10 Overrated Car Features That Add Little Value To Your Driving

Apr 04, 2023

While some modern car features go a long way in improving your driving experience, others are simply overrated gimmicks.

New car buyers are obsessed with new technology. Regardless of its purpose or usability, people love any new bit of tech that an automaker can introduce or cram into a new vehicle. As a result of this innate human trait, automakers are motivated to continuously innovate and revolutionize cars with the next best and greatest feature a car can possibly be equipped with.

Be it to improve drivability, to better its occupants' experience, or to simply outdo a rival, every car brand is in competition to offer up something new or risk being shown up and stamped as "outdated". This has opened the floodgates to new car features that have certainly helped move things along in terms of technological advancements. Just look at how the basic cruise control has evolved from a simple throttle holder to near self-driving cars.

Despite the obvious pros of these innovations, not every feature in a car serves a worthy purpose when it comes to the act of driving. In fact, most features you find nowadays aren't entirely useful for that purpose at all. On that note, let's dive into 10 overrated features that don't add value to your driving.

BMW is the most widely acknowledged brand to have introduced and offer the Gesture Control feature in its BMW 7 Series models. The people's car, Volkswagen, also offers gesture control for basic infotainment functions as does Mercedes-Benz in the S-Class and more recently announced, Honda and Hyundai. Granted, using "the force" to turn up the volume, navigate playlists, and answer calls is cool, but this feature is simply a gimmick that plays no role in adding value to your driving. It often leaves users with the feeling of disappointment in the limited function it offers, causing people to rely on, as always, a good old-fashioned button or knob. In fact, a study found that people were discouraged from using gesture control due to the fatigue it causes on the arms. So, until an automaker finds a way for hand gestures to activate Sports or Drift Mode, this feature remains on this list.

A crucial part of any driving experience is being able to shift gears, be it with a manual gear stick to row through the gears or an automatic stick to easily select cogs. Removing it all together into push buttons takes away a significant part of the driving experience. As much as auto designers may justify this as the need for minimalist interior design, pushing a button to engage a gear does not ignite the neurons in a driver's mind, or heart. Not to mention the ease and convenience of using a stick in a moment of emergency over trying to locate a button the size of a coin.

RELATED: Automotive Industry's 10 Sickest Manual Gear Levers

This particular entry is one that is relatable to almost everyone reading this list. Nearly every car sold today comes with some form of auto lock or unlock feature that only requires the driver to have the key fob on their person. Sounds convenient and for the most part, it does help car owners, especially when they have their hands full. This is a feature everyone loves but doesn't benefit the act of driving in any way. In fact, there are moments when it can be annoying. For example, if you wanted to check if your car was locked, there would be no way of doing it because every time you get close, it unlocks.

Car controls have evolved from sliders to hard buttons to switch knobs to push buttons and now to touch sensitive pressure points. This seems to be the logical progression, but it isn't necessarily the most preferred choice for most drivers. The lack of a firm contact point and physical movement causes drivers to pay more attention to the action than driving itself. Factor in poor-performing touch systems that have delays and don't provide the necessary feedback, drivers are left frustrated and distracted, not in all the conditions you want to be in when driving.

There's also science to support the inefficiencies of touch-sensitive buttons through research conducted by a Swedish motoring magazine which found drivers taking nearly three times longer to operate basic in-car tasks in a modern touch-screen-equipped car compared to a 17-year-old Volvo with physical buttons.

RELATED: 10 New Cars With The Biggest Screens

Everyone loves a sunroof. Be it a half-roof slider or a full-length moon roof with half a portion that slides over, a sunroof gives you access to the skies. Car makers market the sunroof as a premium option, giving you the impression that it serves an important purpose but in reality, it adds little to no value to your driving. While most people get caught up in differentiating a sunroof and a moonroof, both are widely popular among cars nowadays and attract many buyers. Sunroofs are rarely used due to their limited access, because it isn't a full-blown convertible, and the wind buffeting you get when driving at speed with it open. At the end of the day, a sunroof may be cool on a spec sheet but doesn't do much good for driving.

Another feature that started life in top-tier luxury limousines and has trickled its way down to everyday cars. While occupants enjoy the fancy light-up sequence and an entire color spectrum to choose from, ambient lighting plays no role in adding value to the driving experience. Brands like Mercedes and most electric cars have the most stunning interiors you can find today thanks to the addition of ambient lighting. It can help set the mood for the journey and in some cases help elevate the interior of the car with a more lounge-like ambiance. Regardless of its ability to add luxury, it still has no role in your driving.

They simply don't work as well as they should. And they certainly don't add value to your driving. When voice command systems first made their way into cars, they were hailed as the next step to communicating with your vehicle, promoting easy operations, the potential for having a driving partner or assistant, and providing some entertainment with pre-programmed witty lines. As of present technology, voice command systems are yet to serve reliably.

Though they are improving, their function is extremely overrated with systems unable to comprehend varying accents and pronunciations. That being said, voice command systems may very well be A.I. powered in the future and be able to deliver on their promises. Until then, it's an overrated feature that stays on this list.

RELATED: Worst Car Features That Everyone Wants

Now we're talking luxury. Soft-close doors are reserved for dignified people who have no time to close the door or rather not burden their ears with the heavy metallic clang of a car door closing. Operated via buttons or a simple pull motion on the door, soft-close doors are delightful to use, albeit frustratingly slow for some. Most of the time, cars with soft-close doors are driven by chauffeurs, and if you would ask one about the importance of soft-close doors to his job, you would be met with silence. That is because soft-close doors serve no value to the experience of driving. It is exclusive to the convenience demanded by those who can afford a Mercedes-Benz 600, the ultimate luxury car for royalties. For those who seek out driving pleasure, on the other hand, it makes no difference other than adding weight.

Perforated seats fall under the list of car features that buyers want the most. For a reason unknown to us at this time, these seats give buyers a sense of premium luxury. It also serves the purpose of guiding cold or warm air for those who require heating or cooling ventilation for the seats. With that function aside, these seats do the job of holding the driver just as well as any. In fact, it adds to the pain of trying to vacuum-clean perforated seats. With dirt finding easy access into the millions of perforations in the seat, cleaning them is no small task.

Last but not least, we have arrived at the final entry on this list. In-car Wi-Fi. This feature puzzles us the most as it requires more effort for the car owner to function. For in-car Wi-Fi to work, you would need to have a sim card with active cellular data plugged into the car. Despite being sold as one of the best technologies fitted to luxury cars, it adds no value to driving at all. Especially given how anyone who can afford a car that offers in-car Wi-Fi will most certainly be wealthy enough to afford cellular data.

There can be no better review of a car than experiencing it yourself. But since that isn't really possible with the number of new cars being made every year, at least we can read about them and debate instead.