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Post by michael on Jan 12, 2018 20:23:24 GMT
I caught an episode of Top Gear on Dave for the first time in ages. It does seem that long ago these shows started but this episode was 16 years old.
Anyway, it’s featured the run out edition of the NSX, the white one and it featured such features as an electric aerial that had a setting where it could be raised halfway to reduce drag.
So, what’s the most bizarre function you’ve had on a car ?
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Post by Big Blue on Jan 12, 2018 21:07:26 GMT
Sport setting on iDrive that always reverts to Comfort every time you stop the engine. Door mirror that does that dip thing when you reverse even though the car has surround view. Mini rental car with puddle light that shines a huge MINI logo on the floor: grotesque. Manual gear change option on a full auto.
Most bizarre: 1.2l 3-cylinder Diesel engine in rental VW. Bizarre.
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Post by Martin on Jan 12, 2018 21:39:41 GMT
Sport setting on iDrive that always reverts to Comfort every time you stop the engine. Door mirror that does that dip thing when you reverse even though the car has surround view. Mini rental car with puddle light that shines a huge MINI logo on the floor: grotesque. Manual gear change option on a full auto. Most bizarre: 1.2l 3-cylinder Diesel engine in rental VW. Bizarre. Leave the L-R mirror adjustment button in the other position and it won’t tilt. I can’t think of any bizarre functions. |
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Post by michael on Jan 12, 2018 21:57:13 GMT
Isn’t the dipping door mirror an option in the idrive settings? When it’s not ticked to do it every time then switching the left or right button will dip the respective mirror on an ad hoc basis.
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Post by Martin on Jan 12, 2018 22:04:54 GMT
Isn’t the dipping door mirror an option in the idrive settings? When it’s not ticked to do it every time then switching the left or right button will dip the respective mirror on an ad hoc basis. Not on mine. |
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Post by michael on Jan 12, 2018 22:09:30 GMT
Really? I’m sure that was a configurable option through the menu on the D3.
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Post by Martin on Jan 12, 2018 22:20:07 GMT
Really? I’m sure that was a configurable option through the menu on the D3. I’m going to have to check now.....  edit: found a pdf manual online, it’s only switched on/off with the button. |
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Post by Big Blue on Jan 12, 2018 23:36:34 GMT
Yes, I know about the button thing but the fact it does it at all with surround view is a bit pointless: if I want to see how close to the kerb I am I look at the screen.
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Post by johnc on Jan 13, 2018 14:40:49 GMT
Lumbar support which is very useful at one end of the scale but I can't imagine how contorted you would need to be to have it fully extended: it would be crippling. Every extra my car has, has proven itself extremely useful over the years and I would spec them all again. |
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Post by Blarno on Jan 13, 2018 17:42:55 GMT
The only frippery on my car is the Night Panel. Serves no real purpose but looks really cool.
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Post by PG on Jan 13, 2018 21:18:27 GMT
Lumbar support which is very useful at one end of the scale but I can't imagine how contorted you would need to be to have it fully extended: it would be crippling. Every extra my car has, has proven itself extremely useful over the years and I would spec them all again. Once you're used to some piece of FG, it is very easy to convince yourself that it is now essential. ;-) Voodoo cruise and cooled seats are now a must have! |
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Post by johnc on Jan 13, 2018 21:44:53 GMT
Lumbar support which is very useful at one end of the scale but I can't imagine how contorted you would need to be to have it fully extended: it would be crippling. Every extra my car has, has proven itself extremely useful over the years and I would spec them all again. Once you're used to some piece of FG, it is very easy to convince yourself that it is now essential. ;-) Voodoo cruise and cooled seats are now a must have! Nothing wrong with spoiling yourself now and then! |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Jan 14, 2018 17:48:13 GMT
The only frippery on my car is the Night Panel. Serves no real purpose but looks really cool. Electric windows and alloy wheels were once classed as fripperies. |
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Post by Martin on Jan 14, 2018 17:51:47 GMT
My hire car post has reminded me...lane keep assist. An annoying function and if you need it to avoid crashing, you really shouldn’t be out on the road.
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 14, 2018 20:38:23 GMT
My dad’s Mondeo has this. I turned it off.
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Post by michael on Jan 14, 2018 21:56:46 GMT
My hire car post has reminded me...lane keep assist. An annoying function and if you need it to avoid crashing, you really shouldn’t be out on the road. This is so true. I've driven an XC90 with it and it's a horrible feature. |
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Post by cbeaks1 on Jan 14, 2018 22:52:25 GMT
I think Lane keep stuff is important for getting to 5 stars in euro NCAP 2018. It is the lack of active safety forward facing camera systems that gives some of the low scores.
I also always turn it off.
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 15, 2018 8:41:32 GMT
Probably the most bizarre thing on cars I have driven is the so-called cornering-assist foglights.
Negotiating a roundabout at night, for example, they flash on and off and confuse people (well, this function on other cars I see when driving confuses/annoys me).
On the Captur, selecting "reverse" puts both front fog lights on automatically, illuminating the roadspace where you have just been.... pretty stupid IMHO.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Jan 15, 2018 8:43:31 GMT
Probably the most bizarre thing on cars I have driven is the so-called cornering-assist foglights. Negotiating a roundabout at night, for example, they flash on and off and confuse people (well, this function on other cars I see when driving confuses/annoys me). On the Captur, selecting "reverse" puts both front fog lights on automatically, illuminating the roadspace where you have just been.... pretty stupid IMHO. Isn't that so that Captur drivers can look at what they've just reversed over? |
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 15, 2018 8:45:11 GMT
.. such as a badger, cat/dog etc  why would you want to look at that? Maybe it's a French thing? |
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Post by michael on Jan 15, 2018 8:48:28 GMT
On the Captur, selecting "reverse" puts both front fog lights on automatically, illuminating the roadspace where you have just been.... pretty stupid IMHO. That's quite odd! Sounds like a feature that has been added because they could rather than they needed too. I didn't realise the lane keeping tech was now considered in NCAP. This means we end up paying more by default for stuff we don't need. |
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 15, 2018 9:03:57 GMT
The foglight on the Merc came on in reverse. If you turned the wheel to the left, the right hand light came on and vice versa. I am assuming it was to illuminate the corner so you reduce the risk of hitting something with the front end.
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Post by Martin on Jan 15, 2018 9:24:34 GMT
The foglight on the Merc came on in reverse. If you turned the wheel to the left, the right hand light came on and vice versa. I am assuming it was to illuminate the corner so you reduce the risk of hitting something with the front end. I think you’re right. Both cornering lights (built into the headlamp) come on in the BMW when I select reverse. I agree with Chris, fog lights as cornering lights are pointless, they’re too low and not bright enough in my (limited) experience. |
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Post by racingteatray on Jan 15, 2018 9:42:14 GMT
Yes, the GC does the same thing - both foglights come on in reverse and the relevant one comes on when turning. Very odd.
I think the most ornate bit of FG I've had on a car was in the 500E, where there was a dash button for automatically raising or lowering the rear headrests. When not in use, they were flat against the rear shelf in recesses and then they flipped up or down at the touch of a button.
In a rental car, it has to be the vibrating massage seats in the Grand Picasso we had in Edinburgh a few months ago.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jan 15, 2018 11:31:48 GMT
The foglight on the Merc came on in reverse. If you turned the wheel to the left, the right hand light came on and vice versa. I am assuming it was to illuminate the corner so you reduce the risk of hitting something with the front end. I think you’re right. Both cornering lights (built into the headlamp) come on in the BMW when I select reverse. I agree with Chris, fog lights as cornering lights are pointless, they’re too low and not bright enough in my (limited) experience. I find the cornering lights on the Benz very useful, but then a lot of my driving is along dark country lanes. They shine a useful beam of light into the side road to which I am about to turn. |
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Post by alf on Jan 15, 2018 17:20:57 GMT
The foglight on the Merc came on in reverse. If you turned the wheel to the left, the right hand light came on and vice versa. I am assuming it was to illuminate the corner so you reduce the risk of hitting something with the front end. I think you’re right. Both cornering lights (built into the headlamp) come on in the BMW when I select reverse. I agree with Chris, fog lights as cornering lights are pointless, they’re too low and not bright enough in my (limited) experience. I do really like cornering lights if they work properly. The ones on the Jag are excellent, but they are not front fog lights since it does not have them... I suspect I would like even boggo fog lights as cornering lights also, fog lights often do light up the area you are turning into better than dipped beam, if using a lot of lock at low speed. I am especially keen on this sort of thing as I once very (and I mean VERY) nearly ran two people over in my first 156 V6, going hard right on a small roundabout in a village centre at about 0100hrs on a Sunday morning. Two drunks (I'm assuming) had presumably expected me to go straight over, not right, and had been standing in the middle of the road. They scattered alternate ways as my headlights picked them up, which was far, far too late for me to see them in time to avoid them. I'm not sure I have any FG stuff I see as really pointless, except "valet parking" features which presumably make sense for our American friends... |
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Post by rodge on Jan 16, 2018 2:59:32 GMT
Daylight running lights.
For some reason, (maybe it’s specific to the US), modern cars with DRLs only light up the front lights, meaning there are a ton of cars driving around at night with no rear lights illuminated.
My car is 18 years old this year and it has them, but the rears come on too.
Then again, it is a Japanese Mercedes...
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Post by Boxer6 on Jan 16, 2018 7:10:10 GMT
Daylight running lights. For some reason, (maybe it’s specific to the US), modern cars with DRLs only light up the front lights, meaning there are a ton of cars driving around at night with no rear lights illuminated. My car is 18 years old this year and it has them, but the rears come on too. Then again, it is a Japanese Mercedes... Most cars here do exactly the same, or so it seems at least (I think there's a thread about it somewhere). I have noticed recently, though, that most, if not all, of the Koreans DRL's light up at the rear too. Not sure if that's always been the case, but in the more recent models it seems range-wide now. |
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Post by johnc on Jan 16, 2018 7:46:32 GMT
I have noticed recently, though, that most, if not all, of the Koreans DRL's light up at the rear too. Not sure if that's always been the case, but in the more recent models it seems range-wide now. About time too. I don't know which political muppet thought fronts only were a good idea. |
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Post by alf on Jan 16, 2018 9:08:37 GMT
I think all cars should have dipped beam come on through a light sensor, without the facility to switch it off while the engine is on. It would save a lot of lives - loads of people drive around in the dark or semi-dark (or fog) with no lights on, or just front DRL's.
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