It’s that time of the year again when the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey results roll out, a compilation of things new car buyers don’t notice on test drives. From steep software learning curves to plug-in hybrid problems, this occasionally mocked and frequently misunderstood study contains many of the usual suspects. However, among the litany of tech-related grievances sits an unusual trend: a rise in complaints around cupholders.
Hang on, haven’t the god-awful cupholders of old disappeared? For the most part, yes. Flimsy affairs that slide out of the dashboard and vague recesses prone to launching empty fast food cups like they’re Scud missiles have gone the way of smoking sections on airplanes. But even though most manufacturers have solved for existing problems, consumers are busy cooking up new ones. It turns out that oversized reusable cups are to blame for the bulk of new cupholder complaints, as Automotive News reports.
“A lot of people are becoming more eco-conscious with this type of stuff, so we’re all using the Stanley cups and the Yetis and bringing those into the car,” [J.D. Power senior director of auto benchmarking Frank] Hanley told Automotive News. “So OEMs are having to figure out, ‘How do I accommodate those giant cups?’ It’s really a customer-driven change that has to take effect because of those different cups.”
If customers are bringing their own cartoonishly large mugs, maybe the answer is to just make big-ass cupholders, right? Not so fast. Simply enlarging cupholders in every direction without accounting for diameter adjustment and depth would be an overcorrection. Sure, it would keep giant travel mug owners happy, but those who stick to smaller cups could be upset if their beverages flop around or are tricky to retrieve.
Admittedly, part of me wants to be elitist here and scoff at the prospect of someone toting around a tumbler multiple times the size of their bladder, but before you call me a dehydrated bitch, I’m not saying leave any sort of beverage container at home. Unless you’re going on a long hike or a camping trip, using a smaller bottle but refilling it more often is less cumbersome, doesn’t make the user look like an overgrown Cub Scout, and won’t block nearly as much of your vision should you choose to take a sip while driving. However, these comically large mugs are quite popular, and door storage isn’t always a practical option, like it is in the Ford Maverick pictured above.
My take on what makes a cupholder good is simple: It has to securely accommodate a takeaway ice cream sundae, an eight-ounce small coffee, a slim 8.3-ounce Red Bull can, and a 40-oz vacuum-insulated tumbler without blocking any controls, and let you easily grasp these items for retrieval. No crushing your sundae and spilling it, no ripping the lid off a small coffee trying to pick it up, no having your energy drink come loose, and still enough room for all but the biggest of vacuum mugs. Ideally, these cup holders would be positioned either ahead of a console-mounted shifter if one’s installed or on the dashboard like in an E90 3 Series, feature a spring-loaded door or prongs to maintain tension against the beverage, be shallow enough to allow for easy retrieval of small cups, and be easy to clean.
So far, cupholders following that design brief are few and far between, likely because spacers at the bottom add cost and shipping logistic complexity, but some manufacturers are definitely better at cupholders than others. The Nissan Z has a cupholder that puts your beverage in the way of your arm when shifting into reverse, the newest Kia cupholders with the rotating rings look cool but don’t hug onto smaller cups, and BMW’s decision to put USB ports on horizontal surfaces right next to cupholders seems perilous. Still, the industry can improve, and cupholders are one of the few relatively cheap things that can really change a customer’s life for the better.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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1st this is an excellent post Thomas bc it is highly relatable and therfore encouraging people to comment.
Personally our daily drivers have regular sized cup holders and fit pop cans or regular bottles just fine.
If we’re going on a long trip with the kids, we’ll pack up the car and each of us will have a water bottle (16 – 24 oz) fits the cup holders fine + I’ll bring 2 larger (I think they are 40 oz) water bottles in a backpack so we can refill the smaller water bottles w/o having to stop.
If we’re going hiking or to a kids sports game, same set up, seems to work really well.
For short around town trips our regular water bottles seem to work perfectly well and while we could stop to fill up at any time, it seems to be a pretty rare occasion that is needed.
I went from a 2001 Jetta that had a cup holder that could barely hold a cup to a 2017 Accord that can hold almost anything, but not quietly. It’s why I just sit and drink in situ. The same with fast food. I don’t end up with food on my shirt, pants and upholstery. My kid is 31. All that stuff is on him now.