My wife recently fulfilled her long-time dream of owning a “gold Lexus.” What model did she want? She couldn’t tell you, nor did it matter. Any gold-ish, crossover-shaped Lexus would do, and in her case, twas a 2023 NX250 that fulfilled her dream. The little 250 is hardly the most feature-laden Lexus model, but as she was coming from a 2015 RAV4, it was absolutely loaded by comparison, and she loooves it. Mostly.
There are two features she does not like, and I mean really does not like: the lane departure system, and the stop-start system. Frankly, I don’t like them either. Make no mistake, I’m not against these features, but as executed in the NX 250, I (and my wife) would much rather do without them. In the case of the stop-start system, we do do without it; it’s now a muscle-memory thing to press the on/off button for the feature right after engaging Drive. I’d leave it on if the system stopped and restarted the engine more subtly, but I can feel the restart to a sufficient degree that it’s annoying, and it takes a beat longer than I’d like to restart.
As for the lane departure system, I keep that one on, as it is useful and a nice bit of added safety just in case, though it’s never engaged for me in the way it’s intended, as I’m a good enough driver to stay in my lane. Where it does engage, frustratingly, is whenever I intentionally move right to enter the turning lane at the 4-way intersection that I navigate on virtually every drive. Every time, the NX fights me and tugs the wheel left. I’m like, “I know what I’m doing, let me steer!” I suppose I could avoid this by swerving into the lane like a maniac, but that seems worse.
So I could happily do without those two new-car features. What’s on your list?
Top graphic image: Lexus
All of them. If I didn’t have money required I’d drive a Jensen Healey upgraded to a manual 5 speed crank windows, a period radio with only an oil and transmission cooler with an electronic fan for warm days. Also added an EFI instead of carbs as dual strombergs are a bitch, maybe if I could find a decent set of Webers. Does any of that count as modern features?
I’m just going to throw a popular choice out there again. Voice activation.
I dont use it in cars, on phones, or with anything else. Ever. I don’t talk to computers.
Umteen touch screens and connected car features that create problems for solutions I already had…
Any car with ADAS that acts in nonemergency situations or touchscreens of any kind is a no-no. Transmission mist be manual, and if it’s a pickup the transfer case must also be manual. EFI and ABS (and the stereo system) are the only computers universally permitted in my automobile.
I will always try new features before having a knee-jerk reaction. I think so many of us suffer from technology overload (particularly for new cars) that we tend to reject any new tech, just because it’s new tech.
Much like you, I don’t like stop-start or lane departure warning because I find them disruptive and riddled with false positives, respectively.
But I’ve been positively surprised by features I thought I would hate, notably auto rev match. A successful rev match/heel-toe is one of the most satisfying aspects of driving stick – but the auto rev match on my M2 is so good that I left it on.
Advanced Driver Annoyance Systems.
My wife’s Lincoln has vents that are controlled by a touch screen, as opposed to simply moving the vent up, down, left, or right, or closing it. 100% not necessary…
Probably everything that was introduced after about 2010.
F***ing electric door controld. Door handles and latches were a solved problem sixty years ago and did not need rethinking.
+1 on the door handles. Ever get a seat belt stuck around a post in a car with electric openers?
No, but yesterday I was driving a Mach E for work and I had to f***ing YouTube how to get the front passenger door closed after the popper stuck open. Argh!!
The nonsense that they keep doing with the door handles. I don’t need them to move on their own, need special gloves to auto-unlock when it’s snowing outside. Just give me normal handles with a button on it for keyless entry
So, we just bought a winter car for my wife, a little ‘13 Jeep patriot. and we’ve come to the conclusion that having a rolling detox box for a spare car is both hilarious and refreshing. Stick shift, steel wheels, hand crank windows, manual locks, AM/FM only radio, a regular key with no fob or buttons.
It’s got 5 seat belts, 4wheel drive, ABS, stability control, a good heater and A/C, and a set of weather tech mats. That’s about all the stuff we can’t live without!
Sunroof. I own 5 cars, all have sunroofs, none ever get opened. They add noise, flood the interior when the drains clog and reduce headroom, yet they are standard equipment on almost every car.
Ditto. I give zero fucks about a sunroof. Zero
I like a sunroof but prefer convertible
To each their own, but for me I feel a slight sense of claustrophobia without one. That said, actually opening it is almost always unpleasant. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone on the highway using it. And weather where having it open around town correlates strongly with times you want the AC. From a young age I’ve internalized that doing both is an indulgence to be avoided.
I was going to say I would be fine with a fixed piece of glass, except I do crack it open when it’s parked on hot days. I tell myself this keeps the car cooler.
Ppl complain about clogged drains and leaks and all that. I have no doubt it happens but I’ve yet to have any issues. Perhaps it’s less of a problem now than in the past.
I just want to be able to go into my settings and permanently turn off auto start/stop and never have to deal with turning it off again.
Yeap!
Start stop annoys me the least, but maybe that’s perhaps because I have only experienced it in a German rental car – so the gas savings made it worthwhile, while I could be absolutely certain to not have to deal with a starter engine burning out.
Anything else is execrable. I am on board with power mirrors and undecided on power windows. Power seats are satan’s creations, and one of his more moronic underlings created the powered trunklid.
I am changing power mirrors and heated seats are nice but unnecessary
Love that my ITS does not have auto start stop. I am ok with the other stuff. I hated the electronic parking brake but I have grown to like it due to the brake assist stuff so I can put the car in neutral and it will brake hold for me automatically.
Start – stop destroys your engine. That 1 -2 second of oil starvation is a big deal once you stack up 50,000 cycles.
I have been assured countless times that the wear on a warm engine is practically zero and it takes a long time for the oil to find its way back into the sump. But I amn’t no automotive engineer.
Time for Autopian and that one engineering/testing company to do a test and tear apart!
This myth needs to die. I don’t like stop start because I find it annoying and disruptive to the driving experience, but the feature is absolutely fine, reliability wise.
Cars have had stop start for decades now, and there is zero proof of additional damage from the feature.
And now that is being discontinued
Yeah if this was the case every Toyota hybrid would grenade its motor at 100k.
The lane departure warning nudge does.not work if you have your turn signal on.
Sorry, that won’t work for BMW owners……
All I ask from my car is that it gets from Point A to Point B. Anything beyond that is superfluous.
pleatherettetex seats
Bring back nice cloth, in colors
Yeah give me a car with heated/ventilated cloth seats and you are instantly on my short list.
Doesn’t the lane departure system keep quiet if you’re signalling?
Hey, be nice. We’ve got BMW owners here…how are they supposed to know that?
What New Car Features Could You Happily Do Without?
Touchscreen only controlsBulkGas guzzling, harsh ride making low profile tiresWeight< 8 sec 0-60> 90 MPH top speedPillbox visibilityAngry faceMonochrome palletPiano blackDIY hostilitySubscriptionsFour figure/90000 month paymentsSticky soft touch surfacesNo DDin
ADAS, touch screens, automatic transmissions, auto start/stop.
I see a lot of complaints about auto start/stop, but I’ve tried it multiple times with a manual transmission and there’s no problems because the start and stop function is engaged by the clutch.
For me, it’s annoying in stop-and-go traffic, but I don’t mind it for intersections with long lights. My car doesn’t actually have it, so it’s only from rentals and such that I’ve dealt with them.
Likewise, but most of my experience is manuals and very new vehicles. I get the idea the technology was pretty half baked 15 years ago
Mine’s a manual ’22 GR86, but it has none of the nannies or green tech features of dubious value besides what’s mandated. I don’t remember S/S when it came out and none of my cars have had it, but I’m sure it’s gotten better. The recent Equinox I had as a rental wasn’t terrible and it was easy to turn it off, so in traffic where it was annoying, I’d kill it, but in the suburbs with 4+-way intersections, I’d have it on.
Agreed, I had a rental manual Fiat in Europe on a business trip and I loved the combo of start/stop + manual transmission. Want the engine to turn off a the light? Put the trans in neutral and let off the clutch. Ready for it to start? Put in the clutch and put it in gear. Don’t want it to stop? Leave the clutch in. Easy.
Alas I don’t think a single manual + start/stop equipped vehicle was ever sold in the United States.
Honda has – the now-discontinued “regular” manual Civics had it, and the Civic Si and Integra A-spec manual still do. (CTR/ITS do not)
Interesting! I wasn’t aware. Honda FTW as usual. Thanks for letting me know!
My first real exposure to it as a driver was on a manual, and I didn’t mind it as much for that reason. Generally speaking, I’m ok with it as long as the button for it is convenient, not low on the dash or a setting buried in a menu. I don’t have a manual now, but I can still leave it off and turn it ‘on’ at a light that I know will be longer or won’t have a lot of inching up.
The NX has a few different features to mess with regarding lane keeping: Lane Keep Assist, Lane Centering and Proactive Driving Assistant. I like them all on.
Ford’s door chime. I don’t have a Ford and will never likely have one again before I die, but sitting in my buddy’s with the door ajar makes me want to reenact the car smashing stage from Street Fighter II.
There is not one single improvement in cars in the last 30+ years that I need nor want.
I don’t want smart or adaptive anything. I don’t want the car to think or drive itself, even if it’s something as simple as lane departure that just keeps the car between the lines.
Heck, I don’t even need power windows. I mean how hard is it to rotate a handle a couple times?
The more computerized luxury crap, the more stuff to break, and the more expensive it becomes to repair and maintain it.