[wheeler]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The Swift emits a coninuous beep tone if the lights are on with ignition off

I agree this feature is present in most cars. But this is more like a reminder to switch off the lights. Also, I find the beep annoying when I have to leave the parking lights on with the engine switched off. Even if it's for 5 minutes. Which is why I like the way it is done on the Palio. It does not cause any inconvenience to the people in the car.

Originally Posted by pradipk

Old vehicles which has 3 gears have gear pattern with Reverse placed at the position where most cars have their 1st gear. To avoid accidental engagement of Reverse, some of cars have provision to lift gear shift & then engage.
For eg. old Willis jeep could be engaged normally but Beetle provided lifting method while engaging into Reverse. In modern cars, Daewoo Cielo had the same gear pattern.

This may look odd but it was good feature to avoid accidental engagement of Reverse.

Opel Corsa too had this provision.

[mondymk3]

Another simple and lovely feature I loved in my "never owned" Skoda - the ORVM was a trapezoid divided vertically into 2 parts with a 75:25 ratio at the base. The latter part was more convex than the longer part of the mirror. It did 2 things - gave a far greater coverage of the rear view than a normal car with much smaller space.

I see this is their in my mondeo as well..works great..
Also there is a unique feature is have seen in mondeo that it's front windscreen also have a defogger which works amazing and the deffoger line are only visible from an angle in normal sitting position it is a clear glass. But i guess it's a costly affair as the heater is molded inside the glass itself..i'm yet to see this feature in any of high end vehichle till now..
Ambience light dimmer is amazing feature..which has just started to come in civic..i don't think it cost much..
Lighting is great inside the cabin..there is central light to light-up whole car along with light for each passenger which focus only on particular passenger like airplanes without disturbing other passenger.It is even available for driver and co driver seat.

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

My Pajero has a sliding pull out section in the flipdown/out sunshades fixed inside the car so when you pull them out and swivel them sideways to keep the sun out from the side windows, you can slide them out so that the shades then cover the entire length of the side window, to keep the sun out. Simple, cheap, and very doable.
But I haven't seen that in any car till now, and the Pajero is a 15 year old design! Ergonomics is an aggregation of many little things like this, that do not all have to cost the moon.

During my US days, my Mitsubishi Galant also had this slider piece in the sun shades and it truly was of great help to keep sun out.

[wheeler]

How about the auto dimming RVM? I have seen it on a lot of the top end versions of the cars but how much of a difference would it make WRT cost to have it on all models? Especially considering the fact that it is pretty useful.

Right now, most cars have the day/night RVM with a lever at the base. Flicking the lever will serve the purpose but I'm sure that most of us do it only when the light from the vehicle behind reflects off the mirror blinding the eye. And even after flicking the lever, the mirror will have to be adjusted slightly for proper angle of viewing. The auto dimming RVM eliminates all these hassles.

[throttleking]

now that the thread is on the right track, let me go back to the first feature you talked about ORVMs, even the Opta Magnum, Corolla and Ikon has it

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Just for arguments sake, how is this so helpful? In any case, the wipers would ensure that even water from a stream is utilized to cover the whole windscreen, isnt it?

Well suppose you have dirt/brid drop on one portion of winscreen which doesn't get the direct water from the windscreen washer nozzle. If there is spray, it wets the whole screen resulting in more effective cleaning with the least amount of water/solvent. All you need is different nozzle. Cost should not be more than a few hundred rupees

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by amit

Mercedes and now VW have the 'lane change indicator' - just tap the lever and the signals blink thrice and stop.

This is a good feature and also supposedly cheap to implement, so apt for the thread. It's also available on the Skoda Fabia and I doubt it's also available on the Tata Indica [in doubt because I don't remember too well using on my ex-Indica].

Originally Posted by amit

How about Blue&Me? It's a great feature to have.

It is, but it's probably pricey to be a common/simple feature.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by amit

How many here think that the Linea and Punto's ACC starting in fresh air mode everytime is a good feature. Latest ACI has a full page article on how car plastics and stale air are bad for health. The ACI article recommends us to keep A/C always in fresh air mode - not feasable in India though.

Also, Punto, VW wipers swipe thrice after the windshield washers are activated and then 6 seconds later another swipe to clear the trickles. Very useful feature.

...
Mercedes and now VW have the 'lane change indicator' - just tap the lever and the signals blink thrice and stop.

I agree with those that say that the rotary knob to adjust seat back is a good feature. My Palio S10 had them and they afford more minute adjustments then the more common lever's that we find today.

.

The A.C.C. in the Laura too uses fesh air mode when in 'auto'. I have always used my A/c. in fresh air mode except in peak summer when the temperature is above 40 deg. There is a perceptible difference and the fresh air mode is the winner. I think the automatic climate control switches between fresh air and recirculation automatically, I could be wrong though.

That last swipe by the wiper is an absolute winner!

When you say VW, I presume you included Skoda as the Laura has the lane change indicator and that feature on the wiper.

I too love the rotary knobs for seat adjustment much better than the levers for precision positioning. Another great feature that the front seats of the Uno had was a stepped rail - which moved the seat up and down.

Cheers,

[lamborghini]

All ACC that I have encountered start off with the fresh air mode and then have to be put in re-circulate.

@Mayavi: That feature isnt present in the E Class sold in India. Heck, it doesn't even have full-auto seats!

@diffsoft: I completely agree with you on the convex shape of the Skodas mirror. However, it is only there on the right side and not on the Left ORVM. Even Mercedes has it only on the right. This creates serious blindspots for me when I drive the Combi. However, they have provided a larger rearview mirror which is very helpful.

[architect]

Some simple features on my Palio Stile Multijet which I find convenient. Some of them exist on other cars as well, and most of these are simple mechanical / electromechanical stuff:

a. "Lift up" ring below gear knob for engaging reverse. Have to remind the parking attendant / valet everytime, though.

b. AC blower works at "lowest of low" settings even where the blower is "Off" but the AC button in "ON".

c. You cannot lock yourself out of the car with the keys inside.

d. Dead Pedal.

e. You cannot withdraw the key from ignition without locking the steering.

f. Short and Long remote opening lever for tailgate and fuel filler so that you don't have to look down.

g. Power Window Switches and other switches are lit up with LEDs always, even in the daytime, if the ignition is on. Only dashboard lights are dependant on headlamps.

g. All electricals are switched off by switching off the ignition, even the brake lights. For parking lights, there is a separate position beyond off / lock position.

h. Wash and Wipe positions on the wiper stalk are independant of each other. So you can pour the exact amount of water you want on the windscreen before you wipe. Unlike the Alto at home, where the wiper moves with a pre-fixed delay after wash. Six adjustable nozzles, three on
each side on the bonnet.

Another one, though this could be controversial, though:

j. Rear wiper / wash nozzle are not on windscreen but on the body. If your version doesn't have it, you can simply add it later because the holes are covered by rubber caps and you don't have to replace with a new windshield. Even the switches upfront are the same, only wiring needs to be activated.

Sadly, the rotary seat incline adjustment has been discontinued in the Multijet. The petrol Palio Stile still has them.

[CliffHanger]

Being very tall, I found the long driver seat travel in my Punto to be very useful, one of the reasons to buy this baby. I find almost all sub 10L cars lack this feature.

With the current generation being taller than those of previous generations, I think manufacturers should move up the average height on which they work upon to build a car.

[jossyphil]

Don't know anybody mention this here. I've seen a unique feature in fiat cars, the way door closes. Door closes step-by-step in two stage, which is a very good safety features.

Regards
Jossy

[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

[amit]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

All ACC that I have encountered start off with the fresh air mode and then have to be put in re-circulate.

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.

VW's have a 4 way adjustable arm rest which is also great. I guess Laura has it too.