Some expensive cars offer some nice/luxury features.
But how difficult to make them available in cheaper cars?
Few examples:
1. lights in foot well
2. trays at the back of front seats (like in airlines)
3. An emergency torch inside the vehicle (can be charged from vehicle battery) - this is something one can easily buy though
4. Triangular warning sign visible when boot is opened.
5. Lighter socket in boot
etc.
Last edited by: movilogo on Wed 24 Jul 13 at 10:31
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>> Some expensive cars offer some nice/luxury features.
>>
>> But how difficult to make them available in cheaper cars?
>>
>> Few examples:
>>
>> 1. lights in foot well
>> 2. trays at the back of front seats (like in airlines)
>> 3. An emergency torch inside the vehicle (can be charged from vehicle battery) - this
>> is something one can easily buy though
>> 4. Triangular warning sign visible when boot is opened.
>>
>> etc.
It wouldn't be difficult, but it would add to the cost. You get what you pay for.
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Asabove you get what you pay for. Profit margins have traditionally been smallest on small cars and like you saythey are luxury items, I don't think I've ever really needed any of those things. Might see more of those on smaller cars as premium downsizing continues.
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May I just ask - why would anyone want lights in the footwells?
Apparently my car has them but in four months odd now I haven't got round yet to driving it at night.
My car also has the longest list of 'standard features' that I've ever seen on any car, evidently in a bid to achieve 'luxury' status for what is a pretty ordinary motor, but it lacks the one thing I would find most useful of all - a power point in the boot.
Incidentally, in the late 1980s I did a press road test of a Skoda Favorit that boasted a plug-in rechargeable torch that doubled as a boot light. I praised it as being a really worthwhile extra but I don't think I've seen another from that day to this.
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Only cars I've seen them fitted were American cars. Little led jobs, a bit weedy but better than nothing.
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If all these items were in budget cars,no-one would buy the expensive ones.Having said that,the new car I've just bought,whilst mid-range,has so many features(including footwell AND internal LED lights)that I haven't found them all,only the ones I need.
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>> If all these items were in budget cars,no-one would buy the expensive ones.
That was my thought, or something along the lines of - each model up has toys the one below it hasn't.
A bit like this, so everyone knows their place:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hhrwl
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The glovebox light that doubled as a rechargeable torch was a feature of BMWs for many years - I can't remember when it disappeared, but as mentioned above a cost cutting measure I suppose.
What I intensely dislike is the deliberate suppressing of features that would cost little or nothing to activate. Our Up! doesn't have a trip computer visible in the instrument cluster, it's only available as an option. The display is there - it shows the outside temperature - and the capability is there, you just can't access it. The trip computer's outputs are accessible via the navigation screen, but its a couple of hundred pounds to do so through the instrument cluster - v annoying!
On the other hand it does have some 'big car' features that you wouldn't necessarily expect such as heated seats, Bluetooth, satnav and a really good quality leather bound steering wheel. There are some real cheapskate touches as well though; no cord to lift the parcel shelf, and no switch on the drivers door to control the passenger electric window!
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I imagine someone with access to a VAG-COM or similar cloned device could enable the trip computer for a small fee. My indy turned off the 'low washer fluid' warning lamp in my car by this method as it was forever crying wolf
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>> May I just ask - why would anyone want lights in the footwells?
So that I can see and admire my Gucci shoes during the hours of darkness.
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>>
>> Incidentally, in the late 1980s I did a press road test of a Skoda Favorit
>> that boasted a plug-in rechargeable torch that doubled as a boot light. I praised it
>> as being a really worthwhile extra but I don't think I've seen another from that
>> day to this.
>>
All Peugeot 3008s have a boot light that turns into a torch.
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>> I did a press road test of a Skoda Favorit
>> that boasted a plug-in rechargeable torch that doubled as a boot light. I praised it
>> as being a really worthwhile extra but I don't think I've seen another from that
>> day to this.
>>
Quite a few Citroens (and I presume Peugeots) have this nowadays.
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1. I keep a wind-up torch in the glove-box. I used to keep a torch there, but the batteries were always flat whenever I needed it.
2. I don't let passengers eat or drink in my car. They don't clear up their mess and litter so I don't see why I should.
3. See 1.
4. Can be easily purchased.
5. I've never had the need for one.
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Warning triangles inside the boot lid featured on some Mercedes models.
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>> Warning triangles inside the boot lid featured on some Mercedes models.
>>
My 1994 Audi Cabriolet has this feature as well :-). I guess the move away from saloons for almost all categories of car makes this feature harder to implement nowadays?
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First car I remember us (parents) having with a rechargeable torch was a Lancia Beta where it clipped under the dash. On my C5 Tourer one of the two loadspace lights was in fact a clip out rechargeable torch and very useful. Likewise on the C5 and several cars before they had cigar lighter sockets in the rear which I've found most useful for using my car tyre/cycle/inflatable boat air pumps, 12v inspection lamps etc.
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1. lights in foot well I know where my feet are without lights.
2. trays at the back of front seats (like in airlines) - A really great safety feature to impale back seat passengers on. If they want to eat, they can get out and walk
3. An emergency torch inside the vehicle (can be charged from vehicle battery) - this is something one can easily buy though Always carry a torch with long life batteries. I also have a phone with a torch and a micro torch on my keyring
4. Triangular warning sign visible when boot is opened. Useful if I open the boot and want to know I have opened it and not gone blind
5. Lighter socket in boot No one is going to smoke in my car. The power socket in front is sufficient for a car cleaner
They are to luxury items what a pekinese is to a dog race.. a waste of money and space.
Last edited by: madf on Wed 24 Jul 13 at 13:19
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>> If they want to eat, they can get out and walk
Babies can't walk :-) Even some non luxury cars (e.g. Renault Scenic) include this. Tray is useful not just for eating but for working a laptop for example as well.
Never understood why Merc has warning triangle visible in open boot lid. I guess it is just a warning triangle for using on road in case of breakdown. They used boot lid inside just to stow the item.
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>>Never understood why Merc has warning triangle visible in open boot lid. I guess it is just a warning triangle for using on road in case of breakdown. They used boot lid inside just to stow the item.
The Triangle, when the boot is open, is an added indication that the car is stationary.
I think it is a great idea.
In addition the triangle is immediately to hand for deployment and avoids searching for it.
I have bought a similar triangle ( made by Hella) and the proper fittings to fit my X type Jaguar. It is not quite as good as the Merc as the triangle is folded and only one third of the reflective triangle is on show.
The triangle lives under the boot lid with my umbrella in its clips ( That is luxury but you get wet prior to deploying it :-( )and I also have an emergency LED beacon magnetically attached to the boot lid.
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Lights in the foot well...I understand it's so women can see where they've put their handbag and rummage in it.
I don't carry on, it all goes in my jeans pocket.
Pat
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Seems pretty obvious to me. It's so you can find what remains of your sandwich in the footwell after it has flown off the passenger seat under heavy braking which you had to employ because you weren't paying attention due to being on an important phone call. Stands to reason. Surprised people don't know that to be frank. Sheesh.
Edit - That's another reason why bananas are superior to apples, don't roll bananas y'see. Curvature.
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Wed 24 Jul 13 at 16:05
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Humph, I always find tubes of Pringles a pain to eat when driving..........
but they do perfectly fit in a proper positioned cupholder.....
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I can see now why you choose a tall car. Pringles would be inconveniently high up in a lower slung model's cup holder.
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I know there are quite tough and resistant little powder compacts, Pat, and if the little round mirror doesn't do the trick those big artic r/v mirrors are surely just the thing when you swivel them round. But don't the fat and thin lipsticks, lip gloss, eyeliner, glittery purple eye shadow, tube of foundation gunk, mascara and all the associated little brushes and so on get a bit squashed, bent or even broken in an ordinary jeans pocket, back or front? Or do you have cargo pants with compartments down the thigh and calf?
I ask in a spirit of concerned inquiry you understand.
:o}
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AC
I assume you've never met our Pat?
;>)
edit to include our
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Wed 24 Jul 13 at 18:19
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"But don't the fat and thin lipsticks, lip gloss, eyeliner, glittery purple eye shadow, tube of foundation gunk, mascara and all the associated little brushes and so on get a bit squashed, bent or even broken in an ordinary jeans pocket, back or front"
I understand It's problem that a lot of lorry drivers have.
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Whenever I hear or read about footwell lighting, I always think of the mk2 Mondeo.
The Ghia models had ambient lighting in the footwells, which was missing from the LX and other lowly models.
In fact, if you looked closer on an LX, the holders and wiring were all there. They just left the bulbs out on the production line. Installing a couple of quid's worth of bulbs fully enabled this feature.
Of course in more modern cars, many features are simply enabled or disabled via software.
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Know what you mean DP. Ford were always masters of the adding of no value while clearly convincing some of the need. The black door handles on the LX versus the body coloured ones on the more expensive models used to amuse me. At what point does having body coloured door handles improve a workaday car? Or even before that, you got different plastic hubcaps depending on the model level. Not different wheels or tyres just different hubcaps which couldn't have cost more but they charged more for them. Brilliant !
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Citroën must run Ford a close second then.
Lighting in the door bins which operate when you put your hand in you can change the colour of. Very ahem, useful !!!
With the exception of the warning triangle in the original list the rest are all standard in a run of the mill MPV.
Foot lighting can be handy for finding the whatever junior has dropped which you know will fester if not retrieved and you forget you have a torch in the boot doubling as a boot light.
Trays are great for keeping the kids entertained with pen and paper when travelling or laptop if we run out of things to draw.
Power source in the boot handy for the cool box or providing power via an inverter to the laptop leaving the front power source free for satnav, phones etc...
Last edited by: gmac on Wed 24 Jul 13 at 18:01
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>>Know what you mean DP.
>> Ford were always masters of the adding of no value while clearly convincing some of the need.
>>
Luxury ?
Ford deleted the dipping feature on the internal mirror and the boot light on my Crusaders.
The boot light cost me peanuts and an earth wire. A breakers yard sourced the mirror.
On my SE version of the X type they deleted the red " door open" warning lights.
The X type has no ( expected ) nice analogue clock but a tiny digital job in the main screen ( if it is switched on) or another in the information panel if you tap through to it.
They deleted the rear centre head rest. Rear tread plates are an extra.
My MKII Mondeo has swivel map lights in the front but not the X type( that must be fractions of a penny).
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I think my 9yo car has some of these features. Not opened the glovebox for over 2 years but the rechargeable torch rings a bell. Anyway, I keep a Petzl zoom in the boot anyway (far too heavy for backpacking these days). I might even have footwell lights. No use at all as I know where the door is.
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A small luxury car might cost more than a large one due to space constraints and miniaturisation requirements. The additional cost of metal on a large luxury car would probably less than £100 and everything else equal.
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Luxury features in budget cars - L'escargot
