Yes, they’re expensive to repair, but these are also one of the reasons that new cars have gotten so ridiculously expensive. I don’t need a heads-up display, or a large LCD screen. Give me knobs.
Yes, they’re expensive to repair, but these are also one of the reasons that new cars have gotten so ridiculously expensive. I don’t need a heads-up display, or a large LCD screen. Give me knobs.
And switches or buttons that actually work…
I love the HUD in our Mazda CX-5, likewise the radar cruise control and synthetic top down camera view for parking. Could probably lose the rest although the Mazda engineers have done a great job of integration and the other features aren’t obtrusive.
We have draconian speed limit enforcement in Australia. Happens when population are cattle, not free.
The radar proximity cruise control is a bit of a de-stress mechanism, however, I like to call it the “follow slowest car on the road” mode.
I call it the “Follow the fastest car that’s passing other cars, and they’ll get the ticket” mode. It’s one thing that to me is a huge improvement over standard cruise control.
Is there any feature, “deal with the poorly trained driver who doesn’t know how to adjust their speed to merge into an Interstate or other limited-access highway”?
In theory, the person in the right lane should maintain their speed and the person merging should make any necessary adjustments, either speeding up or slowing down, or at least that what I was taught in Driver’s Ed. In practice, there are people who will make you slow down to let them in, after which the will accelerate in the highway lane beyond the posted speed limit and change to the left lane?
Can this radar thingie help with that or like other automations, gets hopeless when a human confuses it?
Aha, a CX-5, a “small SUV” and probably reasonably fuel-efficient too.
But what if you are driving to your dacha and are carrying your home-owner handyman tools in the wayback, you hit a deer on the highway, and the collision sends all of your gear conking you on the head?
The HUD and radar warnings are safety features. Having to look at a panel to get to the right menu to control them is not.
I got the simplest 2500 4wd they had. Still has doodads that I could do without. 5&1/2 years and 175,000 miles with no major repairs is good. Electric tail gate unlock sucks. After a few bumps and dings doesn’t work and have serious difficulty getting the tailgate down. It’s a work truck that shouldn’t be hostage to damage that bothers office drones.
Now whenever I rent a car, one of the first tasks (after figuring how to plug in the phone and display directions) is to turn off various “features”. I really dislike those that impose the car’s will on the driver. Was in Iceland a few years back, and the “lane assist” kept pushing me around on their narrow road lanes (and one-lane bridges) that it became dangerous. Had to remember to turn it off after every start.
Backup cameras are the one item that I wish my 2008 pickup had.
The windshield mounted safety camera nailed me in my 2022 4Runner. A little rock pitted my windshield, but I was at the beginning of a 620 mile drive, and by the time I arrived, it was too late to stop the propagation. Toyota maintains a list of companies who are able to replace a windshield, and accurately calibrate the remounted safety camera. But a windshield that would have cost me nothing after insurance set me back $400, because insurance doesn’t cover that service.
Radar cruise control, on the other hand, is the first advancement that makes cruise control worth using. Just don’t rely on it in heavy rain or snow.