What options are a must and what are a wast of time.

I get the opportunity to drive lots of different cars on weekends going state inspections. I was in a brand new 750il the other day and realized that if I owned this car that I would not use about %50 of the things that it can do.

Conversely I have been driving an 04 X type. It is nicely appointed but even it has at least ten buttons that I never use.

On the flip side there are some options I really like. Cruise control, many way power seats, Rear defrost, heated mirrors, ac, power windows are the quick ones.

Anyway just wanted to her from you. What is a must have and what is not.

Heated seats. Love em

Air, cruise, central locking are priorities. None are a dealbreaker, but life is much happier with them. Heated Volvo-like seats are way up there too.

Cruise control is a must to keep my license and satellite radio to keep my sanity. They are the two I wouldn't give up.

I didn't even know I needed cooled seats until I rode in my dad's Lincoln. Nice leather seats and no back sweat on a hot day!

Power windows and locks. Leaning across todays tall consoles just isn't happening.

Tilt wheel. Keeps the air bag pointed the right way.

Depending on the vehicle and its use.

Sampson has no accessories, I would like to add Cruise.
Elantra has AC, XM radio, CC and Central, all required for the hours I spend in it.
Mustang, Rx7 and S10 have nothing, but they are for the drive not the comfort.
Porsche does it all

Love heated seats. Hate, hate, hate auto dimming rear view mirrors.

Manual transmission is the only option I care about. Funny cause it used to be standard and the auto was optional!

Seriously my daily driver now has manual Windows, steering, no abs, no traction control, no cruise, no ac, no power seats, manual mirrors, it does have a cassette player and fm radio which I rarely use. but all I care about is that it has a manual transmission

Remote entry, A/C, rear window and mirror defrosters, heated seats, manual override for HVAC controls (auto mode seems to default to "max fan" in most applications), economy minder (instant and average), flappy paddles, power windows and mirrors, ability to turn off DRL if the car is infected with such.

My Volvo has that last one. When I found out about that feature, I felt like Winston in 1984 when he found out that Inner Party members could turn off the 2-way televisions.

I also would like the remote entry to give a Euro-style chirp or double chirp when you lock/unlock the doors. None of this using the horn BS. That is uncouth. The Volvo disappointingly does not do this, but it at least has the world's most annoying alarm siren, which is about a half octave lower in pitch than a dog whistle.

Waste of time: Cruise control, automatic mode for HVAC, terrestrial radio, sunroof

For a DD, A/C.

I prefer a tilt wheel, but its not a dealbreaker. Who needs to see the gauges anyway?

A/C and Cruise.

The rest of it is just over complicated, unnecessary, crap.

heated seats are a must.. I love them after a long day at work, I feel like a lizard on a hotrock.

For a Daily, I love sunroofs and power windows. Power locks with remote have grown on me. I could do without power seats and mirrors... I rarely listen to the radio and almost never use Airconditioning

In reply to chiodos: Purist, I concur.

The older I get, the more stuff I like. 15 years ago, I was happy with just a/c. I hated leather seats, especially heated ones. Now, I want a car with:
Heated leather, automatic climate control, power windows/locks, Bluetooth, sunroof, cruise, satellite radio, remote entry, push button start.

But I still want a manual trans...and like Woody said, I despise auto dimming review mirrors.

When I bought my car my only must have was cruise if I was making payments on it. I'm also happy with a physical 3.5mm audio input, but I wouldn't mind a full BT setup next time. I also want heated seats.

Klayfish wrote: The older I get, the more stuff I like. 15 years ago, I was happy with just a/c. I hated leather seats, especially heated ones. Now, I want a car with: Heated leather, automatic climate control, power windows/locks, Bluetooth, sunroof, cruise, satellite radio, remote entry, push button start. But I still want a manual trans...and like Woody said, I despise auto dimming review mirrors.

I never appreciated the utility of remote entry until I got the Volvo and realized I could keep the snowbrush in the back seat. That way when you open the door to get the brush, snow doesn't fall onto the driver's seat/floor forcing you to sit in a cold puddle.

I wouldn't mind auto dim mirrors myself, I usually keep mine permanently on dim given the number of people with DRLs or who drive with HIDs on all the time because they are E36bags. Same for the mirrors, I keep those pointed at the ground unless I'm parking, then I'll move them up. (It's easier to dip my head to change lanes than deal with some dirtbag with DRLs/HIDs 1/4-wheeling me and blinding me in the mirror)

Cool feature that should exist: Power sunshade with a mirror on the back. For the people in trucks who tailgate.

In a DD, aux or usb port. A/C. I'd rather have heated seats than not. I miss the heated steering wheel on the e39. Cruise. Power locks and windows seem to be standard these days.

Benign stuff - auto on headlights

Silly options - power tilt wheel, power headrests, (sorta silly) motorized hatch/trunk lids, rain sensing wipers, memory seats. A silly option I love - convenience door locks - with the key in you pocket, grab a door handle and it unlocks. Touch the handle in the right spot, it locks - it's magic.

Toyman01 wrote: A/C and Cruise. The rest of it is just over complicated, unnecessary, crap.

I'm mostly with Toyman. Those are musts living in the SE. Heated seats are a nice option for when the back is sore, but not a necessity...

I like HVAC controls where I chose fan loudness/temp/AC compressor on/off. Heated seats are addictive. Good cruise is a must. I'm wired funny, mentally, so stereo has never mattered - I can't really listen to music and drive in the moment. But something that sounds decent, sure. Good headlights, one good cup holder. If it's a car you'll live in, someplace to park lunch while you eat it.

motomoron wrote: I'm wired funny, mentally, so stereo has never mattered - I can't really listen to music and drive in the moment.

I stopped listening to music with English lyrics. Now it's either foriegn language or just plain vocals-free. Works great and it's not distracting at all.

I just don't get the love for heated seats. I despise them. I also like auto dimming mirrors and lights that turn themselves on in the dark. None of them are necessary. The only thing that I would consider necessary is AC.

Mostly with Chiodos here, manual is the only true essential everything else is unnecessary crap that can break. My Cherokee is manual everything, no abs, no cruise, and the ac doesn't work. I can probably count on one hand the number of times in my life that I've ever used cruise control.

I do like a good sterio if I intend to do any distance driving, however, and an aux jack is a must if you're gonna have one. Spent a year with a nonfunctional sterio in my e36, doing a ton of long drives to and from college, and that sucked big time.

Depends on the car, but for a daily: heated mirrors, cruise, A/C, power locks+mirrors+windows. I'd prefer heated seats, but not a deal breaker for the right car/seat.

If I drove more I would want Sat Radio.

I've come to really like some other features too. Nice, but not needed: auto wipers, auto lights, and the cool button press to roll down the windows on the key fob.

Heated seats and bluetooth are two features I would have never thought I could become so attached to...