In the last few years, the number of comfort and convenience-enhancing features that vehicles in the mainstream segments of the car market offer have increased. Most of the additions to the equipment list are highly useful and enhance the overall driving experience. Interestingly, however, not all of the features are worth the hype. Here is a look at 5 such features that could be ignored.
1. Keyless Push Button start
The push button engine start/stop feature is now available in many cars. Usually, it is restricted to the top-spec trim of a model and is often advertised as a 'must-have' for enhancing the overall convenience. Frankly, it is hardly worth the premium. While this feature, coupled with the passive keyless entry system, enables the user to unlock his car and turn on the ignition without using the key, we feel that it's no Herculean task to turn on the engine using the key. Hence, the presence of this feature hardly makes a difference to the user experience.
2. Automatic Headlamps
This is another feature that has trickled down to top-spec trims of the mainstream cars from the luxury models. Basically, auto headlamps employ a light sensor that turns on the headlights upon detecting darkness. Again, this is a totally overhyped feature as one shouldn't be behind the wheel if he can't sense the need to use the headlamps. All it requires to turn on the headlamps of a car is a flick of a finger, and hence, it makes little sense to pay extra for something that takes no extra effort.
3. Sunroof
The popularity of sunroofs has sky-rocketed in recent years. People are willing to pay up much more for a feature that is utterly pointless in the Indian conditions. A sunroof is highly impractical as the climate conditions in India remain quite extreme almost throughout the year and there's enough sunlight in the day. So, basically, there's hardly ever a good time to open the sunroof to experience the weather outside. Plus, most Indian cities have been suffering from hazardous pollution levels, thereby further minimising the practicality quotient of a sunroof.
4. Touch sensitive HVAC controls
While touchscreen interfaces for infotainment systems make a lot of sense, we can't say the same for touch-sensitive HVAC controls. True, the touch controls look pretty cool, but they can get quite cumbersome and unsafe to use. Most drivers can quickly change the HVAC settings using physical knobs and buttons without removing their eyes from the road ahead, but operating touch-controllers requires more focus. Hence, the driver tends to get distracted toggling screens, thereby increasing the chances of a mishap.
5. Automatic wipers
Automatic wipers can detect water on the windshield and turn on automatically. Like the auto headlamps, this is a totally overhyped feature as it hardly takes any effort to turn on the wipers manually.
