Least Coveted Car Features
Each year, automakers release their lineups with innovative tech, new features, and better powertrains. Some vehicle features, though, fail to resonate with drivers. Each year AutoPacific quizzes recent car buyers to create its Future Attribute Demand Study. The survey helps determine what features drivers want most and what features want least.
Learn More: Tips on shopping for a Chevy SUV
It’s not that car owners would run from a vehicle that boasts the following features or that they’d be a deal-breaker in their purchasing decision, it’s just the following features aren’t anywhere on their wish lists.
According to the study, 14 percent of the respondents find augmented reality head-display unnecessary to their driving lives. Electronic engine noise enhancement followed closely with 13 percent of the respondents revealing this was a feature that didn’t want.
Automakers are trying to make every aspect of driving life easier, so they’re introducing modern connectivity tech. Unfortunately, the convenience of this tech that lets you use the vehicle’s infotainment system to buy things on the go did not find favor in 12 percent of the survey’s respondents.
Two features, biometric features, and gesture controls tied for disinterest with 9 percent saying no thank you. Seven percent equally disliked concierge services and fully-autonomous, hands-free driving with no steering wheel.
According to Autoblog writer Joel Stocksdale, these features don’t add much value to a vehicle or the driving experience, so it’s understandable why they didn’t resonate with survey respondents.
“It’s also quite interesting how few people were interested in a full-on autonomous car, considering how much time and money is being spent by companies to reach full autonomy,” he adds.
Features survey respondents were excited about revolve around comfort (66 percent want heated seats), driver-assist tech (60 percent want blind-spot monitoring with 55 percent eager for front and rear parking sensors and 54 percent want Lane-Departure warning), and smartphone integration (53 percent say yes to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).
“In particular, these driver aids – blind-spot monitoring, parking sensors, and lane-departure warning – are probably among the most helpful, as well as least intrusive, driver aids on the market,” reports Stocksdale.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.