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Once you start using a eBrake, you won't like handbrake. Its easier and convenient. Tap the accelerator and it automatically disengages. Plus no metal clanking noise.

How about its support or functioning while moving an uphill sir?
Because we have a control over manual hand brake.

[GrammarNazi]

1) Obsolescence built-in. Things are made planning them to last only "as long as manufacturer desires often to the detriment of the consumer", as against "as long as optimally possible, for the benefit of the consumers & environment". This, to me, is almost a misuse of engineering prowess.

2) Stick-On Type OEM music systems. Instead of building the dashboard around the music system, or a provision for a standard 2-din unit, manufacturers have started having them on a spot stuck onto the dashboard or emerging from it.

It may look fancy, but it's actually poor designing wherein the designers have failed to integrate a standard 2 DIN unit into the dashboard. You'll be left with very very limited & expensive options (except with very successful models) at the time of replacement.

3) Bumpers - Poor Front & Rear integration & weak build : Its weird that bumpers are increasingly being made thinner & almost the same length of the bonnet/boot lid. If the metal is prone to get dented for small shunts, what's the point of the bumper ?

I imagine they're being used to create design elements that are easily changeable for when the facelift is planned. Plastic fiber moulds can be redesigned for no cost and companies not just get to revise mistakes in the old design but also revise prices claiming improved product etc.

4) Airbag Sensors : They shouldn't be placed such that a car needs to crash only at certain angles for them to deploy!

5) Space saver spare-wheel : This is truly sad. I know the narrative being used to "justify" this, but IMHO any car should have a full size spare-tyre.

Basically the above practices tell me that the brand doesn't respect the customers and their money.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

I hate the fact that the headlights in India are getting brighter and blind/dazzle the drivers around. I agree that with the increase in speeds we require to have a higher line of sight but India is just not mature enough to have the super dazzling LEDs in scooters and vehicles. We do not know when to use the High beam and when to use the low beam. Period. And I am only talking about the OEM fitments. If I include the aftermarket light bars on SUVs and the small round LEDs fitted on the engine guards of bikes (mostly Enfields-no offence /disrespect) I can rant about it all day.

[coolmind]

Originally Posted by sunilch

Add to that the Chrome door handles on top variants. I feel they look pathetic on any variant and in fact it should have been the other way. It should have been body colored for higher variants as they appear seamless. This one always makes me scratch my head and not get any answer.

Agreed.
I feel it disgusting especially when I see on D'zire.
They seem to be too odd. Not sure how come the design got approved.
Add to that uncovered USB ports in many of the cars.

[46TheDoctor]

Among the various trends discussed here, i hate the following ones so much that it stops me from even consider buying the affected vehicles:

We own following cars in our company and most of them are previous generation now and my opinions are based on comparing those to the current generation of vehicles.
Vehicles: Audi Q7 v6 diesel - previous, E250cdi - previous, Renault Koleos, Pajero Sport, Etios diesel, i10 grand AT

1. Lack of a proper spare wheel which is well hidden in the boot compartment:
In the latest generation cars like GLC , Q7 spare wheel occupies boot space unlike previous generations and apart from being a plain inconvenience, it also looks like a Juggad work, something that doesnt feel appropriate in well design cars let alone the premium ones. Previous generation cars do a very good job in this respect. In a country like india where roads are so pathetic and for people like us who need to travel across various regions a lot, there is no option to live without a proper spare wheel, atleast a space saver.

2. Too much controls in the Touch Screen form:
In order to reduce the no of buttons/switches and to make the cabin look cleaner from asthetic sence, the functionality has been compromised greatly by making us use the touch screen for almost every function which is plainly distracting and hence unsafe while driving especially on our roads where there is no discipline among most of the road users. I find manually usable Audi MMI/ Merc Command system controls of our older generation cars so much better than those touch screen functions in the current generation of vehicles.

3. Compromise on ride quality:
Again favouring the asthetics by using low profile tyres degrades the ride quality of most of the cars in the current generation compared to the older generation. Until our roads become pot hole free and smooth, the condition which seems atleast a few years if not decades away, i simply can not digest compromised ride quality for reason of asthetics. This might sound exagerrated but i honestly prefer the ride quality of Etios over our E class at the normal cruising speeds of 80-110 kmph (above which the Merc is certainly a flat and well planted ride). Also, I simply can not power through our pot hole rich roads in our E250cdi compared to the humble Etios and Koleos. In my books, protecting my spine and overall well being always triumphs over any kinds of asthetic improvements offered by the low profile tyres.

4. Engine downsizing:
I see too much engine downsizing in cars on sale in India these days. I mean a 2.0 engine in a Q7 and XJ? 1.4 in a Compass? 1.6 in a CRV? Almost all of the manufacturers have made the 6 cylinder engines a thing of emmense luxury in India where almost a decade back we had 6 cylinder engines in entry level luxury cars like 3 series, A4, C class, accord, superb, etc. Now a days even A6 doesnt get a 6 cylinder engine in India. What a shame!

Then there are other issues like excess chrome, too much electronics which prove unreliable in the long run, very sharp and edgy asthetic designs with large ugly grills, those sharp cuts and creases without any clean beautiful lines and curves which give those designs a very small shelf life and make them very poor in terms of aging, etc.

For those reasons, I totally like some previous generation cars like old Q7, Koleos, E class, X5 which i will buy again over their current generation cars anytime.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by coolmind

How about its support or functioning while moving an uphill sir?
Because we have a control over manual hand brake.

In X1 keep the eBrake engaged and car wont roll back. When you decide to move, slot gear in Drive and simply press the accelerator; car starts moving forward.

No need to time the move of disengaging handbrake and pressing accelerator.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

1) Obsolescence built-in. Things are made planning them to last only "as long as manufacturer desires often to the detriment of the consumer", as against "as long as optimally possible, for the benefit of the consumers & environment". This, to me, is almost a misuse of engineering prowess.

This is interesting. Do you mean to say that the parts / things fail at a pre-determined age? Can you please elaborate this by giving some examples?

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

This is interesting. Do you mean to say that the parts / things fail at a pre-determined age? Can you please elaborate this by giving some examples?

Largely, I'm more concerned about the mechanical aspects of a car so I'll avoid complaining about the electronic sensors or even the LCD infotainment systems.

A huge amount of parts in the engine compartment that would've lasted ages if it was metal instead of plastic (that becomes brittle over a few years resulting in cracks which lead to all kinds of issues). Example : Linea has a full rubber turbo hose which is more likely to develop a crack due to brittleness that comes with aging & this leads to power loss, whereas the Manza/Vista of the times had a hose that was partly metal & thus significantly less likely to develop leaks due to brittleness that comes with age.

This is just a small one-off example, there are plenty such parts in modern cars that could be better engineered to last a very long time, but they aren't and thus the customer has to return to the same brand to replace theese parts at a fairly huge mark-up.