Once upon a time a car was just right for getting to “A to B” – and if it had a radio, you were living in the height of luxury.
Now cars are overloaded with features. These features focus on comfort, safety, navigation, and even entertainment. Features such as hybrid battery and traditional petrol engines to save on fuel – or fully electric vehicles. We’re even living in the future with some car features that incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning such as autonomous parking and blindspot assist.
Of course, the more features you want the more the car will cost. So how does one strike a balance between great features and a price that won’t break the bank?
Focusing on safety features
One aspect of your car you should never skimp on is safety features. Cars that feature a Five Star ANCAP safety rating should be the only cars you consider – this means anti-lock braking; curtain airbags; autonomous emergency braking, which stops the car if there’s about to be a collision; lane support systems; driver monitoring systems; speed assistance systems; automatic emergency steering systems – features that help avoid or reduce the impact of crashes or road incidents. New cars should include many of these systems as standard. However, this isn’t the limit of what’s available.
You can go further with camera assisted parking, autonomous parking (i.e, the car parks itself), proximity sensors, and blindspot monitoring. If they aren’t standard, they can add thousands of dollars to your final sale price.
Fuel efficiency
One feature that car enthusiasts will wrestle with is performance vs fuel efficiency. High performance cars will guzzle gas while fuel efficient cars will sip from the bowser instead. To balance the best of both worlds, you could opt for a hybrid electric vehicle which combines a traditional petrol engine with a battery powered engine. The petrol engine and braking system recharges the battery and is significantly more fuel efficient than even sub-compact hatches. For total “fuel efficiency” per kilometre, a fully electric vehicle will beat a petrol/diesel engine every time; though it does come with a higher price tag in comparison.
Towing capacity
Though many people may overlook towing capacity, there’s always a chance you may need to tow a trailer or caravan at some point in the car’s life. It’s something you should consider when looking for features in cars. SUVs usually have good towing capacity, suitable for caravans and heavy trailers. The upside is that SUVs are good all-round cars with generous safety features and comforts, for the most part. If you have no plans for towing anything, then it’s fine to go with any car that suits your fancy and budget.
Nice to haves: infotainment and creature comforts
This is where we come to the “nice to have” instead of “must have” features. When it comes to our health and wellbeing, do you really want to sacrifice that to save a few bucks? That said, do you really need a fully-featured infotainment system when your phone can do GPS navigation? Some people go all out on creature comforts such as leather trim seats, seat warmers, dual-zone climate control, USB/power outlets for passengers, sports performance modes, high-end sound systems, and even ambient lighting to match your mood. Of course, this all costs money; especially if it doesn’t come standard. Even aftermarket alternatives to gain features like Android Auto or Apple CarPlay can save you thousands of dollars than having them built in from the factory. Again, it’s up to personal preferences and how much you want to spend on having something that has marginal utility over time.
The future of car features
Though we may be living in the age of AI, we haven’t seen the full capabilities of this technology in motoring – yet. Future features may include augmented reality via heads up displays to provide directions, traffic information, and weather details supplied in real time. They may even come with connectivity with other cars to share telemetry and other information to help optimise traffic. AI may be so well trained it can take over for drivers completely in certain situations. Of course, these are only being trialled at the moment and may take years to become available to consumers.
With all this in mind you can make a good decision on what features your car absolutely must have versus what you would like – if the price is right. Remember to always prioritise safety features first and think about bells and whistles a distant second!
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