Your favourite car gadget/spec

[xs2man]

Cruise control and bluetooth.

They are the two "must haves". Whether they are factory fitted or retrofitted. I also much prefer a car with rear parking sensors, but may not actually bother to retrofit them if a car doesn't have them.

Audio is also a big plus. If a car has uprated speakers, I love that. But I am not adverse to fitting better speakers if it's easy enough to do. Most of the older cars I buy I generally swap out the headunit for something with more power, and bluetooth.

 

[chroniclard]

300+ bhp.

 

[Housey]

I think AC would be my choice as I recall how crap summer months could be without it on business. First car I had with AC was an old A4 I think.

 

[Howard]

Climate control is essential for me. Would never own a car without it. Good audio is also very important. As are xenons. Front and rear parking sensors are very handy no matter how good you are at parking.

 

[adolf hamster]

V10ness

well, i think this has just ended the thread....

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Climate seats are pretty epic.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Mine has central locking so that when one door is unlocked all the others unlock too. So probably that.

 

[SlyReaper]

Keyless entry with keyless ignition. No need to fish the keys out of my pocket, I just stroll up to my car, get in, and press a button to start. Something about starting a car with a button instead of a key appeals to my inner nine-year-old.

 

[tom_nieto]

Heated seats. How I've managed without these before is a total mystery!

Switchable sports exhaust is also very nice!

 

[agw_01]

Loved having rear PDC in the ZT. The sloping boot makes it quite tricky to see where it ends but they make parking it a doodle... Especially with tight on road parking.

Going to fit them to the Impreza if I can find a decent (maybe hidden) kit. Most of the aftermarket kits look incredibly cheap.

Cruise and climate control are nice too.

 

[Tee Hee Johnson]

I like auto lights

 

[Roland Butter]

The OP's top three were standard on my Chrysler, but now I got a low spec Merc, and I do miss all three.

I got to dip the headlights manually and put a key in the ignition, how bloody victorian is that ?

The seat memory was great too, takes me ages to get that sweet spot seat position if I move the seat back for whatever reason.
.....ooooh, and the dipping door mirror in reverse.

Why did I get rid of the Chrysler is the question I ask myself, oh yeah, the PAS was utter *****.

 

[SoliD]

Stupid little thing on the works mazda 6 I love is the capability to drop the rear seats using the toggles from the boot. Saves going round opening rear doors and doing it from back seats.

Lot of stuff such as parking sensors is all standard nowadays, so hard to park without them nowadays... Auto gearbox is a must for about 98per cent of driving. Would only consider manual on something that's purely for fun. Auto dimming rear view is a necessity for something so simple.

Proper toy tho is radar cruise. Absolutely fantastic for the joy that is our road network.

 

[Mysterae_]

Something that sounded quite gimmicky but is actually very useful is Connected Drive from BMW. Being able to ventilate the car 15 minutes or whatever before setting off, checking that it's locked, locating it in an unfamiliar large carpark at night (by location map or making the lights flash), sending destinations to the satnav ahead of the trip; all this from my mobile phone is great.

 

[robj20]

Things i love in my mondeo.

Auto Lights + full beam
Auto wipers
Speed sign recognition
Electronic parking brake
sensors front as well as back

But one thing i would really miss is heated windscreen, hilarious watching everyone on the street either scraping or using warm water, i get in press a button wait 30 seconds then off i go.

Really like the full digital dash as well, no needles in sight. Using Forscan i can add all sorts.

 

[adolf hamster]

Proper toy tho is radar cruise. Absolutely fantastic for the joy that is our road network.

i'll admit to wanting to try that, as it's amazing how much you have to fiddle with the speed setting to keep consistent distance behind people.

never looked into it, but possible maybe able to retro-fit it, of course as i've learned reading BMW options lists is a rabbit hole people with limited funds shouldn't jump down....

 

[Oxide™]

Keyless entry and start as long as it's done properly (e.g. BMW, and not Mazda, who lock the door as soon as you close it, meaning you need to unlock it again to open the rear door............)

Heads-up Display - speaks for itself really.

Cooled seats - you'd think it'd be a gimmick but they're really nice!

I'd like to add adaptive cruise, but I've never tried it.

I'm pretty much the above.
My previous company car (Lexus IS300h) had ventilated seats which would have been awesome this past heatwave as arriving to work with sweaty back isn't ideal. Also missing the memory seats as car wash people always fiddle with the settings.

Since new company car (new Prius) I wouldn't now be able to live without:

HUD - hardly need to move eyes from the windscreen

Adaptive cruise - I still can't get over how unbelievably good this is - set it at 80mph and just drive in fast lane until someone wants to overtake, stops and goes automatically in slow traffic etc, (even adjusts distance to lead car depending on speed) I reckon if I turned the lane departure auto steering to max strength it would probably steer itself (must test!) told the missus I'm currently the dumbest thing in the car!

Parking sensors/reverse camera - my spatial awareness is terrible (does a man admit this?)

 

[adam cool dude]

Night panel. Having key ignition in the middle and reverse lockout for parking.

 

[wesley]

Headrest so I can sleep while driving

 

[Jamesyboyjim]

Power steering!

Can't be dealing with cars that don't have a/c either!

In terms of luxuries I like but could potentially live without, Bluetooth music / calls and DAB. I do like some of the digital stations. Cruise control is an ankle saver too on the motorway!