These Are the Most Underrated Car Features

As someone who has driven without it..

Intermittent wipers.

Before those become standard, it sucked driving in light rain. Turn on wipers, turn off wipers, turn on wipers, turn off wipers, turn on....

I still do the turn-on-turn-off dance in many cars. I like a wiper that’s just faster than most cars like to wipe, so I find myself turning on the wipers to a needlessly high speed then turning them back off.

Submitted by: hoser68

Something that doesn’t exist on cars anymore, but should—vent windows:

Yes, everyone drives around in sealed vehicles being constantly air-conditioned, but it you want to enjoy fresh air; the vent window is king. It scoops the air and directs it right inside—works for me. When I drive the everyday car with its driver-side window down and no vent window, it’s amazing how stuffy it feels since the air glides right over the car and isn’t gushing on the interior.

Added bonus: the vent window track makes the door glass more secure since it’s got good support—won’t get rattly as the years wear on. Win-win. But not in today’s vehicles.

Vent windows were great for directing air into the cabin. They were a little less great for crash safety. It’s a matter of priorities, I suppose.

Submitted by: the 1969 Dodge Charger Guy

Automatic headlights. We’ve all seen “that person” driving around at night with only the DRLs because dash lights are always on now. “That person” needs them before they hit something or someone hits them from behind.

Which makes me wonder…why don’t DRLs work for taillights as well? Probably some regulatory nonsense, but seems logical to me.

I’ll admit to having been that person before, in a new-to-me car with manual lights and shockingly bright DRLs. The cause of this issue isn’t malice, it’s genuine confusion.

Submitted by: paradsecar

Truck bed trunks. My Ridgeline has one like this, which is SOOO useful if you don’t want to have a cover on your bed but still keep things dry AND locked. Also has a drain plug if you want to fill it with ice and use it as a cooler. I am using it constantly for grocery trips and also keep a couple small things like my trailer hitch out of the way. How has no one done this except Honda, and sorta Ram with their side bed compartments?

The trucknk doesn’t solve every issue with pickups, but it mitigates the problem of leaving your cargo exposed to the elements. Sure, you could get a bed cap, but wouldn’t it be nice to have sealed storage built right in?

Submitted by: jstump

Selectable drive modes. Seems like they’re kind of taken for granted, no one really talks about the feature but damn if my whole car doesn’t change its driving characteristics, right down to the exhaust note, when I change from regular to sport mode. And then there’s track mode...seriously I despise any move to a subscription based model for options but some cars should force you to pass a separate test of sorts for track mode to work, it just makes that much of a difference. I’m not sure I would have survived my teens if cars had this feature back then because I drove my Vega like it had “track mode” anyway.

Adjustable dampers, valved exhausts, and multiple electronic throttle settings can make a massive difference in how your vehicle feels. Why buy two cars when you can just get one that can shapeshift?

Submitted by: elgordo47

Heated seats and steering wheel. Oh so nice if you can have them come on when your remote start your car in the winter and it is nice and toasty in there on a cold winter day.

Also the heated seats are nice in the summer if you play sports and then have to drive a distance. Used to play golf and would turn on the seat heaters in my old Pontiac G8 GT and the middle setting was high in most cars. Kept my back from stiffening up after a long drive from a golf course.

Heated seats are nice enough for cold days, but using them as a physical therapy tool is a fantastic idea. You’re already sitting there, why not use it to relax your muscles?

Submitted by: FusiliJerry

I’m going to say air conditioned seats. I had a rental with them in Northern Minnesota in December and still thought they were the bee’s knees. I could only imagine how good they would feel in swampy summer.

Imagine yourself in a dark leather interior, roasting away under the summer sun. Now imagine that the seats are air conditioned, and everything’s actually entirely comfortable. Nice difference, isn’t it?

Submitted by: uberculture

is a hatchback a feature? I vote yes. So much more usable that most trunks. Plus rear folding seats and you have a ton of space for things or activities. A Volt, for example, can fit a twin sized air mattress in the back and even with its small battery, can keep the car cool for a couple of nights.

If you’re going to have the exterior footprint of a car, you may as well use every inch of available space. That’s the ethos behind cabover kei cars, but we don’t get those in the U.S. — hatchbacks may be the closest we’re allowed.

Submitted by: Levi1922

Here’s my vote:

[photo of stick shift]

They may be going the way of the dodo, but stick shifts are still fun. Not all of them are great, or even good, but they’re all at least interesting. That’s more than can be said for some automatics.

Submitted by: Weeks

It’s a small one, but sitting in traffic the other days, I noticed the usefulness of the third brake light. A relatively inexpensive feature compared to air bags, automatic braking, etc., but it really does improve your ability to react in traffic. Huge bang for the buck.

Imagine a world without third brake lights, where you can only rely on the brightness of the other two to distinguish taillights from braking. I’m sure you could do it, but would it be as easy?

Submitted by: emilminty drives an E30 and the Fiero is mostly fixed

Something I notice in my rentals - when automatics have buttons or a knob for the gears instead of the big lever. Those levers are useless on modern cars. A lot of them get in the way of the storage & plug phone plug in area when in park, which is exactly when I want to access that area. All automatics should have a tiny twist knob or flush buttons that keep it out of the way.

Put shifters back on the steering wheel, automakers. It was a bit of whimsy in a now PRDNL-homogenous world. Live a little.

Submitted by: engineerthefuture

I miss armrests in cars. These ruled in the big American boats. Last car I had that had them was an ‘01 Tahoe. (Picture is only of a cover because everything on the google image search was either that or chincy aftermarket ones that go in the cupholder or some shit.)

Even better than an armrest is a front bench that folds into an armrest. Sure, bucket seats are better for performance and safety, but are you going to tell me you don’t miss bench seats?

Submitted by: Mosko

I see counter-nominations for manual transmissions and automatics, as well as power windows and manual windows.

I will nominate manual seats, and await the counter for power seats.

Manual seats are lighter, cheaper, and faster to adjust than power seats. I can concede one point to memory seats if your car is frequently used by different drivers, but non-memory power seats are worthless, and most cars are driven primarily by one person, anyway.

Power seats are nice when you want to frequently change around your seating positions, like if you often take naps in your car when you set off on a long drive without enough sleep and need to pull into a parking area to take a nap before continuing. Not that I’d know anything about that.

Submitted by: smalleyxb122

Turn signals that stay on a few extra seconds when you tap them for a lane change. Our Odyssey does this and I think our old Sienna did it too. It’s a nice little safety touch to make sure you fully signal a lane change.

My hot take here is that these signals are bad, actually. I’d much rather have the style of signal where holding the stalk on its detent produces a constant flash — I can hold the stalk down while I change lanes, then let up whenever I want.

Submitted by: Sid Bridge

The little arrow indicating the side of the fuel door. For someone who rents cars often for work, when this simplest of features started popping up in new cars, it was a phase transition to a better quality of life.

When you’re frequently hopping into various cars, you’re at a higher risk of being That Guy at the gas station who has to reach the hose across their entire car. Don’t be that guy, just check the indicator arrow in the fuel gauge.

Submitted by: GTO62