[DRC]

Interesting thread here....
Feature I am a fan of
1. key assembly which prevents cranking when engine is already running (Fiat)
2. Switch off headlights when key is removed (Fiat), as Wheeler already mentioned
3. independent key positions for wiper and washer (many cars have them integrated and wiper goed off immediately after the washer is turned on scratching the glass)
4. fuel cut off in case of crash (fiat)
5. 12V outlet in boot (swift)

Features I get annoyed of
1. peeeeeee alarm when you remove the key when the lights are on. May be good reminder, but I prefer rather it turns off the lights instead

[diabloo]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

2) The steering wheel locks in the center position, so that the parking attendant can push a locked car without problems - this is a problem in my NHC

Steering locks when you remove key & turn the steering wheel. It can be in any position. Actually I couldn't get where the problem is. BTW, people usually employ hand brake while parking.

3) You can open a locked door in a single action - this is again a problem in the NHC since I have turn my body to unlock the car (lock is located towards the B-pillar) and then operate the door separately using the handle located towards the A-pillar

This was in early NHCs. In later (after 2007), there is door unlock button near the window lock button, which is ergonomically easier.

8) I wish every car came with four-lens headlamps. I find the momentary black-out while changing from low-beam to high-beam in my NHC quite irritating.

I have never seen a black-out in stock. Is it an after-fitment?

[vipul_singh]

@diabloo: I am sorry, some of the points in my post were not clear. To clarify your points:

1) In my 2006 NHC (City ZX) although I am able to remove the key in any position, the bolt of the steering lock does not engage with the steering wheel/column unless the steering wheel is off-center position. In parking lots where I have to leave the car in neutral and the steering wheel in center position (to allow pushing in a straight line by the parking attendant), it means that the steering wheel lock is not actually engaged. In the palio, the bolt engages even when the wheels are in 'straight-ahead' position.
2) I my 2006 NHC, door lock is slightly behind the driver while the operating handle is at the front. Good that they fixed it in the 2007 NHC. But FIAT's solution is still more elegant since they have a single lever for both locking and operating the door
3)This is a minor point, but in cars with two headlamps, when moving from low-to-high beam (or vice versa) there is a blip due to one element in the bulb turning off and the other turning on at the same time. With four headlamps, the low beam is on all the time, and only the main beam is turned on or off. I agree, this is probably an irritation only for those who drive a car with 4 lamps (Palio) and move to one with two (NHC)

[lamborghini]

I noticed something quite useful in the Mercedes E270 CDi which I am sure can be incorporated into other cars.
In the Merc, say when I have stopped on the side of the road and have put on my hazards, and after doing whatever I had to, want to join the main road again, I give my right indicator. In most cars, when I give my right indicator, the hazards will continue blinking, but in the Merc when i give the indicator, the hazard lights turn off and only the right indicator blink.

[man23ish]

Some Features from Palio, i found very useful -

1. Seperate Lamps for high and low beams (4-Lamps) - I found this feature very useful while shifting from low-beams to high-beams and vice-versa. On my old-1990 Toyota Camry, had moments of anxiousness while shifting beams due to black-outs, especially while driving at nights. And we are not even talking of luxury cars, only Fiat provides this feature on its economy Palio cars.

2. Lifting of Gear Knob, while engaging Reverse Gear - Again, a pretty neat, simple and effective technique to avoid engaging reverse when down-shifting from the 5th to the 4th gear.

3. Shutdown of all electricals when you switch remove the key: This includes switching off the stereo, AC, Head-lights and all the other things except for the Cabin-Light.

4. Cannot lock the car with the key inside: This has both positives as well as negatives, to think of the positives, i just remember the countless times that i've been locked out of my car leaving the key inside. This has happened on a Toyota Corolla and Echo, Pontiac SunFire and Firebird vehicles. On the negative side, it is easy to steal the vehicle if you leave the key inside. However, this hasn't happened so far.

5. Integrated switch on the cabin-lamp: Again a neat trick to avoid searching for the switch levers, just press the cabin-lamp into one of the three positions to get the required settings.

6. Staggered door openings on Palio:

Features from other vehicles:
7. The puddle-lamps on the Safari Vx Models: I think those are very cool and a must on the higher models.

8. The automatic Seat-Belts that i had on my 1990 Toyota Camry were really cool. You get into the car and turn on the ignition and the seat-belt slider would automatically fasten the seat-belt around the chest. There was no Waist-belt unlike the clip versions, but then it was very convenient and comfortable for pregnant women to sit on the front seat and not be bothered with the belt going over the waist.

9. Cruise control on 1990 Toyota Camry: I guess i am moving onto exotic features, and cruise control might not be very useful in India as on date, but i guess with more and more express ways coming up and travel by road becoming a definite option, it would be a handy feature.

10. Audio controls on the Steering, I had seen these on a Buick and i was really impressed with them. Avoids the need to reach out to the stereo set.

11. Steering column mounted auto-transmission gear: This one came as a surprise on an old dodge car, i had rented this one in 2000 and it was a 1980s model. The reason why this car lingers on in the mind is because it reminded me of the old Amby's and Fiat 1100s Sofa Seat in the front. But with the automatic transmission, you can easily get a 5-speed plus reverse gears and no hassles with shifting of gears. And you can easily accomodate 3-people on the front seat as well.

12. Central Dash on Toyota-Echo: This was a year 2000 design and the centrally mounted console avoided the distraction while driving at nights. Also, the dash was with white-background with no glowing numbers and needles as opposed to black dash with red colored needles and red glowing numbers on Pontiac Sunfire and Firebird vehicles.

More after further comments.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Nice thread.

In the fiesta, the hazard lights automatically flash a few times if someone opens any of the doors while the car is still in motion (even if moving very slow).
cya
R

Gosh, I never knew about this feature! Gotta give it a try.

Originally Posted by amit

Not all of them. My SX4 ACC doesn't start off in fresh air mode. It remember's the last setting and starts accordingly.

Another good feature in some cars is when you have press the clutch to start the car. I don't think it's that expensive to implement in all cars.

The auto cut off for rear defogger after a pre-fixed amount of time is also good but not found in all cars even today.

I'd prefer my car to remember the last setting for the ACC, like in the SX4. My pal owns an Embera and does not use auto mode on the ACC because it keeps going into fresh air mode at places where the outside air stinks.

Keeping clutch depressed as a pre-condition to start the car is there in the Elantra and the Sonata, and probably in other Hyundai models.

The Fiesta has a auto cut off for the rear defogger after 10 minutes.

Originally Posted by diabloo

I think that sort of design is called Fastback

Well, do they call the boot of a Dzire a 'Kickback' ---just kidding.

[Speed Pujari]

The door lock and open lever is integrated in the same lever in Palio. i.e. you dont have separate levers for both functionality. Press the door open lever inwards and door is locked. I find it very handy.

Second thing is the increasing wiper speed when you use the spring switch. If you keep the wiper switch up for a while the speed of wiper gradually increases to max. I think not many have noticed it as people pull the lever upward only for single round wiping.

[vipul_singh]

Quite a few posts on the Palio (a 2001 launch here). Goes to show that FIAT had a good thing going when they launched it.

Too bad they could not get the whole package (Car+Service+Perceived economy) right.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

....In most cars, when I give my right indicator, the hazards will continue blinking, but in the Merc when i give the indicator, the hazard lights turn off and only the right indicator blink.

Lovely!

However, some of these "great features" also can be a liability sometimes.
eg. If the indicator stalk is touched by mistake when the car is parked with hazards on etc.... and as below :

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

The door lock and open lever is integrated in the same lever .... Press the door open lever inwards and door is locked. I find it very handy.

Indeed a nice 1-motion way to do it. Its convenient, logical and quick, however, the downside is that (if childlock is not on -- which in 95% of the cases it isn't) its WAY easier for a small child to accidentally open the door.

cya
R

[cnaganathan]

1. Beeper for Seatbelt - starts 60 seconds after you start the engine and keeps beeping for 90 seconds. Annoys you so much that you end belting up. (But alas! they did it only for the driver's belt)
2. Courtesy lights - cabin lights stay on for 60 seconds or until you have inserted the key. Great help at night.
3. Boot light
4. Two 12V outlets one in the front and another on the rear blower console.
5. Wiper operation in wash mode - 3 swipes for removing the sprayed water and then a single swipe 15 seconds later - wipes of water that dribbles down from the earlier pass.
6. Auto shut off for rear defogger
7. Headlamps switched off when the key is removed
8. Hazard lights flash when doors are open and ignition key is not removed.
9. one touch winding down for power windows
10. Aircon outlet inside glove box - helps keep soft drinks / water from becoming warm - very useful on long runs.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by throttleking

One more interesting feature in Ford Ikon

Seat recliners are roller nobs unlike other car once you pull the recliner it sets the seat free then you can move it forward and backward to adjust accordingly, however in Ikon it doenst set the seat free, move the roller backward and forward to adjust the seat recline. The benefit is you can do this even while driving, and you get the precise position as you want. Very usefull!

Its for safety so that when you are adjusting while driving, you dont fall back and lose control

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

In the fiesta, the hazard lights automatically flash a few times if someone opens any of the doors while the car is still in motion (even if moving very slow).

I am not sure is this is a car specific feature, as this same feature is there on my car as well (Ikon). I assume this is part of the Autocop system i have on my car. Can anyone who hasnt installed remote locking confirm this?

[lightpower]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

...
Second thing is the increasing wiper speed when you use the spring switch. If you keep the wiper switch up for a while the speed of wiper gradually increases to max. I think not many have noticed it as people pull the lever upward only for single round wiping.

I never knew this. Let me try it out.

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

The door lock and open lever is integrated in the same lever in Palio. i.e. you dont have separate levers for both functionality. Press the door open lever inwards and door is locked. I find it very handy.

Wasn't this already present in the erstwhile Padmini's and Ambassadors, with the difference being that you push the lever towards the floor for locking and pull towards the roof for opening the door. I agree that the direction of motion has changed and the levers are nicely tucked out of your movement area. but the feature itself is ancient.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by DRC

Interesting thread here....
Feature I am a fan of
1. key assembly which prevents cranking when engine is already running (Fiat)
2. Switch off headlights when key is removed (Fiat), as Wheeler already mentioned
3. independent key positions for wiper and washer (many cars have them integrated and wiper goed off immediately after the washer is turned on scratching the glass)
4. fuel cut off in case of crash (fiat)
5. 12V outlet in boot (swift)

Hey DRC, good collection of points.

Point 1 is indeed very useful. I've had 2 experiences where such a feature could have saved the day. One was in a friend's brand new Spark where the engine was so silent that I didnt realize it was turned on and kept cranking. The second was while taking TD of the Cedia.

Point 2 is pretty standard in most cars today, save Tatas.

Point 3 is debatable. I for one prefer an integrated wiper/washer system.

Point 4 is again very very useful and should be made mandatory.

Point 5 I do not understand. For what do you require an electrical connection in the boot?

Originally Posted by man23ish

Wasn't this already present in the erstwhile Padmini's and Ambassadors, with the difference being that you push the lever towards the floor for locking and pull towards the roof for opening the door. I agree that the direction of motion has changed and the levers are nicely tucked out of your movement area. but the feature itself is ancient.

Yes the feature was present in Padminis and Ambys. In the Padmini the lock mechanism was as you described. In the Amby the lever was perpendicular to the ground. You had to push it away from you to lock, and pull it toward you to unlock.

Personally, I dont see any value addition between ancient levers and current door unlocking systems.