Cars these days are as tech-loaded as they’ve ever been—that much is true. However, it’s also true that several of the gadgets and gizmos that carmakers have been equipping their cars with aren’t exactly tech that would prove useful for everyday driving.
We have our own share of car features that we think are unnecessary, but we wanted to hear what you guys think. We recently took to social media to ask you guys about it, and as always, the responses were very entertaining. We understand that certain features that some drivers find useless may actually be helpful for others. We’re only here for fun and healthy discussions.
You can read on below to see some of the best answers we got.
“The auto-tailgate thingy. I’m afraid of it swinging open nang biglaan and hitting me. Lol.” – Elaine C. Lara
“Excessive use of touch controls. What’s wrong with physical knobs and buttons?” – Sheng Banzon
“Not for all, but having a sunroof in the Philippines!” – Vic Barredo Gumban
“Faux wood trims and faux carbon fiber.” – Mike Myers
“Autopilot and self-driving features. It will never ever work in Philippine settings.” – Christopher Gideon Rufino
“Cupholders hahahaha nine cup holders hello Innova owners there!!!” – Geno Chua
“In PH, signal lights for kamote drivers.” – Watz Florento
“A growing trend is the push button. For brakes and engine start. Buttons are fragile and break a lot more albeit convenient.” – Adnan P. Calbe
“Headlight washer.” – Joseph Eugisalap
“Electronic hand brake. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” – Patrick Capiz
“Here in PH!? It’s the blinkers. No one knows how to use them.” – PJ Gadz
“Well, I noticed a lot of drivers don’t use their signal lights” – Niño Santiago
“Mercedes E headlight wiper” – Legazpinoy Albayano
“Signal lights. Most cars in PH have this useless feature. Hahaha.” – Joshua Amable Liao
“Power-adjustable seats, so slow.” – Jollibee - Al Jubail
“In the Philippines, side mirrors and turn lights are worthless since motorcycles pop out every time, anyway. However, high beam should be further intensified since drivers prefer to always shine bright like a diamond.” – Hong Michael Hendrick
“Climate control. A manual-type A/C works just the same for me, not to mention it’s less costly to have it fixed in the event it goes wrong” – Ron Yu
“Automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers. Is it really that hard to turn it on yourself?” – John Homer de Leon
“Too many sensors and electronic-assist devices. Computers can never outdo human intuition and a properly trained driver.” – Tplnm Billy
“Rain-sensing wipers. I mean c’mon…” – Edison Ortiz
“Automatic tailgate. Especially those without foot sensors. And personally, cruise control and auto park.” – Victor Greg
“Cruise control is useless here in the Philippines. *edits* Ok, let me correct this. Except in TPLEX and SCTEX.” – Vincent Ermita
“That space in between the seats where I always lose my keys and phone.” – Grace Pamintuan Serrano
“I want to say heating. One time, though, I rescued a friend who had an accident and it was raining crazy. I was drenched in heavy rain for almost an hour as we did our best to pull the car out of the canal. Finally, my body gave in and I was shivering uncontrollably. I got back into the car and turned on the heating. It really helped a lot. Although in eight years of driving, that happened only once.” – Vashmet Givanim
“The useless auto-everything stuff. They either don't work or breaks immediately while costing a kidney to repair. Auto wipers, auto headlights, auto door/tailgate close, auto park, auto pilot, well... except auto braking and collision detection, of course.” – Iyan Manzano
“Auto park. If you don’t know how to park, you have no business being behind the wheel.” – Dodie Tristan Campomanes
“Headlight. Maraming hindi gumagamit nun lalo na mga PUJ. Akala nila mala-pusa mata nila eh.” – RK Delas Alas
“Car cigarette lighter.” – Marlon Marquez
“Signal light. Chos! Ang dami kasing hindi marunong gumamit nun. Hahahaha.” – Dec Arreza
“Front and rear plate-number mounts... There are no plates to install...” – Arnz Lorenzo
“Owner’s manual. May FB naman pwede naman magtanong sa ibang owners eh.” – Franklin Lu
“Heated seats in the Philippines.” – Ehreiz Vizconde
“Rain-sensing wipers! Magugulat ka na lang!” – Cylo Angelo Basuel
“Check engine light. After checking under the hood, the engine is still there.” – Dennis Salud Fortuno
If there’s any takeaway from what we’ve read today, it’s that many motorists still have a lot to learn about using their signal lights. Anyway, do you have anything you’d like to add here? The comments section is open.
