I think that's the real issue, IMO filling a car full of buttons to press and settings to change [i]may not be conducive[/i] to getting idiots to concentrate on driving.In practice - well, inattentive people will always be inattentive about something,
and bluetooth kits prevent you faffing with your phone
I shook my head at a woman texting in her Freelander a few months back.
She started screaming at me that it was safe because the phone was on bluetooth so it was hands-free.
"But the phone's in your hand"
"NO, IT'S ON BLUETOOTH"
"But..."
"IT'S HANDS-FREE"
"But you're writing a text. With the phone in your hand"
"IT'S ON BLUETOOTH!"
🙄
So you're worried that people will be randomly pushing buttons for the hell of it? Really? Take climate control - you put it on 22C and you leave it there, it does everything for you. Without that, I'm frequently thinking 'oh I'm hot, I'm cold, my arms are cold, it's steaming up' etc and pressing buttons accordingly. So climate control results in far fewer distractions. Like most of these things imo.
Yeah, my car's pretty well specced considering it's age and price. Heated leather seats, heated windscreen, electric seats and mirrors, auto lights, auto wipers. But just normal aircon, not climate control. I'm regularly changing it because it's just a bit to cold or a bit too warm, climate control would mean setting it and leaving it.
Prius has climate control and is always spot on; the Passat doesn't and often needs tweaking. I'll be looking for climate when I get another car.
D0NK - MemberVondally's got a point, being able to spec your car exactly how you want it would be nice. All the driving stuff you want with the option to opt out of all the frippery you don't want.
I like that idea but I'm not a new car buyer and other people's extras are weird. My Focus had ABS as an option for more or less the same price as the 6-speed CD changer, apparently, guess which the first owner thought was more important? And the original owner of my current car had the option of parking sensors but chose massive dents instead.
Pillock who specced my Passat was too tight to spec the flappy paddle shifters for the auto box. They are only a couple of hundred 🙁
I find flappy paddles a bit rubbish - unless you are in full race mode and crossing arms, your hands are never in the correct position. I very rarely use mine.
me too, never have yet and quite probably never will, buy a new car so won't ever get the option to spec a car - just arguing the toss (as per) 🙂I like that idea but I'm not a new car buyer and other people's extras are weird.
I'm still waiting for the microwave glovebox option to heat up your Ginsters steak slice!
I find flappy paddles a bit rubbish - unless you are in full race mode and crossing arms, your hands are never in the correct position. I very rarely use mine.
Hmm. I sometimes use manual mode in the car, with the gearstick option which wouldn't be so bad except that to put it into manual mode you have to move it *away* from you which makes it a bit of a reach. One thing they didn't mirror for RHD cars.
The option I'd really really love, however, is a bin built into the car.
WIth a hatch underneath the car? 😉
Actually, I had a transit van that had this option, although it was more after market. I believe it was made by a company called Rust.
Hmm. I sometimes use manual mode in the car
I tried that on mine too but fortunately mine has a 'sport' option that just changes up at higher revs so if I ever want to be move along a bit faster I can just use that option - pull the stick down once to engage, pull it again to go back to normal gearing. It's great for getting away from busy junctions.
Sport mode on mine isn't great. Too noisy and too high revs. It wants to keep the turbo spinning all the time to get good throttle response, which is great, except it also downshifts really easily when you apply throttle which defeats the object of keeping the turbo spinning.
ahh right, mine doesn't behave like that, it just keeps revs up more - very distracting if just in traffic as it feels like it is simply in the wrong gear. But works great otherwise (Audi Steptronic BTW)
