[Closed] Non stupid car design/features you actually need.

Heated leather seats.

Heated mirrors.

Park assist. I'm bloody hopeless at parallel parking.

heated windscreen

automatic wipers
automatic headlights

Structural glass A, B and C pillars to manage to problem of modern cars where rollover safety has been improved at the expense of visibility.

Other safety features would include:

A head's up display that shows the face of a child when you're driving like a moron.

cup holders

Double sun visors. Already on my old Saab and a touch of genius on a windy road in low sun as you don't need to constantly move a single visor from side window to windscreen. Good safety feature too!

automatic wipers
automatic headlights

agree with OMITN our little car has some chunky pillars in the wrong place for trying to see around corners.

ABS? Not been in any really dodgy (slam on or crash) situations in ours but on frost/snow there's been a few slidey moments when applying the brakes

definitely see-thru pillars

as well as heated seats, screen and mirrors, heated steering wheel and gear knob for when it's -17 outside

Heated windscreen

Adaptive cruise control.

Park assist. I'm bloody hopeless at parallel parking.

Anyway, the future small urban car will need something to cope with our increasingly potholed roads. So something like this:

[img] [/img]

DAB radio

I'd like to see heater controls on steering wheels. If it's possible to raise and lower volume, change channels and stations, pick up, dial my phone. then how come I have to reach down to turn up my heating a bit?

Thinking a bit more deeply, things I've had on cars that I'd want on any replacement:

Heated mirrors
Cup holders
Electric windows
A way of playing MP3s - USB/SD card/Aux input/Bluetooth. Don't mind which.
Aircon

Nice to have rather than essential:
Sat nav
Heated seats
Remote central locking

Stuff I've got but wouldn't miss:
Cruise
Auto lights, wipers
Auto dimming mirror
Parking sensors
Phone integration

pisstake? or are these one of those items that seem like a bloody stupid idea (and they really do) but then you can't do without once you've tried them?

Driving a Japanese car where these things* are standard, they're super. Rain comes, wipers wipe. Light low, lights on. Both just left of "auto" setting.

It's

*as well as keyless central locking and ignition, auto-dim rear view mirror, steering wheel stereo, phone and sat nav controls, bluetooth voice activated phone, built in satnav, heated windscreen, heated seats, heated mirrors, start-stop**, a decent stereo, rear parking sensors, cruise control excellent handling***, and a modicum of go. All for £17k. Styling isn't great though.

**broken. Well known fault.
***Good, but not nearly as good as Mrs North's Mini Clubman, which is like a go kart!

Park assist. I'm bloody hopeless at parallel parking.

And both were male 30's-40's, so can't even use some stereotypical excuse about women drivers or grandma's with cataracts.

So yeah, park assist.

Seat adjustment that has been properly thought out. Lots of seats are adjustable in different planes but there doesn't always seem to be thought given as to what that plane of adjustment is supposed to achieve.

A really good flame effect paint job

Personalised custom tyre treads so you can write your name on muddy grass verges

andytherocketeer

Have seen 2 people need to take 3 attempts at parking a Smart car. One reversing in to a bay in a multistorey 3 times (at work, so embarrassing to say it was a colleague!), and the other trying to parallel park in a bay big enough for a mondeo, that needed the passenger to get out and give guiding instructions on attempt 3.

So yeah, park assist.

They shouldn't be allowed on the road if what you say is true. If they're so hopeless at parking christ only knows what kind of a liability they are in other scenarios. These are probably the same people who brake to merge on a slip road. Gadgets will only help so much.

[i]Personalised custom tyre treads so you can write your name on muddy grass verges[/i]

soo cool, right up until the point this happens

Bing Bong on doorbell

You : "yes officer, how can I help you?"
Policeman: " Are you maccruisekeeeeeeeeeeeeeen? About that skid you did last night"
You: "curses"

Sliding doors. Maybe not so much on a small car but they are great in tight car parks when needing to get small people into their small person seats.

WOW THANKS - feel free to keep the ideas coming.
[url= https://i.imgflip.com/haevs.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.imgflip.com/haevs.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://imgflip.com/memegenerator ]via Imgflip Meme Maker[/url]

What if I told you this needed to cost £7k or less? What might you forsake in the name of simplicity and extended range [lightweighting - all this stuff adds up].

Thanks!

as well as heated seats, screen and mirrors, heated steering wheel and gear knob for when it's -17 outside

but if it's -17 outside wouldn't you be wearing gloves?

anyway, things I've had on previous cars that I wouldn't do without now:
Cruise Control
Remote controls for radio etc
central locking
decent sunblinds
parking sensors. I don't need the assist, I can manage parking thanks, but the sensors certainly allow you to get closer to the wall / vehicle behind without actually touching

things that are handy or nice but I could do without:
heated seats
Aux/USB input for stereo system
central locking that automatically locks once you're moving over 10mph
electric windows all round
split opening tailgate

They shouldn't be allowed on the road if what you say is true.

In which case...

Google Driverless Automated driving.

A big +1 for JimJam.

I also like the childs face idea. Could also use pictures of kittens when the car senses the driver is getting a tad stressed.

Must haves:
Heated windscreen (this morning, the landy was good to go in less than 2mins, bliss)
Seat rails long enough to accommodate a 6'6" driver
USB charging ports 2x in the front 2x in the back. Get rid of the ciggie lighter hole.
DAB radio/USB Aux/BT
Rear parking sensors. Everytime I jump in Mrs Stoner's 2010 Passat I expect it to beep at me when Im reversing. It doesnt have a rear sensor so the silence is not in fact the all clear I expect it to be 😳

Must NOT haves:
Electronic handbrake
seat belt alarm. Just shut up will you.
Gear change advice. **** off, I'm driving, and just how well do you think this thing pulls at 30mph in 6th FFS!

Agree- with alot of the above.

Especially heated leather seats, heated mirrors, auto-lights are a boon.

The only issue is with alot of optional extras now- its alot more stuff to go wrong for a secondhand owner.

I think at that price less is more. I hire lots of cars and the company I hire from is also a dealer and the hire fleet is often made up of the top spec versions of any given model that the punter won't pay the ticket price for - they put them on the hire fleet for a few months then sell them as nearly-new. Means I get to drive a £50k V-Class for the price of a zafira, which is nice.

The down side of that is after a 1000 miles theres always something that really irks you and its alway an add on. The electric doors on a V Class are funny once - then they really start to piss you off because they're so slow.

One day I had to hire at short notice and stock was really low and ended up with a base model Micra (it was either that or cars that would be too expensive to fuel for the trip)- handed it back 5 days / 1000s miles later.... absolutely nothing to complain about - hours on the motorway, hours in london traffic - nothing made itself known.

Seat rails long enough to accommodate a 6'6" driver

Automatic - as most folk struggle with just paying attention to the road so anything that takes away a 'task' is a benefit.

And 5 seats, 'cos while mostly there is only 1 or 2 of us in there, I've 3 kids.

Must have
Climate control - happy to have it fixed at 18C, mind. I just like it that the screen never ever mists up.
ABS
Heated mirrors and screens. Electric passenger mirror & window. Quite happy to have manual drivers side & rear ones.
Auto dip rear view mirror.
Manual gearbox
Central locking (not bothered if it's not remote)

Likes
Leather
rear wheel drive
Good stereo with steering wheel remote control & ipod integration. Not fussed about bluetooth, as I'd rather just not have any kind of phone stuff to deal with whilst driving.
Good, sharp, communicative steering.
Drivers side leccy window and mirror.

Very happy without.
Electric seats, cruise control, auto wipers & lights. I want to be forced to concentrate on my driving and immersed in it, not for it to feel like I'm sat in front of a boring TV program with the sound turned down and I'm about to fall asleep. Piloting a tonne of metal at 70mph should feel scary.

b r - Member

Automatic - as most folk struggle with just paying attention to the road so anything that takes away a 'task' is a benefit.

I disagree. In the same way that I never use cruise control, I find automatics result in a disconnect. I'm not saying automatics or cruise control are inherently dangerous but I personally find that I have to concentrate doubly hard on motorways to stop myself "zoning out" slightly for want of a better expression. Cruise control and autos makes the business or driving more comfortable, and less involving.

If you can drive a car at all, changing gear is not a distraction that takes away from the task, it's intuitive and natural. It reminds you you're driving.

In terms of toys or gadgets I'd have in a car I was speccing, well not many really. Heated windscreen. Remote central locking. Ipod connectivity. Power steering. ABS maybe, depending on the brakes and tyres. That's about it really.

wheels?

i like out work VW up. there are no toys in it - its great.

oh, cup holders is the only thing i'd add to my t4.

i hate electric windows.

I disagree. In the same way that I never use cruise control, I find automatics result in a disconnect. I'm not saying automatics or cruise control are inherently dangerous but I personally find that I have to concentrate doubly hard on motorways to stop myself "zoning out" slightly for want of a better expression. Cruise control and autos makes the business or driving more comfortable, and less involving.

This - abso-bloody-lutely.

I think there would be a market for a small, light and simple car, especially for old folks.
If you put a small, efficient petrol engine in the rear then, with narrow tyres, you could dispense with power steering. By keeping it light, you could reduce the thickness of the pillars, so improving visibility. ABS is a must, but they fit it to motorbikes nowadays so it is clearly possible to make a light, efficient system. Likewise airbags- they can be made very light, no excuse for excessive weight.
As for all the extras - most are unnecessary and unwanted. Nearly everyone I talk to dislikes auto wipers and lights and everybody despises automatic handbrakes - "the answer to a question nobody asked" was how one old boy I talked to put it.
I just realised I have described a modern day Hillman Imp, or perhaps the car the new Twingo should be.

Steering wheel controls
Dab [i](FM is dead to me man)[/i]

Heated leather , climate control and 150+ bhp

Thinking back to my old '96 basic spec Astra estate on which the only 'feature' was power steering. It had no A/C, C/L, E/L. Having had some slightly better spec'd cars since I would say those three are what I would miss most now. Not even bothered about power steering on a small car, didn't find it an issue on my '98 106. While that also didn't have A/C or E/L did have C/L, which arguably would have been more useful on the 5 door estate than the 3 door hatch.

I find automatics result in a disconnect. I'm not saying automatics or cruise control are inherently dangerous but I personally find that I have to concentrate doubly hard on motorways to stop myself "zoning out" slightly for want of a better expression.

Disagree.

IMO, for town driving, auto is safer since both hands can always remain on the wheel as you're performing manoeuvres and coming in and out of junctions etc.

For motorway driving, you're in 5th/6th gear all the time anyway, so why would a manual be any more involving?

My last car was an auto and my current car is a manual. I prefer an auto for all but "interesting" roads or when it's icy/snowing.

Well, I'd certainly rather have an auto than a heavy clutch sitting in traffic no argument. But for the motorway whilst I agree there's little to do in either manual or auto, the auto has less involvement. Changing gear is simply never going to happen. Of course it's personal preference and I know many people who love autos and would never go back to a manual.

I personally really like driving, and I like the involvement. No doubt someone will come along and say I'm a dangerous liability on the road because I'm day dreaming, but that's not what I'm saying. I just find that it's very easy to become disconnected from what you are doing on the motorway until something out of the ordinary happens. Cruise control, auto, heated seats, auto wipers, auto lights, proximity sensors....it would be great if these things allowed people to redouble their efforts at focusing on the business of driving but the truth is it just frees them up to text or tweet, or have a sandwich or a fag, or do their make up, or shout at the kids or forward a tweet as a text while they have a sandwhich as they light a fag as they do their make up and shout at the kids.

you not seen the autobahns then?

140kph or 10kph clutch and first so much your left foot turns to jelly.
auto/dsg for me next time. and cruise control.

As someone who's always kept cars until they die, I cant believe some of the modern fancy-pants things some think are essential! The necessary things are the properly adjustable driving seat and steering wheel - anything else is just laziness and more electronic junk to go wrong and cost lots.

andytherocketeer - Member

you not seen the autobahns then?

Well my main experience of autos and cruise control, since I don't buy them has been on the continent on autoroutes and autostrada, less so the autobahn.

I was thinking more people here would be on the side of Lady Gresley.

Sorry to spanner the auto/manual debate, but it is going to be an electric car....

it would be great if these things allowed people to redouble their efforts at focusing on the business of driving but the truth is it just frees them up to text or tweet

I honestly cannot imagine that this is the case. People don't sit there and go "ah well my right foot's now free, I can send a text". That's just daft. As has already been mentioned, using your right foot and changing gear are instinctive. If you're a dozy inattentive driver, then you are going to be one regardless of your car. I can imagine that IF you are already inattentive then cruise may be more dangerous, perhaps, but in any kind of emergency situation you are going to hit the brakes exactly the same, and the same results will apply.

I use cruise and auto. I'm on a motorway surrounded by cars and lorries all at different speeds, and I'm concentrating on them. Not having to watch my speedo as often or change gear (which doens't happen anyway) doesn't make any difference. If I don't watch out, I'm going to crash - regardless.

I use cruise for two reasons - firstly, I know my speed won't be creeping up or down as easily (although it can do on steep downhills) so I have to check my speedo less often (but I still do). Secondly it gives my foot a rest. That's the main reason.

The necessary things are the properly adjustable driving seat and steering wheel - anything else is just laziness and more electronic junk to go wrong and cost lots

Nah - the more automatic stuff, the more I can concentrate on driving.

My most important list in some sort of order:

Reach adjustable steering wheel
Aircon
Cruise
Steering wheel radio controls
Electric door mirrors
Central locking
Entertainment options like DAB or internet radio capability
Built in satnav so I can have a clear windscreen and turn arrows on the dash.. oh and it should have effective voice control too.
Climate control that works well
Automatic

Things I don't have but would like, and are available, in no order

Adaptive cruise
Dimming rear view mirror
Automatic traffic jam creeping
Rain sensing wipers
Cooled seats
Blind spot protection (belt and braces)
Detatchable towbar
Self levelling suspension
Adaptive chassis control
And probably some more...

Things that I really really want, and would be extremely easy to make, but in explicably no-one does:

A bin in the centre console! Why on Earth does this not exist?

Sorry to spanner the auto/manual debate, but it is going to be an electric car....

can't dangle a 50ft power lead 4 storeys down from my bedroom balcony to to a city centre street to charge it

only ever seen about 1 charging point anywhere, ever. but I don't recall where that was.

98 octane for me

I just realised I have described a modern day Hillman Imp

Front engine front drive is definitely better for Joe Public small car in terms of use of space. I've been very tempted by a Toyota IQ for some time but can't quite bring myself to. In a compact I would like to be able to fold/remove rear seats and be able to cover the resulting load bay.

Sorry to spanner the auto/manual debate, but it is going to be an electric car....

Sorry to spanner the auto/manual debate, but it is going to be an electric car....

mine won't

can't dangle a 50ft power lead 4 storeys down from my bedroom balcony to to a city centre street to charge it

Interesting point, and I think, and perhaps central to the design issue.

molgrips

I honestly cannot imagine that this is the case. People don't sit there and go "ah well my right foot's now free, I can send a text". That's just daft.

Sorry Molgrips I probably should have used more smiley faces or exclamation marks to denote the fact that I wasn't being totally literal, I presumed most people would realise that [i][b]"forwarding a tweet as a text while they have a sandwhich as they light a fag as they do their make up and shout at the kids[/b]"[/i] was hyperbole but evidently not. And whilst I acknowledge your god like mastery and skill when it comes to driving, and genuinely appreciate the way in which you proactively seek out and contradict myself and many others on the errors of our driving ways on a regular basis, I would like to take this opportunity, if I may be so bold I'd like to rephrase that in a way that may be pleasing or agreeable to you, my lord of the road, hallowed be your mpg, blessed be your diesel.

So please don't smite me down for my insolence but here goes. Peoples attention spans are getting shorter. People rely more and more on electronic devices. More and more people text while driving. Cars are less involving to drive, easier to drive, more comfortable to drive and electronic aids exacerbate this, rather than decrease this.
The roads are much busier than 20 years ago, and the likelihood the driver in the next lane isn't concentrating is much higher (not you obviously, i know you don't even blink when you drive and you see things before they happen).

I use cruise and auto. I'm on a motorway surrounded by cars and lorries all at different speeds, and I'm concentrating on them. Not having to watch my speedo as often or change gear (which doens't happen anyway) doesn't make any difference. If I don't watch out, I'm going to crash - regardless.

I use cruise for two reasons - firstly, I know my speed won't be creeping up or down as easily (although it can do on steep downhills) so I have to check my speedo less often (but I still do). Secondly it gives my foot a rest. That's the main reason.

I don't find that I need to check my speedo that often. The engine note is a pretty good indictator. If I had cruise control I wouldn't use it, not only because of the cosseting effect but I dislike the way it uses engine braking to moderate speed on declines. Hopefully you can find it in your hear to forgive my impertinent and ignorant prattling.

and even if there were charging points in every parking space in every carpark and autobahn services, I can stick 55 litres of 98 in my car in about 5 minutes. Leccy needs to be able to do the same.

might work in that 100% electric 2.3 children semidetached house with garage and driveway utopia, but won't work anywhere else (other than a minority of council vehicles used to empty bins in the pedestrian precinct)

Peoples attention spans are getting shorter...

I don't disagree at all.

The only thing I disagree about is that not using cruise control improves attention to traffic. I think that the level of distraction of many people is so great that the right foot isn't going to make a difference. They already don't concentrate on it - see how their speed varies up and down hills, and see how they slam on the brakes at speed cameras, because they had no idea how fast they were going in the first place.

Leccy needs to be able to do the same.

Well apparently lots of people have small cars that only drive around town, nowhere else - in which case, electric cars are perfect. However, the big problem is that all these small runabouts are small CHEAP runabouts. An electric Micra needs to cost roughly the same as a 1.0l petrol one - otherwise they'll stay niche.

Small & cheap point.. but can we have USB charging / connection points including one on the top of the dash for powering satnav? Saves having cable dropping all the way down to near the gearstick getting in the way.

and +1 for doge!

J

I once had an old Nissan Almeira that was both brilliant and useless in equal measure, "features" of that car which newer cars are sometimes missing and I in turn yearn for.

Sunglasses compartment, fully felt lined so no need for additional cases.

Adjustable windscreen wiper timer, so wipers while on intermittent could be set to go anywhere between say 2 seconds and 10 seconds apart, thus avoiding the "intermittent, no too slow I can't see, full on, SCREEEEEEEEECH, no not quite raining enough" dilema.

Curry hook, never seen this in any other car, genius cheap idea. little retractable hook in the passenger footwell for hanging your takeaway on while you drive it home, prevents you from running over old people because you are trying not to brake too hard incase your food slides off the chair, or falls over in the footwell.

These should all come in under your budget

I think that the level of distraction of many people is so great that the right foot isn't going to make a difference. see how their speed varies up and down hills, and see how they slam on the brakes at speed cameras, because they had no idea how fast they were going in the first place.

I'll bet you a tenner the people who are slamming on their brakes know exactly how fast they are going - sitting at 85mph and they've just seen plod on the bridge.

@Andy - what's your opinion of flow cells?

Also, would you be happy if you could, somehow recharge quicker?

[url= http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/10/14/2135208/battery-breakthrough-researchers-claim-70-charge-in-2-minutes-20-year-life ]Like this[/url], perhaps?

Or this?

The thing is, reciprocating internal combustion engines are a very refined sort of an ancient technology, all those moving parts, high stresses, liquid flows, oil pumps etc etc...

I'd like heated mirrors, other than that I'm happy.

20yr old Micra, so no gadgetry.
Even has exercise windows!

never used flow cells, so can't comment.

if I can get 700km from a battery, at autobahn speeds, and replenish it in 2-3mins then we're talking.

but it depends on that replenishment. 2-3 mins in any "petrol" station, no problems. 8 hours on charge overnight. forget it. save them for milk floats and local delivery vehicles and the like.

yes leccy may be "perfect" for short trips around town... but only if you have a way to get the energy in to it. and I'm certainly not in a minority that has no feasible means of getting that electricity in to the car... at least with present technology.

I can't believe no one has said an app that lets them turn on their heating via their phone so that the car is warm when they get into it.

Oh, and heated steering wheels, hmmmm.

I'll bet you a tenner the people who are slamming on their brakes know exactly how fast they are going

No, they don't, because they still slam on even when they are doing under the speed limit. There's a 40mph one near me on a DC and people drive up to it at 40mph brake down to 30 and then accelerate away to 50.

Something that would make [b]indicators[/b] really easy for all the stupid morons on the road to use.
I don't know, like if they were controlled by a little stick right by your hand that you could simply push in the direction you were intending to go with a slight movement of your little finger...

oh.

The little parking ticket clip in a Volvo windscreen. Genius.

molgrips
No, they don't, because they still slam on even when they are doing under the speed limit. There's a 40mph one near me on a DC and people drive up to it at 40mph brake down to 30 and then accelerate away to 50.

Yes they do. As I've said time and again, stick to 70mph on a motorway and you'll see 60% of cars rocketing passed you. I hardly ever exceed 70mph on motorways and the one nearest me has a spot where cops love to sit, I see it every time I drive this stretch, which is two or three times a week - cars flying past and then hitting the anchors because they've seen the cops and know they are speeding.

I have every bit as good an idea as you what's going on with the drivers I share the road with.

Yes they do. As I've said time and again, stick to 70mph on a motorway and you'll see 60% of cars rocketing passed you.

I think you misunderstood. Yes, people do slam on when they are concentrating and speeding, of course. You are entirely correct.

But there is also a sizeable portion of people who are not speeding and still brake when they see a camera - the only explanation I can think of is that they are not paying any attention to speed at all, and simply brake when they know they are near the camera (it's fixed on a busy local route). There are also peopel who are going slightly over, who brake far more than they need to down to 30mph.

Glasses for white van drivers, taxis,busses abd tipper trucks.

Spotify in car stereos and the volume that goes up and down dependant on the speed and ambient cabin sound.

Rust proof cars

But there is also a sizeable portion of people who are not speeding and still brake when they see a camera - the only explanation I can think of is that they are not paying any attention to speed at all, and simply brake when they know they are near the camera

Granted, some of them won't know what speed they are doing, some of them won't know what speed they should be doing. Some won't know whether to trust their sat nav or their speedo, or their phone app. Some won't know how far out their speedo is thanks to the **** wheels they might have on the car. And most just won't want to take the chance to get a ticket at all so overcompensate and slow down to where they know they have no chance of getting in bother.

Dab (FM is dead to me man)

Thanks for all the replies, many of them are feesible, I think.

I am surprised there's such a demand for gadgets, I find it interesting!

The issue with providing all these gizmos is the energy density of fossil fuel is so high that providing them doesn't really have a downside, other than cost.

I suspect we're all being taken in by the slick marketing of the modern car companies "You need this gadget".

Do we really need all these things integrated into a car? Do you expect your bike to navigate for you, for example?

pizza oven
hot smoker
sausage rack

I haven't eaten

volume that goes up and down dependant on the speed and ambient cabin sound.

Automatic emergency braking (a la VW Up / Volvo etc).

Stability protection.

Both of which have saved me from one minor bump when someone tried a crash-for-cash stunt, and one potentially nasty accident when the council only bothered to grit half of a major A-road and left the entire tarmac as one unbroken slab of black ice. Felt like a giant hand grabbed the car and turned it around the corner for me. Car behind went into the ditch.

Do you expect your bike to navigate for you, for example?

Can be just as useful. Just look at the number of threads about Garmin/Mapranger/OS maps on phone etc etc.

I mean, I CAN do it with a map, just as I can in the car - but my rides are better when I'm not having to stop to check maps.

Essential -

Heated screens & mirrors
Intermittent rear wipe (My Civic doesn't have one. Honestly.)
Time adjustable intermittent wipe
ABS
Towbar
ISOFIX
Sound system with 3.5mm jack
Cup holder that can hold a standard shape travel mug

Nice to have -

12V or USB plug on the dash for satnav.
Cruise control
Centre console pocket with 12V socket & 3.5mm jack
A/C (would rather just use shades in the back to keep it cool)
A bin. Anywhere.

Can really live without -

Adaptive cruise
Auto braking
Auto lights
Backlit instruments (too easy to not realise your lights are off)
Rear windscreen removed from an AT-AT parts bin

What's the research for gofasterstripes?

There's a few ideas above that I'd agree with and most of them don't add a significant chunk of weight and probably don't cost a huge amount and if you're going for a £7k price point, it's best if they're cheap.

Oh and at £7k it def won't be electric - whoever mentioned that, we've a long way to go before even a basic EV can be that cheap unless you're talking big volume.

Heated screen - means you can do away with all the demister plumbing.
Heated Mirrors - they'll just need wiring into the screen circuit and you'll be able to buy them OEM - a small weight gain for a good benefit
Heated seats/wheel - Possibly allow less cabin heating by heating directly the contact points
Steering wheel controls - I've not had them before this car and they are useful but not sure they're worth the weight. The Elemental guys had a great idea using a button board instead of switches which'd save a chunk of weight. I'm certainly borrowing the idea if I ever get as far as producing my car.

[url=

RP1 Dash[/url]

That idea would definitely save some weight/cost as it takes a huge amount of moulding out of the dash

Other than that I'd be happy for most things to be manual but I'd definitely need a good stereo

G

My car has only one thing on your list, Squirrel, ABS.

I find the split back seat quite handy.

Hey - the research is for the design of an electric car 🙂 It's a university project, ongoing postgrad stuff.

Price, well, you're right that it's not easy at these prices, but we're looking to the future, and I don't mind saying stuff which is not possible now, because as you know, it's no good designing for now 😉

But you're able to buy any number of 10kW electric cars right now from China with a 140kM range for <£5k, and that's without a subsidy.

I remember back in the day when airbags were new, thinking "that should be standard on everything". What, 25 years later and it's a no-brainer. Same goes for ABS. My wife's last two cars both have crash mitigation, and I absolutely think the world would be a better place when that was standard. Yes, driving deserves every ounce of the driver's attention, and i think autonomous cars are a terrible idea, but for that one accident that technology can save you from it is completely worth it!
A few months ago her car saved our bacon by automatically hauling on the anchors as some moron crossed three lanes to catch his turn-off. That extra half a second or less of braking the system provided absolutely stopped us from making contact with another vehicle... I wouldn't want her driving anything without some such system any more...

There's things that are essential, which are few. Wheels and that. But then there's things that once you've used them for a little while, leave a gaping hole when absent. Nonessential but hugely habit forming. So I guess I'm addicted to automatic headlights and cruise control. (I never thought I'd trust the headlights but they've been flawless- better than human) I'm glad I have ABS even though I very rarely use it. MP3 compatability or USB (not just a convenience thing, removes the temptation to fanny around with stereos on the move)

Oh and because it's STW, WINTER TYRES!

A big square hatch at the back and room inside for my bike.

Everything else is secondary.

But you're able to buy any number of 10kW electric cars right now from China with a 140kM range for <£5k, and that's without a subsidy.

Are they something anyone would want to drive though?