6 Creature Comforts My Teenage Self Would Hate Me For Loving

In-built sat nav

I’ll be honest: I’m starting with a double-edged opinion on this one. Honestly, manufacturer satellite navigation systems tend not to give as useful or traffic free routes as the free apps from Google and Waze, but they come with the added bonus of not having to plug a mobile phone to your windscreen.

I’ve just spent my first week with our new Abarth 595 long-term test car, and I’m finding the lack of a sat nav seriously annoying. I just moved house and so used all my phone data for the month trying to organise stuff without WiFi. That means if my girlfriend isn’t with me I’ve had to try navigate using actual signposts like something out of the old days. Sat nav systems that are neatly built into the dashboard are a tidy solution to my atrocious sense of direction.

Bluetooth

I’m a firm believer that anything that makes it easier to distract you behind the wheel should be banned. All these new cars providing connectivity that basically let you use your phone without actually holding your phone aren’t really fixing the problem. That said, any car that doesn’t have excellent Bluetooth connectivity to allow me to play Spotify or whatever podcast I’ve just downloaded through its speakers is unacceptably rubbish. I hate the vast majority of radio stations due to cringeworthy DJs or repetitive playlists, so if I can’t play something through my phone my journey is irreparably ruined.

Electric seat adjustment

Yanking a lever beneath the seat so you can slide back and forth is nice and simple and works well enough, but it’s a little imprecise. Trying to move it a couple of inches takes a deft touch and serious concentration, and if you accidentally slide well out of position you’ll be back and forth for days trying to get it just right again.

I’m not the first CT staffer to sing the praises of electric seats, but I want to sing their praises once more. Electric seat adjustment is awesome, because it’s easy to make small adjustments to get your seat perfectly positioned. And best of all some come with a memory so you can let your partner drive your car without raging that everything’s been moved!

Quick defrost windscreens

There’s nothing less pleasurable than sitting in your icy car, waiting for the engine to warm up enough to clear the windscreen. Or perhaps you’ve been sat in your car for a while and the windows have steamed up, but you don’t want to smear the glass by wiping them clear. Fortunately, windscreens that defrost in seconds are now a thing, and are a massive life saver for impatient people like me.

Boot release buttons

No one likes getting their hands dirty closing the boot, so those nifty little buttons that open and close it for you are heaven sent. Such a simple solution to something most of us could probably actually live with, but let’s be honest, we’ve all cursed having nowhere to wipe our mucky digits after closing a filthy boot.

Auto-dimming rear-view mirror

I’ve never quite got on with the old school way of deflecting the headlights of cars travelling behind you by altering the angle of the mirror. I’ve always felt like it makes it hard to judge distance and distinguish cars from one another, so I’m always delighted to see a car mirror get a green tint as night falls instead. It reduces glare while still allowing you to make out what’s behind you. I can’t go back.