This is total first world problems.
My wife's Mercedes E400 wagon has two things I really would like in my daily driver Escalade. Massaging seats and active cruise control that does lane centering and also stop and go. It's amazing in traffic to just sit there and get a massage while the car does traffic for you, and the Escalade was $15k more than the Mercedes new.
I have an Outback Touring it has adaptive cruise, heated seats, heated steering etc. what I wish it had was the Turbo option. BTW the heated steering is the greatest thing in world for someone whose hands would hurt all winter when driving.
Duke said:I'm a dedicated Apple user and I don't really understand what the point of CarPlay is.
I can play music from my library over BT. And what other app am I going to use while driving?
I'm an Android guy so I haven't tried CarPlay, but AA is leaps and bounds better than trying to control stuff on the phone manually. Much bigger screen, easier to read, easier to see, easier to hit the touch buttons, better driving-oriented UI on the apps. It doesn't suck the battery on the phone or overheat it on longer trips, and it has a better voice-to-text interface. The phone is sitting safe in a cubby, rather than precariously attached with a clip-on or suction cup mount (which usually don't fit when there's a case on the phone anyway).
Antihero said:In general I want as little extras on the daily as possible, I don't even like power windows.
A good stereo is a must though
One of my favorite DD's of all time was an '11 Accent hatchback with a manual transmission and a killer stereo. Some 15" Konig's (Feathers) with decent tires and it was a blast to drive. I still miss it.
I daily a 2011 Suzuk SX4 Sportback, the fwd hatch version, with a 6-speed manual trans. I wish it had the following;
A telescoping steering column, heated seats, a 5-speed that shifted better (the earlier cars are supposed to be better than the 6-speed later cars), better drive-by-wire throttle mapping, 10-15% more power everywhere.
It's been a pretty great car and I'm getting close to taking it down for a bunch of suspension maitenance but it's far from perfect.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:I daily a 2011 Suzuk SX4 Sportback, the fwd hatch version, with a 6-speed manual trans. I wish it had the following;
better drive-by-wire throttle mapping, 10-15% more power everywhere.
Great motors, terrible tune.
Regarding car play, I'm pretty old school, a long time map user, accustomed to writing down directions, but with CP, using maps, having the voice to text, and the ability to hear texts while I'm driving is great. The better sound quality while plugged in, the phone charging at the same time are all bonuses
Rear view camera. The FR-S subscribes to the Italian Model of driving: what is behind me is no concern. Except I back into parking spot regularly, hell, back up for...reasons, regularly. It would be nice to be able to see behind me.
Better brakes and a better backup cam. I intentionally sought out a base V60 for fuel efficiency, but it stuck me with the smallest brakes which are barely adequete. I keep telling myself I'm gonna go junkyard hunting, but new'ish Volvos don't show up very often
CarPlay.
Heated steering wheel on my Canadian GR Corolla Core. In the US the cold weather package has heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but in Canada there are no packages, they all came with heated seats (and the Torsens), but not the heated wheel. I guess they figured Canadians like cold hands...
In reply to Peabody :
I still stall the thing taking off from a stop a couple of times a year, and I've owned this thing for a decade now. I feel like Suzuki got about 85% of the way there and stopped test & tune at that point.
The trans isn't great either. 6th should be taller, 2nd should be shorter, and 1/2 synchro feels like a truck part. It doesn't like the cold, and everything I've heard said to not use GL-5 rated fluid in the thing.
And there's nothing else on the market today that I can think of to really replace it unless I want to give up on having a manual trans.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:In reply to Peabody :
I still stall the thing taking off from a stop a couple of times a year, and I've owned this thing for a decade now. I feel like Suzuki got about 85% of the way there and stopped test & tune at that point.
The trans isn't great either. 6th should be taller, 2nd should be shorter, and 1/2 synchro feels like a truck part. It doesn't like the cold, and everything I've heard said to not use GL-5 rated fluid in the thing.
And there's nothing else on the market today that I can think of to really replace it unless I want to give up on having a manual trans.
The first line is all things I could say about my Kia, which interestingly, is probably the closest thing to an SX4 hatch that exists. I honestly think that some cars have such a low take rate with the manuals that the tune/throttle mapping doesnt get the attention it deserves and they end up driving like trash, even though the specs aren't bad at all.
In reply to prodarwin :
" I honestly think that some cars have such a low take rate with the manuals that the tune/throttle mapping doesnt get the attention it deserves and they end up driving like trash, even though the specs aren't bad at all."
You said it. My '06 Ford ranger hangs the revs between shifts. It's maddening.
This is very specific, but I sometimes fantasize about installing a C30 door in my V50, because I'm tall enough I sit right beside the b pillar. I wedge myself in, then climb out.
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to prodarwin :
" I honestly think that some cars have such a low take rate with the manuals that the tune/throttle mapping doesnt get the attention it deserves and they end up driving like trash, even though the specs aren't bad at all."
You said it. My '06 Ford ranger hangs the revs between shifts. It's maddening.
That's an emissions thing that has been around for a long time. I'm not sure why it's much worse with some manufacturers though.
Modifiability. Its great to shuttle programming power to under utilized modules, but at the same time, I want to put in a better radio than factory. If I do it, vehicle doesn't run. That is horseE36 M3. I also shouldn't need either a hand the size of a 10yr old, an engineering degree to fix it, or paywalled from service information.
In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :
It's programmed to hang the rpms. That's been a "feature" since efi joined the chat.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Have you tried any of the GM or Pennzoil Synchromesh fluids? They always helped my Suzuki trans. A quality ATF worked as well.
Oh wait, chance to jump on my feature soapbox for a min. ALL cars should have the following features:
captive hardware/hard mounts for roof racks
a 2" receiver hitch, or provisions for one, that mounts behind the factory bumper cover (Tahoe style)
a 1/4" threaded hole or stud somewhere on the dash to hard mount phone/gps/tablet/whatever
In reply to Peabody :
I think ATF is a big no-no in these transmissions. I'm running Redline 75w90. Need to change it actually as it's aged out. I think it was an improvement when I swapped the fluid around 80k miles over the factory fill.
Oil slick reservoir
smoke out fogging jets
nail dropping machine
those blade cutting hubcaps
couple of gun ports
might as well add those missile launchers
My Kia has generally been an acceptable compromise for most things I use it for. It might be nice if the suspension were about 20% stiffer, but something like a supercharger might ruin its low running costs.
The biggest add on I'd like would be a backup camera. The mirrors have stick on dots and do reasonably well, but it has pretty big blind spots.
Those odd color changing speakers some Kia Souls came with might be amusing, but I'm not sure how much I would use them.
The headlights scratch way too easily. Glass headlights would be nice.
RX8driver said:Heated steering wheel on my Canadian GR Corolla Core. In the US the cold weather package has heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but in Canada there are no packages, they all came with heated seats (and the Torsens), but not the heated wheel. I guess they figured Canadians like cold hands...
4Runners did not have heated wheel until 2023. I bought a 2023 wheel, button, and clockspring for $650 and now my 2021 has it, button is in the factory location. I have to assume someone figured out US to CA wheel swap for yours.
Edit: This thread gives you part numbers on how to add US heated wheel to your CA car.
Steve_Jones said:RX8driver said:Heated steering wheel on my Canadian GR Corolla Core. In the US the cold weather package has heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but in Canada there are no packages, they all came with heated seats (and the Torsens), but not the heated wheel. I guess they figured Canadians like cold hands...
4Runners did not have heated wheel until 2023. I bought a 2023 wheel, button, and clockspring for $650 and now my 2021 has it, button is in the factory location. I have to assume someone figured out US to CA wheel swap for yours.
Edit: This thread gives you part numbers on how to add US heated wheel to your CA car.
That seems terribly backwards...
RX8driver said:I guess they figured Canadians like cold hands...
Maybe they figured Canadians would be more likely to have a good pair of gloves!
There are sometimes odd differences between US and Canadian market Toyota products. We had a second-gen (SV21 or VZV21) in the shop once and discovered, for some long-forgotten reason, that Canadian market cars had a different glovebox and lock assembly than the same cars abound for the US market. And then we get into the whole TMS USA vs Gulf States vs Southeast distributorships, each with their own (typically port- or dealer-installed) option and accessory packages. It gets weird.
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