These modern automotive features really ticked us off in 1999.
The reverse beeper
That all-important truck feature – the reverse beeper – appears to be making a comeback of sorts, at least in Toyota-land. The six-speed version of the Lexus IS200 and Toyota Celica like to test your sanity by beeping as you go backwards.
-
Beep… beep. beep… annoying!
Chrome
Chrome, chrome and more chrome. Luxury car makers started the recent trend in splashing some chrome around their cars. And the Japanese and Korean manufacturers have decided that fake shiny stuff is the way of the future… and the more the better, apparently. But we’ve seen far too many Daewoos and Daihatsus that are chromed beyond recognition. And you can lump fake woodgrain in the same category. And fake carbon-fibre is heading in the same direction.
-
Not like this, but you get the picture…
Small buttons
Radio buttons that require surgeon-like precision just to change stations. Ridiculous in this age of ergonomics. The Alfa 156 is the perfect example, with a screen that is hard to read in daylight, and minute buttons. Mitsubishi recently realised the old Clarion radios are a shocker to operate, but some Suzukis persist.
-
Alfa’s dainty radio controls needed dainty fingers
Modern dashboards
Where is the future of dashboards? It seems every car maker is keen to try something different. Even Mercedes-Benz has changed its 30-odd-year “tradition” and tried something comparatively radical in the S-Class. Honda and Toyota have gone back to the future with digital dashes that, we’re told, don’t have all the pitfalls. But at the very least the segmented fuel gauges just add to the guesswork. And we still can’t adjust to the central location of the Toyota Echo’s instrument pod.
-
It probably seemed like a cute idea at the time
Inaccessible engine bays
Figure this. You’ve bought the Porsche Boxster, taken your friends for a spin around the block, and now want to show them what a beautiful engine it has. Don’t bother, because one of the most stunning convertibles on the market has an engine bay you can’t access unless you’re a service mechanic. Come on, Porsche – if I paid for it, it’s my motor and I want to perve on it.
-
The only way to perve on your Boxtser motor
Non-adjustable steering wheels
Sports cars that make such a big deal about driving dynamics but seem to forget that the drivers come in very different shapes and sizes. We’ve said it before with the MGF and we’ll say it again with Honda’s S2000 – they need adjustable steering wheels. It’s already cramped enough in the cabin.
-
Don’t try to adjust the tiller in your MGF… you can’t
Pedal placement
Speaking of driving positions. French car makers still seem to think that people have shorter legs and longer arms than they really do. And in the new Peugeot 206, the pedals are so close together you can even feel the steering column as it turns. Given the 206 doesn’t come with a free set of ballet shoes, it may be an idea to allocate more space for Aussie feet. And don’t start us on the automatic gearbox in the 406 …
-
Peugeot should have offered ballet shoes as an option to counteract the offset and tightly-spaced pedal box in the 206
Suspension tunes
Car makers that can’t see the value in local development of vehicles. Sure, most European cars seem to pretty much mimic Australian tastes, but the Koreans are waaay out there. The best example of how not to do things is the simply shockingly soft and sloppy suspension on the Hyundai Grandeur. Apparently a fix is on the way.
-
A boat on wheels
Price leaders
The good ol’ bottom line price point. Mercedes does it, Ford and Holden do it, but Toyota is the king at making a car seem cheap in the advertising – until you start fitting some things you want. Toyota’s light car went from having drive-away pricing and air-con thrown in (with the Starlet) to costing $1000 more and losing the lot.
-
The price-leading Toyota Echo, packed with extras like, er, nothing, and nothing and er….
Ugly wheels
Let’s face it, a good set of wheels can make an otherwise average car look pretty good (the Camry GTP is a case in point). So why do some car makers come up with pre-aged designs? Mercedes-Benz, Daewoo, Hyundai – answers please? And just about everything in the AU Falcon range could do with a redesign, with particular mentions to the LTD, Forte and Fairmont.
Story originally published 9 December, 1999
The post 25 Years of Drive: 1999’s most annoying features in cars appeared first on Drive.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar