These Are The Best Features On Your Car

We all know the general shape of A Car–four tires, a number of doors, and a body for holding in the driver, passengers and all the little features automakers work so tirelessly to develop to make their cars stand out from the rest. While body design and engine proportions are what likely initially draws owners to a car, those little goodies are the extra spice that can make a merely pretty car a great one. It’s clear from your answers to our question “What’s The Best Feature On Your Car?” that there’s no time limit for great ideas. 

The cliche “cars are now just rolling computers!” was lame back in 2013 when I started in this biz and, while many of you pointed to the latest and greatest tech as your favorite car feature, some folks looked to the past. Real knobs, well-designed seats, and hidden storage were all valued by a few readers over the latest advanced driver assistance systems. One commenter even brought up his 1955 Chevy Bel-Air has having the best feature around. Talk about taking a trip to the past! 

Scroll through and check out the great features you might be missing out on.

Tie, between ventilated seats, and Android Auto. I will never buy another car that doesn’t have them. Including the various attempts by Tesla, GM, etc. to insert their own infotainment OS to steal my data with and/or siphon more money out of me. I already pay for a data plan and I expect to be able to use it in my car.

From Michael Smith

It still has big. fat, tactile knobs for climate and audio that don’t make me go through menus or take my eyes off the road. Also, the seats. It’s such a mundane thing, but I’ve found Volvo’s seats to be supremely comfortable on long trips, especially for having lower back problems.

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Volvo has chiropractors assist with their seat designs. And they earn their pay every single day. We used to have an XC70 that lasted for ages, and road trips were so comfortable in those seats. I’d be tempted to find one of those seats and modify it into an office chair…

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Quality – highly adjustable seats. As an old man with a bad back THIS makes all the difference on road trips. Heated and cooled always a bonus. Last car was comfortable for about 3 hours. I can drive all day in the new one.  

From Funky Dynamite, Xavier96 and Joe Luxa

It took a long time to get used to it, but I now love the backup camera. Still need to use the side mirrors, but the camera makes a huge difference in safety.

Best feature on no-longer-my-car: the air cooled seats on the SAAB 9-5 (I think starting on the 2001 model?) So nice; I love them even in wintertime.

From MMOSB

The HUD in my X3. It’s a textbook case of a feature I didn’t care about one bit until I had it.

From GreySpace

Subaru’s AWD system. I’ve gotten through plenty of semi-rough terrain, sandy beaches, and bad weather in the basic front wheel drive car that terrifies suburban Americans, but that can require a high-level focus on the exact path to follow. Especially the muddy, washed out, temporary construction entrances I get rentals through. However, in the Subaru, any of that stuff is an easy, relaxing jaunt that I can just mosey right on through.

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this last weekend I was up north camping and found a gravel road I wanted to explore. That gravel road became a 2-track, which became an abandoned road overgrown with weeds and huge mudholes… The subaru did it with zero complaint and then comfortably and efficiently drove me 3 hours back home on the freeway.

From engineerthefuture and Buckfiddious

One of the most overlooked features of EV’s is that you can go into the app and activate climate control and set the temperature even when blocks away. In the extreme heat and extreme cold, this has been amazing. The “remote start” of ICE vehicles doesn’t even compare. I think this feature alone could sell more EV’s.

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Agree!!! We have a rule when eating out: when we get the check, turn on the A/C or heat (if needed). Perfect timing to cool off or heat up the car.

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Auto-temp control. Just set your temp and you’re good to go. No constant fiddling with temp/fan speed. No wondering why you’re freezing/sweltering only to suddenly realize you forgot to turn the heat/AC on.

From Seth Albaum and DieselOx and Crucial Taunt

My ’55 Bel-Air has a floor-mounted high beam switch. I absolutely love the feature as it’s really intuitive and fun to use.

From Sector7GWagen

I’m not a fan of automatics, but the DSG in the new S3, I swear, is reading my mind as well as a left foot on the clutch and right hand on the manual shifter ever would. It’s impossible to catch it napping or to have it suddenly end up in the wrong gear. And the wide open throttle shifts are instant. Milliseconds. I wish there was a manual transmission option with the car, but I’ve been very pleased with the DSG and the paddles if I want to fire up launch control.

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The DSG is excellent, but it is possible to catch it out, at low speeds, e.g. in stop-and-go traffic, or if you don’t come to a 100% complete stop at a stop sign or right-on-red, etc.

From Xavier96 and Michael Smith

The $40 wireless CarPlay adapter I bought for my Miata. (Would be great in any car, of course). There’s so little room on the center console for a phone and cable so being able to leave the phone in a pocket or throwing it on the passenger seat is a well-appreciated convenience.

From BuddyS

2023 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid. I’ll rank my top three favorite features, as I can’t pick one. I have never had a truck before and was just reserving cars/trucks during the pandemic hoping to get something MSRP to replace a very old and high mileage Mazda 3. Lucked out with the Ford coming through first.

The bed design. Lots of tie down spots. Bed design lets you compartmentalize cheaply with some cut lumber. And a somewhat useful power outlet.

Folding rear bench seat with storage. I keep all kinds of useful stuff in there. Love that design.

Sensible HVAC and AV controls. Tactile and easy to use without taking my eyes off the road. Reminds me a little bit of the Mazda controls, which I think are among the best designed.

From Lar Mul