Car care & driving
The Most Useless Car Features
Autopapyrus
The American company J.D. Power and Associates ran a study to find out which modern car features owners actually find useful. The results showed that some drivers don't just dislike certain features. They don't even know how to use them.
The study surveyed 4,200 American owners who had owned a new vehicle for at least 90 days. It turned out that one in five owners had never used 16 of the 33 features the manufacturers offered.
The blame for such blatant neglect of modern technology lies largely with dealerships. J.D. Power staff noted that in most cases buyers don't use many features simply because the dealer never showed them or explained how they work. The second most common reason was lack of interest: drivers said they never needed the features their vehicles came equipped with in the first place.
Let's take a closer look at the five features that American drivers use the least.
• Last place goes to the concierge service. This feature connects you to an operator with the push of a button, who can give you the location of the nearest restaurant, parking lot, or movie theater. It is used by 43% of those surveyed.
• Next on the list are Wi-Fi hotspots, used by 38% of drivers.
• Then come automatic parking systems, also known as parking autopilots. This is technology straight from the future: you press a button, relax, and the car parks itself. Yet only 35% of those surveyed use it. Distrust of electronics probably plays a part.
• The head-up display takes the dubious second place. Only 33% of drivers find it useful. The winner of this ranking of most useless features is built-in mobile apps, which appealed to just 32% of drivers. Smartphone-integration systems such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay also scored low in usefulness. However, the researchers believe this is only a matter of time. Device integration appeared relatively recently and is still far from available on every car.
The same company's specialists also published a list of the most popular car features, based on the same 4,200 respondents. The winners were:
• Fourth place – parking assist. It might best be called a "parking adviser." Once activated, the computer analyzes the situation and tells you how to move, when to turn the wheel, and so on. 82% of respondents found it useful.
• Third place – smartphone connectivity, at 84%.
• Second place – automatic lumbar support adjustment in the seat, which 86% liked.
• First place was shared by two features: fuel economy indicators and blind-spot monitoring. Both got 87% of the vote.
It's worth noting that a car packed with new technology isn't always a good thing. Insurance companies, for example, believe that complex systems distract drivers from driving.
And if you're one of those drivers whose dealer never explained how to use certain features, your owner's manual is the best place to start. Read it, and try the features out in a safe spot, such as an empty parking lot.
The study surveyed 4,200 American owners who had owned a new vehicle for at least 90 days. It turned out that one in five owners had never used 16 of the 33 features the manufacturers offered.
The blame for such blatant neglect of modern technology lies largely with dealerships. J.D. Power staff noted that in most cases buyers don't use many features simply because the dealer never showed them or explained how they work. The second most common reason was lack of interest: drivers said they never needed the features their vehicles came equipped with in the first place.
Let's take a closer look at the five features that American drivers use the least.
• Last place goes to the concierge service. This feature connects you to an operator with the push of a button, who can give you the location of the nearest restaurant, parking lot, or movie theater. It is used by 43% of those surveyed.
• Next on the list are Wi-Fi hotspots, used by 38% of drivers.
• Then come automatic parking systems, also known as parking autopilots. This is technology straight from the future: you press a button, relax, and the car parks itself. Yet only 35% of those surveyed use it. Distrust of electronics probably plays a part.
• The head-up display takes the dubious second place. Only 33% of drivers find it useful. The winner of this ranking of most useless features is built-in mobile apps, which appealed to just 32% of drivers. Smartphone-integration systems such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay also scored low in usefulness. However, the researchers believe this is only a matter of time. Device integration appeared relatively recently and is still far from available on every car.
The same company's specialists also published a list of the most popular car features, based on the same 4,200 respondents. The winners were:
• Fourth place – parking assist. It might best be called a "parking adviser." Once activated, the computer analyzes the situation and tells you how to move, when to turn the wheel, and so on. 82% of respondents found it useful.
• Third place – smartphone connectivity, at 84%.
• Second place – automatic lumbar support adjustment in the seat, which 86% liked.
• First place was shared by two features: fuel economy indicators and blind-spot monitoring. Both got 87% of the vote.
It's worth noting that a car packed with new technology isn't always a good thing. Insurance companies, for example, believe that complex systems distract drivers from driving.
And if you're one of those drivers whose dealer never explained how to use certain features, your owner's manual is the best place to start. Read it, and try the features out in a safe spot, such as an empty parking lot.
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