The little things

Rroff · 17 Sep 2025 at 09:42

Nabinium said:
Not having to use a phone for navigation either is great too, as it's typically a sucker for battery.

Interestingly depends massively on the phone - my Sony will apparently do 50 hours of sat nav use if tweaked properly - I still had 88% battery left from full charge after just over 3 hours of driving using it for navigation the other day whereas my friend on an Samsung S24 or S25 was down to like 20%! doing the same route.

You can have it plugged in though.

sigma · 17 Sep 2025 at 10:23

Rroff said:
Interestingly depends massively on the phone - my Sony will apparently do 50 hours of sat nav use if tweaked properly - I still had 88% battery left from full charge after just over 3 hours of driving using it for navigation the other day whereas my friend on an Samsung S24 or S25 was down to like 20%! doing the same route.

You can have it plugged in though.

Does it weigh a lot and is it chunky though?

shifty_uk · 17 Sep 2025 at 10:30

Rroff said:
It is quite nice having the most pertinent navigation details show up on the dash like lanes to use, etc. which my newer vehicles do, but in places I'm completely unfamiliar with I still find having my phone mounted low right of my windscreen running Google Maps works even better. I have to admit I didn't think to do it until seeing someone else doing it and it was a game changer for me - not that the built in navigation was lacking.

Yep, would always recommend some forward planning on Google or Apple maps as they are way better at determining more straight forward routes.

The reason I don't use Car Play is simply because I prefer the more integrated experience, nav on both the centre console reflected on the dash.

It's a nice feature you take for granted. Same with anything really, tyre pressure monitors another big one.

Kenai · 17 Sep 2025 at 10:51

shifty_uk said:
The reason I don't use Car Play is simply because I prefer the more integrated experience, nav on both the centre console reflected on the dash.

That's a small improvement i've noticed on more recent cars - that the digital dash can show turn-by-turn instructions from CarPlay/AndroidAuto based navigation, even if not the full map visual itself.

Rroff · 17 Sep 2025 at 11:03

sigma said:
Does it weigh a lot and is it chunky though?

No the Sony Xperia phones are all around 190 grams and slimline.

SDK^ · 17 Sep 2025 at 11:41

Heated steering wheel and heated arm rest & door panels

Jonnycoupe · 17 Sep 2025 at 11:57

Kenai said:
That's a small improvement i've noticed on more recent cars - that the digital dash can show turn-by-turn instructions from CarPlay/AndroidAuto based navigation, even if not the full map visual itself.

Got it on the screen and dash in both my cars now. Apple Maps and Waze.

Nigel Kingdon · 17 Sep 2025 at 12:03

"+1 for the dedicated Sun glasses holder. Miss that from my old GTI"
Jaguar seem to have deleted them from their cars. All of my Jags up to the 2010 XK and 2013 XF had very neat glasses holder, usually in the roof lights panel which makes it easy to get to when you need them. Alternatives are proper rubbish 'clip on' stuff. I suspect if I manipulated an old one for the new cars, that would be something others would want.

DJMK4 · 17 Sep 2025 at 12:24

The BMW "seatbelt" pusher thingy (which catches the seatbelt and "hands" it to you, about 50% of the time) as you get in and sit down

Rroff · 17 Sep 2025 at 12:31

Nigel Kingdon said:
"+1 for the dedicated Sun glasses holder. Miss that from my old GTI"
Jaguar seem to have deleted them from their cars. All of my Jags up to the 2010 XK and 2013 XF had very neat glasses holder, usually in the roof lights panel which makes it easy to get to when you need them. Alternatives are proper rubbish 'clip on' stuff. I suspect if I manipulated an old one for the new cars, that would be something others would want.

I've found the roof panel glasses storage on several vehicles are a bit of a pain - after a few years the catch needs several attempts to latch up and the lid will randomly open and drop down while driving, especially over bumps, which means you either have to leave it flapping or attempt to close it while driving :s and/or repair or remove the lid entirely.

EDIT: Googling it for Jaguar to see what they looked like in comparison to cars I've experience of the first thing which came up was replacement latches so I guess it is for some reason a general problem and likely why they've been deleted from many newer vehicles.

RedMogg · 17 Sep 2025 at 19:07

Uther said:
That little heated seat button...

Perfect for chronic back pain, but mostly the 6 minute trip back from McD's drive-thru.

Alibaba99 · 17 Sep 2025 at 19:56

Funky-Melon said:
I no longer have them but all my previous Volvos used to have a tiny clip on the inside of the windscreen to hold your parking ticket.

Such a handy little thing that no other cars seem to have.

The Saab 9-5 also had one of these.

It also had double sun visors, so when the big one was across the screen there was a second smaller one that could cover the top of the drivers side window.

Gepetto · 17 Sep 2025 at 21:34

Back in 2000 my Mondeo had a heated screen, and I didn't realise how much I would miss it until I didn't have one.

And my XK had a heated wheel, which I really thought was a touch of luxury.

Conscript · Thursday at 09:13

A heated wheel. Always thought it was a bit of a gimmick. But on a winters morning, it's nice to get into a cold car and be able to drive without having to keep gloves on. Really wish I had one on my own car

Also...sunglasses holder.

Nigel Kingdon · Thursday at 10:34

Never had an issue with the jag glasses holder. A lot of my earlier jags are c. 20 yo XJ40 and X300, I'm guessing I got lucky with them not being used much.

And I would never have another car without a heated screen, so convenient.

Rroff · Thursday at 10:37

Conscript said:
A heated wheel. Always thought it was a bit of a gimmick. But on a winters morning, it's nice to get into a cold car and be able to drive without having to keep gloves on. Really wish I had one on my own car

Also...sunglasses holder.

I used to kind of laugh at the idea of a heated wheel and I don't like heated seats, but as I get older a heated wheel wouldn't go amiss especially as I can be out and about in the early hours, though a bit less so at the moment but that could change.

I dislike heated seats and the way they deliver heat to you though - I find it more comfortable when the environment temperature is raised rather than a specific source in close contact.

Conscript · Thursday at 10:42

Rroff said:
I used to kind of laugh at the idea of a heated wheel and I don't like heated seats, but as I get older a heated wheel wouldn't go amiss especially as I can be out and about in the early hours, though a bit less so at the moment but that could change.

I dislike heated seats and the way they deliver heat to you though - I find it more comfortable when the environment temperature is raised rather than a specific source in close contact.

I think they are more effective if the seats are leather and cold to the touch. My car has heated Ultrasuede seats, and while nice, tbh I'd rather have the wheel heated as I'm touching that with bare skin.

Rroff · Thursday at 10:50

Conscript said:
I think they are more effective if the seats are leather and cold to the touch. My car has heated Ultrasuede seats, and while nice, tbh I'd rather have the wheel heated as I'm touching that with bare skin.

I've got various vehicles with heated seats including full leather, Alcantara and cloth and find the experience the same - I hate the heat coming from that source vs the ambient temperature.

I've started hating anything which isn't half leather with Alcantara or suede on the main surface though, the full leather in the Navara just gets way too cold in winter and way too hot in summer while half leather seats still look great and provide good comfort.