Your favorite features...what goes in your perfect car?

[Pritch]

Ive been driving quite a few cars lately and in every one I tend to find some unique or rare feature that I wish was available on other models.

From cars anyone on here has driven, which features would you "pull out" and install on your "perfect car" if it were so easy.

Ill go first


MY IDEOLOGICAL PERFECT CAR: 2 doors, 2 seats, sunroof or convertible

Features I wish I could grab for it:

The "rest" button i found in the crossfire SRT6- keeps the heat pumping for you while you do groceries or work out at the gym so the car is warm when you come back

Automatic Wipers I found these in the mazda 3 sport, and they do a great job without needing any driver input

Outside Temperature Display- this is more common than the first two, but i think all cars should have it


finally

I know some may disagree but I love the steering wheel mounted audio controls Mazda usually provides.


You can get any car with a CD player and power locks, but its the not so standard features which make them more enjoyable.

What are everyones favorites?

[airbalancer]

I really like our 323 CIC
Has a rear seat so you can take the grandkids in the car
Windscreen is a must, keep the wind down with the top up.
The only mistake I made should got a 330 CIC it would have all toys

[jww]

Really like sports sedans/sport hatches/sport wagons with:
auto-levelling audio system
wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls
auto headlights
tilt-telescopic adjustable steering wheel
heated, electric leather seating w/lumbar support
fully active (including forward tilting) front headrests
electric heated & adjustable rear-view mirrors
tilt-full open moonroof
EBD is nice as is traction control

Keeping the vehicle cool or warm when away for short periods of time is very cool indeed. I have never had auto windscreen wipers, but think it's one of those things you could become very used to very quickly.

jww

[Pritch]

one other feature I would care for.....a traction control system you can turn off

[jww]

one other feature I would care for.....a traction control system you can turn off
Agreed = as well, it'd be nice if you could termporarily turn ABS off as well - it's not always the best to use.

jww

[Pritch]

Im glad im not the only one- I was reviewing a $70,000 car 2 weeks ago and the traction control, even when off, on a test track, wouldnt allow you to get away with very much of anything. A $70,000 car that says NO to you??


Oh, another feature I like too, tire pressure monitoring!

[The General]

My list:

4-door sedan or wagon
AWD
Turbo
6-speed manual or DSG
Suede / Alcantara seats, power adjustable, heated
NO sunroof
Dual zone climate control
ESP and traction control (fully deactivate-able)
17" wheels or bigger
Outside temperature gauge + compass
Fat-ass brakes
Tilt-telescopic steering (no buttons on wheel)
Race pedals (for heel and toe)
Adjustable suspension

Basically, an EVO IX, an S4, an STi or a WRX.

[Pritch]

nice list general

i could deviate from my 2 seater preference for one of those. I also like huge fast sedans too.... use your imagination

why no sunroof? (Weight?)

[The General]

why no sunroof? (Weight?)

Weight, leaks, I don't like sun on my head. Too much light in the cabin throws off my concentration...

Oh yeah, and a minimum of 250 hp.

[Pritch]

250 horsepower minimum huh.. More than adequate.

Im going to add to my list here

A keyless entry system, like the one Mazda uses. Throw the key card into your pocket and you never have to fish around for your keys ever. Just puch a button on the door to lock / unlock, and you can even use it to roll the windows up and down.

I didnt know the car had it but I was delighted when the girl at Mazda showed me how to use it. Slick stuff.

[The General]

While you're at it:

A Start button
HID Xenon headlights
Fog lights
Intelligent key system

[jww]

I really like the keyless entry systems now bounding into the marketplace. With Suzuki making it available with the loaded Grand Vitara, you wonder how long before we see it get further acceptance in the mid to lower end range of the market. Infiniti/Nissan have had intelligent keys for at least a couple of years now on the Murano, FX series and others. Lexus has it's Start button and other manufacturers of high end luxury vehicles are following suit.

However, with the advancements in technology, I do admit to wondering how long it will take for hackers and virus writers to turn their focus on breaking the security coding on these nifty little gadgets and making them available via black-market to aspiring Grand Theft Auto wannabes. And if they do, what will the impact be on the insurance coverage for models that offer the feature?

Still - even with the gloom and doom forecast, I do admit that they are really neat - I like the feature alot, just worried about the potential for increased theft.

jww

[Pritch]

you know what

tonight i was at a friends place and we were in the driveway looking at the MS6 and she took her keychain out to unlock her car. (Cavalier)

Now...no one is going to believe me, and I have no reason to lie but here goes.

Her remote UNLOCKED the MS6. Only did it once but it unlocked the thing. There is no way it went off by mistake in my pocket, you have to really lean on that button to make it work.

I wonder how these would be thieves could do their trick to get into "keyless" cars. I know nothing about it but I would assume given the ease of theft, one would best try their luck at an older vehicle without the system. Imagine the time and money to be able to scan new car keyless systems..

[jww]

... Imagine the time and money to be able to scan new car keyless systems..
While I hope we haven't given some kook the idea of hacking into remotes for cars, something inside tells me that someone somewhere is burning the midnight oil trying to figure out how the algorythm generation factors work in car remotes.

jww

[woohoo!]

why no sunroof? (Weight?)

Weight, leaks, I don't like sun on my head. Too much light in the cabin throws off my concentration...

Wuss.

[woohoo!]

I need:

Wagon practicality
Manual tranny
Low-end torque
Automatic up/down feature for all windows
heated seats
curb feelers
A/C
MP3-capable sound system
Alloy wheels (hubcaps s**k)

[The General]

Wuss.

How many cars have you owned with a sunroof that was 6 years old or older?

Talk to me after you've had rust fixed and water leaks plugged :roll:

[woohoo!]

Wuss.

How many cars have you owned with a sunroff that was 6 years old or older?

Talk to me after you've had rust fixed and water leaks plugged :roll:

Wuss.

[The General]

Wuss.

How many cars have you owned with a sunroof that was 6 years old or older?

Talk to me after you've had rust fixed and water leaks plugged :roll:



By the way, you can't even quote me properly...

Wuss.

[snoproblem]

Count me in as a fast fan of keyless entry, it really lessens the chance of leaving an unlocked vehicle. I do hope they are secure, though.

Can anyone tell me which vehicles automatically shut down the headlights if you leave them on, after parking? I had a panic attack at work on Boxing day, and ran to the car to check.

They weren't on, thank God. :roll:

[The General]

Can anyone tell me which vehicles automatically shut down the headlights if you leave them on, after parking?

There are tons of them...

All Chryslers, many Fords, some Mazdas...

[jww]

Count me in as a fast fan of keyless entry, it really lessens the chance of leaving an unlocked vehicle. I do hope they are secure, though.

Can anyone tell me which vehicles automatically shut down the headlights if you leave them on, after parking? I had a panic attack at work on Boxing day, and ran to the car to check.

They weren't on, thank God. :roll:
Add to the growing list a number of vehicles which include fully automatic headlights. This is one of those niceties that is hard to be without once you have had it on a car. Essentially this feature manages ambient light and turns your headlights on or off as required when driving. It is an excellent feature and one that I will miss when we replace our 02 Altima in the coming 6 months.

Most high-end luxury cars have it now as standard, and some others including the Nissan Altima and Maxima to name just a couple.

Notwithstanding, many new cars have what is called auto-off headlights which means you can leave them on all the time and they extinguish automatically when you turn off your car and remove the key. Even the Tuscon and Sportage have this feature. To me, this is a best-situation scenario if you can't afford a car with full auto-headlights.

jww

[snoproblem]

Oh, I thought it it was still mostly a luxury car thing. That's good to know. Thank, guys.

[kilby]

Simple....everything is getting too complicated, the perfect car would be a BMW325 with sport suspension, sport seats,sunroof, air and precious little else, it would be light, fun to drive and reliable without I-drives, map guides, auto level shocks etc....

[era174]

.......

[Pritch]

Gah...safety

what happened to the days when peoples driving skill was enough. I hate all stupid ESP ETC VDC bla bla bla junk- especially when you cant turn it off.

Was out a few months back in a crossfire SRT6 and you cant turn it off. Seventy grand and it says no to you.


Pritch

[kilby]

All the bells and whistles are great when the vehicle is new, sometimes the first 5000 kilometres can be the worst. But if you are the poor busterd that buys the car or truck when it's out of warranty. . .watch out. I don't know domestic cars well, but people are still buying beautiful Audis for $1800 and then finding that they need $3000 or more of electrical work, and when thats done its still worth $1800. I have heard many tales of loaded Tauraus, Caravans, F-150's, Eclipse etc, mostly ones with all the "options"

[KaPtNk]

Sunroof is a MUST
along with AWD
Turbo/Supercharger
Manual or SMG


:roll:

[gaxman]

See Dodge Caliber
Small but macho
good 4 Cyl
CVT
high driving position without giving up compact and efficient size
if golf clubs lay flat and sideways i'm done looking