Skoda Fabia

Can't remember on the Audi we had a while back, but the Seat Alhambra we have (same VW gubbins I think) has an override button to turn that off (although our VW Blue Motion has no override AFAICR). The Seat uses the auto-restart if you stall it [perhaps that's what you were referring to?] which is exceptionally confusing as, from habit, I turn the key when I stall it - which just counteracts what the auto-restart is trying to do. Can't remember whether the VW does that on stall too though.

I hate all these "I know better than the driver" aids. Operate the indicator stalk and it blinks three times - why? When I accidentally indicate, and then change my mind and go the other way, it must be well confusing to other drivers than I am indicating Right and moving Left :(

And the stupid Rain Sensor wipers, hate them with a vengeance. Steps up from intermittent to constant (or even double speed) by itself (rarely when I myself would choose to) so when I go past a lorry with spray and I want to knock from single-speed to double-speed I push the stalk up one, but in fact it only takes me from intermittent to single-speed :( I am never sure what position the stalk is actually in such that in an emergency I won't reliably select the required function first-time :(

Drove a BMW once that dropped to intermittent at a stop-junction. Why? On that occasion it was absolutely tipping it down and there was no way I could see to pull out from the junction at only intermittent wipe. I don't know why I can't be in control of wiper speed?

 

I've never liked auto wipers, they "drive" me mad, they only wipe when they want to and as Kristen says it usually not when you want them to.
Before the car I have now I had variable intermittent wipers, much better to use, and you are still in control.
As to a car that turns itself off when you stop, they can keep that idea.

Also hate self locking doors, I'll decide if I want the doors locked.

 

@Kristen - not quite what I was talking about, IIRC with the Audi I was driving if you say pull up to the kerb, turn the engine off but still have the key in the 'on' position, for some reason after a given amount of time, the engine restarts itself. Not sure why or what the rationale is but absolutely stupid in my opinion.
The other thing I think it did - though maybe this is just a matter of getting used to something different - was to 'click' as though the turn indicator was still flashing several times after it had actually stopped flashing and set itself back to the 'neutral' position. I found it really confusing especially on non tight turns (e.g. roundabout exit) where more often than not I'd flick it back thinking I was putting it into the 'neutral' position because the clicking noise continued, only to find I was then indicating to turn in the opposite direction. Most annoying!
I know you can turn the start/stop off on some models, but why pay for fancy gadgets if you don't want them is my feeling.
Got to say, which I forgot earlier, is that despite the annoyances it was a nice drive and very solid feeling car. But not for me.
I have yet to come across the rain sensor wiper activation, so that is a good heads up for me, thanks you two.
Maybe I'm just a car fuddy-duddy LOL

Cheers
GG

 

I dont know about a "car fuddy duddy", its the stupid manufactures that are causing the problem, all these silly gimmicks should only be available as extras, like it used to be.
I think it was way back when Japanese motors had all the frills as standard, and the others seem to have followed into stupidity.

 

I think this one (along with lowest-possible-quality electric handbrakes) is to get the car into a better Eco bracket, which saves some tax or somesuch. I had a really excellent electric Handbrake on the Renault Espace (10 years or more ago), but all the ones since them have been so-so or dire :( my belief is that they are engineered to a "get the best eco tax break" level, and as such will most likely fail, and need replacing, during the lifetime of the vehicle; and fixing them will negate any possible environmental saving that might actually have been achievable.

Re: getting used to them - correct. Whenever I get into a car with manual handbrake now it starts running away from me when I park because I am now programmed to assume that the handbrake will come on [in all vehicles!!] by itself when I turn the ignition off :(

All the designer-style lighting variations worry me too. In an emergency will I actually assimilate and react-to all the necessary information? Or will all the myriad variations on lighting mean that I, or the person who's accident I am having, react wrongly?

Mine don't do what I want often. For example, in reasonably heavy snow, where I want fast intermittent, rather than "constant", they will either a) do nothing at all or b) constant. Adjusting the sensitivity to Max or Min does not alter this behaviour IME (had this problem only last week in the Alps)

I simply do not think these things have been sufficiently developed to be let lose on the public. I've had 3 generations of Audi / VW now - so that is nearly 10 years - and all have had the same flaws. These have been added as gadgets by the marketing department in the belief that it will give them the edge in selling their cars. When this car goes in for its first service (which is, sadly, these days at least a year from purchase) they will have to de-activate the rain sensor, as we have had done on the last 3 Audi / VW vehicles. Lets hope I don't need a new windscreen - they cost gazzillions because of the rain sensor - and no way to fit a plain one, even if you have had the sensor disconnected, as I will do. I know because I've tried it and the bloke that came out had to go back to his warehouse to get a rain sensor windscreen :(

Not on mine. The intermittent switch just operates "sensitivity" of the rain sensor. Garage will (well ... up to now it has been able to!) disable rain sensor, returning the adjust-switch to its original role of adjusting the frequency of intermittent wipe (which is what it is used for on the more "basic" models). But buy any slightly fancy model and you get rain sensor included regardless, can't include/exclude it as an option on its own on those higher-spec models (AFAIK)

So you are in the middle lane on the motorway, push to indicate pulling into fast lane - then see the car coming and change your mind what then? Do nothing - 3 indicator flashes later the guy behind is hard on the anchors, or flashing you ... or at the least confused. Or you indicate left (to cancel the right indicator) and the guy on the inside lane makes a mess in his trousers!

This one, at least, I have found in the Config on the dashboard, so was able to turn off without a garage bill

 

I agree with Kristen on most of the gadgets, although I've never had an electronic hand brake and know one bloke who bought a new car, couldn't get on with it, and went back and bought an older model, lost loads of dosh, but felt a lot better about driving it.

I tend to like the three flashes on the direction indicators, it works for me.
I always look "before" indicating,

 

BMW seems to be the answer then. Everything seems to be optional on a BMW. Including mirrors, speedo, indicators, and variable speed throttle as opposed to the BMW standard fully on/fully off throttle.

I actually prefer older cars. If I could afford a new car, I'd take the bulk of that money and put it too my mortgage, except for a grand or two that I'd use to buy another pre-2001 big car.

I've driven plenty of newer cars (hire cars, and once I even owned a nearly new car until I took it back because I hated it), and I just find them horrible to drive. You just feel so detached from the car, with the super sensitive pedals, the steering that adjusts its own stiffness depending on speed so that its always the same, electronic brake force distribution and electronic stability control etc. My last car had some of those features, you'd drive over an uneven surface, make subtle almost subconscious steering corrections but the car would also be doing it, so you'd end up over compensating and it just felt unstable. A previous nearly new car had brakes that switched themselves off entirely more than once (which is why I took it back). I know my car, and indeed most cars that I'd buy have electronics managing the brakes to some extent (ABS) but at the end of the day, there is still a very real hydraulic link between my foot and the brake disks. Unlike my dodgy nearly Citroen, which took input from me, told the computer, and the malfunctioning computer did (or DID NOT) apply the brakes for me.

 

Good idea, thanks. Mrs K's VW went to garage for service a month back - they forgot to reset the Reminder on the dash - they said "Oh, just bring it back its only 5 minutes we'll do it while you wait". Its 20 minutes out of her way, and she gets to work by 6:30 am and doesn't leave until 6:30 or 7pm - they definitely aint open at either end of HER day ... I could fix that myself, eh? Not sure I can send her a bill though

All these gadgets work for me too. 99% or 99.9% of the time. The problem is the odd occasion when they don't, then they are a PITA at best and dangerous at worst . I found the 3-flash useful - just nudge it and it does its stuff. But then once in a while you want to cancel it - and can't.

Rain Sensor works OK. I keep fiddling with the sensitivity trying to get it to do what I want, and I find the fact that it doesn't run with a constant rhythm distracting - I keep thinking "it should have fired by now" - rather than using that brain-space to worry about whether the twit in the slow lane is going to pull out without indicating. It stops raining, the wipers stop. Of course I don't realise they are still on, so i don;t turn them off. Tomorrow, or a week later, a bug hits the windscreen and the wipers go - on a sunny day even!!. It can make me jump ... not good.

VW's turn on single fog light, on inside-side-of-bend, when manoeuvring at slow speed. Its handy, because it lights the kerb etc. Confuses the hell out of anyone in front of you why you are illuminating just one fog light. Countless times we have arrived somewhere, at night, for my Host to greet me saying "One of you fog lights is bust mate" !

I can't apply front fogs and rear red fog lights independently - why is that? I have a two-stage switch, so can only get to stage 2 if stage 1 is already on (can't remember if it is front-fogs first, or rear-fogs first). Why am I not able to control / choose that option?

I have run-flat tyres. No spare - not even a skinny one. Lets hope I don't rip the side wall out of the tyre eh?

So I put Winter Tyres on for the winter - no run-flat available ... so I have to buy inflation pump and a can of tyre sealer ... and still hope that I don't rip the side wall out of a tyre.

Whatever benefit there is of not hauling the weight of a spare tyre around with me must go straight out of the window the first time a puncture causes me to call the AA/RAC and they have to low-loader me to a nearby garage, I have to stay in a hotel or hire a car until the local tyre place a) opens and b) finds me a suitable replacement tyre (fat chance of them doing that in February for a Winter tyre - unless they ordered it in November, as no one stocks them that late in winter ...)

The list of consequences is endless, and not well enough debugged IMHO. Change of change sake.

I like the flashing brake lights for an emergency stop (Mercedes thought that one up I think??) but why would the hazards come on too? - shouldn't that be up to me (and the flashing brake lights be enough of a signal to the guy behind me until I hit the Hazard button?)

 

I think there should be consistency - you are relying on the people behind you interpreting what your various flashing lights are suppose to imply - mean time, all of a sudden, you are coming towards them (relatively speaking, as you are braking hard) at a rate of knots! I don't particularly care what it is, just that not every car manufacturer should decide unilaterally - 'coz it will be their marketing department that decides, not their Boffins.

We have a couple of cars (His & Hers, if you like) and over the years they have been:

Audi RS4 / Chrysler Grand Voyager (10+ years ago) - both 20-ish MPG
Audi RS4 / Renault Espace (30mpg / 40 hypermiling)
Audi A4 (actually an S4 I think - it was rubbish, lots broke/went wrong/couldn't be diagnosed & fixed satisfactorily - 45 mpg) / Renault Espace
VW Scirocco (60 mpg) / Renault Espace
VW Blue Motion Golf (55 mpg - recollection is that I often got better fuel economy from the Scirocco!)/ Seat Alhambra (45 mpg)

(They aren't replaced at the same time, so that's just an approximate indication of what overlapped with what. The small car is the higher mileage, and the more frugal, so that gets replaced more often).

In addition I have a Dax Rush (Lotus-7 replica kit, company is in Harlow, perhaps better known for its Cobra replica - but both kits are excellent)

 

Are you on the pscuk forum?