The modern automobile industry is more adaptable to technology than ever before. This exposes automobile manufacturers to diverse feature options to include in their end products. Sadly, in most cases that usually works only to the advantage of the car manufacturers.
Most car users never bother learning their vehicle’s unique capabilities. As long as it gets you from point A to point B, that’s it. You’d be surprised however at the many hidden car features you never knew existed in your car. You might even have already disposed your car without ever noticing or using them! Keep reading to get to know about the features.
1. Fuel cork rest
A gas cap holder is among the most overlooked car features. I mean, who gives any attention to the details of their car’s fuel tanks. And if they do, most people never notice this tiny yet very helpful element. If you check behind the fuel tank door, there is a small slot.
Well, what do you think that’s for? Of course, it’s for hanging the gas cap to keep it from dangling unnecessarily and dripping fuel leftover droplets all over your car paint. Unless you want to drive around in a stained car, start making use of this special car feature.
2. Lane keeping assist technology
You simply cannot talk about modern car safety without talking about this incredible and also life-saving car feature. Through this latest addition, your car is made to be self-aware. That extra sense enables it to smell an accident from a mile away, and it can that way even prevent it.
If the installed technology senses the driver is almost abandoning their designated lane, it produces an alert through a steering wheel vibration, audio, or through a visual dashboard display in most modern cars. Interestingly, the lane assist feature may even steer your vehicle back in line when you veer off.
3. Secret umbrella pocket
This hidden umbrella pocket is mostly attached to the car door of most luxury vehicles. An umbrella is a basic necessity for every car user. However, not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege because for now this is a preserve of luxury cars.
Even so, most such car users never realize there’s such a thing as an umbrella holder right next to their seat. This feature is ideal and most convenient for car users in rainy weather. However, as a precautionary measure, storing the umbrella while still wet is ill-advised. The water droplets may wet and ruin other nearby car devices.
4. Secret storage cabin
Nearly all medium-sized and large vehicles have a peculiar storage chamber hidden somewhere in the car. For some cars, the special compartment may be located beneath the car seats, or under the car floor. For other vehicles, the chamber may be stashed somewhere in the trunk or inside the car console box.
The console box runs from the dashboard downward to the space separating the driver’s seat from the passenger’s seat. The truth is, you may never discover these hidden storage spaces if you never take the time to explore the interior of your car. There can be many hidden features.
5. Fuel tank light
Most car users are clueless about the fuel tank symbol on their car’s dashboard. The tank symbol has an arrow pointing on one side. The arrow lets you know the side of the car that the tank is on. This arrow may take a triangular shape and is usually either pointing to the left or right depending on the type of car you are driving.
In some car models, the indicator arrow may be pointing in the opposite direction to the fuel handle. To rule out any confusion, always follow the direction of the arrow light. Isn’t this is a pretty nice car feature?
6. Detailed soundproof mechanism
Over the last ten years, noise proofing in cars has greatly revolutionized. That goes beyond just audio sound. Car manufacturers have decided to go along with this latest revolution by making the car user’s journey more comfortable and tranquil. They accomplish this by completely shutting out road rage noise and noise from other road users.
The excessive outside noise is kept at bay through advanced noise cancellation technology adopted by the manufacturers. This technology is applied on the car entirely. By keeping away the unwanted noise, the driver is less likely to suffer driving fatigue and can stay awake easily.
7. Sleepiness detection add-on
This technology represents a great milestone in modern car safety. The detector essentially monitors your driving patterns, including your steering method as well as movement of your head. With such an observation, the detector can easily notify you of driving fatigue before it begins to overwhelm you behind the wheel.
This latest car safety technology may not have found its way to all cars yet, but it will soon be the talk of town. The cases of car accidents caused by driver drowsiness are endless, but with such a feature in place, they will soon decline. Isn’t that an amazing feature?
8. Adaptable car hooks
Every car comes with its own set of hooks. But have you ever wondered what purpose these hooks actually serve? As a matter of fact, they are multi-purpose. From hanging all your clothes to buckling up luggage with the car seats sleeping, to holding in position your snack bags when you opt for a to-go meal, these hooks definitely qualify to be your friends.
Unless you want your freshly dry-cleaned clothes to wrinkle all the way home, you should begin inspecting your car for these handy gems. They may vary in location, but they are mostly found behind the seats.
9. Green traffic light sensor
Although not popular with most cars, the uptake of this traffic light sensor is quickly rising. Why? Because it is seen as a very practical car feature that aligns perfectly with critical needs of any car user. One such need is attention. How often do you get carried away by your phone or some other activity as you wait for the traffic light to flash green?
Very often, I assume. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Located just behind your rearview mirror, this sensor promptly alerts you when the stoplight goes green. This is honestly such a cool feature.
10. Road setting warning sensor
This timely feature is mostly ideal for snowy, rainy, or frozen environments. You may never discover the sensor if you reside in places that experience less rain or are ever warm. The sensor informs you of the road’s condition, so you can be better prepared in case of any precautions you may need to take.
Such sensors are designed in such a way that they gather weather information of the road surface like the temperature, humidity, dew point, ice percentage, water film height, among other road conditions. And what you can do as well is to alert authorities of any damaging road conditions.
11. Computerized stability control
Also known as electronic stability control, this is a stability control technology that enhances your car’s stability by sensing traction loss and reducing it. When the stability control system detects lost control over the steering, it instantly engages the brakes and steers the car to the driver’s initial intended direction.
The braking system is automated and applied to each wheel individually to counter both under steer and over steer. Through this technology, your car is better placed to handle spins and any other hurdles that may endanger it. And the best thing is that with such a system, losing control becomes really impossible.
12. Car interior glow
Ambient lighting inside your car introduces a warm illumination around the interior space of your car. It may run along the center box, cup holders, door handles, and across the entire dashboard. The driver has for example the flexibility control of setting custom colors along these feature lines, and the passengers get to enjoy the view the most, and it looks pretty awesome.
This interior lighting also enlarges the spatial discernment of the car interior, essentially making the car feel and seem bigger at night than it actually is. The technology is mostly found in expensive models like Mercedes, Jaguar, and Rolls-Royce.
13. Color-marked engines
Are you also even aware that your own car engine comes with color-marked hardware and wiring? The color markings can be applied on the engine’s cylinder or spark plug. This color marks are meant to simplify identification of engine parts whenever engine maintenance is needed.
The color brands may vary based on the engine part or the specific point of the application in the part. That eases your mechanic’s job because they already know how to fix your car based on the parts your car model may need. That also enables them to pre-stock such engine parts well in advance.
14. Smart trunk
This is a totally new concept in automobile technology. It’s mostly incorporated into SUVs and minivans because they are popular with loading different luggage types. The smart trunk is meant to make your work easier, especially when both your hands are full of heavy luggage and you can’t open the trunk.
To spare you the inconvenience of having to place the luggage down before opening the trunk, smart trunks have sensors beneath the car bumper that can be activated by your foot and freely open up the trunk. This is also a healthy way to avoid transferring hand germs from person to person.
15. Flexible cruise control
Traditional car cruise control systems were rather rigid. That gave rise to the need for adaptable cruise control that can candle different road elevations and traffic conditions. With this innovative cruise control enhancement, your car can assist you in driving it. But how is that possible?
This system automatically modifies the car’s speed when it senses a car in front of you. That mechanism allows it to maintain a safe distance between itself and the cars ahead. With such driving assistance, you can always ensure a safe following distance and remain within speed limit, making you both safe and compliant.
16. Grab bars
While you mostly hold on to them just for fun, you should know that grab bars were initially added into cars to aid motion impaired and minimally mobile people access and climb into and out of cars. They provide an extra stability to such people, making their climb into and out of the car more comfortable.
They are also ideal for hoisting people up and down huge vehicles by minimizing dangerous falls, jumps, or skids. The ordinary car comes with four of these supportive vehicle additions that in most cases are mounted on the car’s roof. They are pretty cool, tho.
17. Anti-lock controlled braking
There are major enhancements being applied to the traditional anti-locking brakes. The modern brakes are for example adaptable to pretty dangerous situations. When heavy pressure is applied on the brakes, the anti-locking braking system is immediately activated, and it brings the vehicle to an immediate stop without skidding, attracting road debris and water on the vehicle body, as well as without altering the shape of the car itself.
That clearly covers the definition of safety in its entirety. With the backing of such a car control system you can drive through emergencies by regaining almost tire traction keeping you safe.
18. Automatic lights controller
While your car’s automatic headlights act as a crucial safety element for both you and the car by lighting up your path at night and increasing your car’s visibility in bad weather or poorly lit conditions, their power usage is also significantly high. But what can you do about it?
The naked truth is that most of the time you don’t actually need these lights, especially when driving during the day. Being afforded a manual control switch to actually turn off these automatic vehicle headlights helps in effectively reducing unwarranted energy consumption, saving you money in the process. Try it sometimes!
19. Integrated vacuum cleaner
We all strive to keep our car interior spotless almost all the time. But sometimes it’s just beyond your control. And when the dirt finally spills all over your well-guarded interior, you shouldn’t have to panic any longer, thanks to these incredible car additions.
It is a feature that is commonly found in most large vehicles such as SUVs that ferry many people at once. When there is a crowd in your SUV, you can expect some dirt to spill all over. That’s what underpins the importance of these vacuum cleaners. Most minivan models are also catching up and getting a vacuum cleaner.
20. Smart parking assist
Driving has become even safer these days thanks to the emergence of unmatched driving assistance technology. This technology has found its way especially in parallel parking, which usually troubles many drivers, even the seemingly experienced ones. Many modern cars are now equipped with an intelligent parallel parking system.
The system works through sensors integrated round the body of the car. These sensors can read the car’s surroundings more accurately and guide the driver in parking effortlessly and safely, which is a pretty cool feature. It is believed that with technology advancement, soon these car systems will be designed to function in autopilot.
21. Automated dimming rearview
One of the elements of safe driving is clear vision, especially in the face of blind spots, which is really important. Rearview mirrors help a lot when it comes to boosting such vision. However, these very important vision assist devices may also suffer some blindness.
This may happen due to sunlight reflection or dazzling light from other road users. When such intense light falls on the rearview mirror, its effectiveness as a vision assist is paralyzed. But thanks to automated dimming rearview, it’s now possible to bypass the effects of blinding light. Yet many people still ignore this amazing feature.
22. Automated hazard lights
When you happen to be driving and unfortunately your car breaks down, the first instinct is usually to put on the hazard lights. But suppose there is a fundamental electrical fault with the car, how do you turn on these warning lights? That could be a lot dangerous than you can imagine, especially on the side of a busy highway.
That’s what gave rise to the automated hazard lights. With these feature, you don’t have to activate the lights yourself. As long as the built-in sensors in these lights detect some trouble with the car that renders it unsafe to drive, they activate themselves.
23. Dialogue rearview mirrors
When driving a considerably large car, it becomes a big challenge to effectively maintain eye contact with every single occupant in the rear cabin. This is especially so for parents with smaller children sitting or playing in the back. So it is really hard to always watch out for them.
But to overcome that challenge, dialogue mirrors were invented and incorporated into many cars. Sometimes it becomes necessary to have an eye-to-eye conversation, and you can always rely on this helpful feature for that. The mirror is mostly located in the overhead console of the car, the spot meant for sunglasses.
24. Aluminium body alternative
Are you still obsessed with steel bodied cars? Well, it is time to awake from that slumber. Car manufacturers are nowadays shifting to aluminum as a better alternative to steel when designing car bodies. But why aluminum? Aluminum is not only cheaper than steel, but also lighter and pliable, making it more dent-resistant.
These exceptional aluminum qualities provide room for adding more safety and technological features into modern cars. And therefore, the main goal of using the aluminum body alternative is actually to improve car safety by enhancing the car’s braking, acceleration, and overall handling. Read on for more cool car features.
25. Tire pressure tracker
Most car users have probably already noticed this feature on their dashboards, but have absolutely no clue what it actually means. When you notice an exclamation mark symbol within a yellow triangularly shaped dashboard icon, you should be concerned.
That is a pretty sure indication of your tire pressure running low and calls for immediate action. But you can safely stop the car and keenly assess the tires, identify and remove any piece of nail or other road debris causing the gradual tire deflation. Underinflated tires could pose for example a driving risk, unnecessary tire wear, or complete tire failure!
26. Built-in trunk release lever
And this is yet another timely car safety feature. Although it may not be found in all cars, there is a really great outcry from the masses to make it a mandatory addition in every car with a trunk. Just imagine being trapped in a car’s trunk compartment.
It can be very uncomfortable, especially due to the rapid rise in temperature. Sadly, it can also be fatal. But with the built-in trunk release, you don’t have to be trapped inside the trunk compartment in emergency situations. It has a lever that allows you to open the trunk from the inside.
27. Remote controlled window rolling
This really modern car feature could be indeed the least known by many car users, and yet the most intriguing. Imagine lowering all your car windows instantly at the press of a button. That option presents you with a convenient way of air conditioning your car, especially on a scorching sun day.
All you have to do for that is to understand the right button pattern on your car keys and how to press them. For most cars with this jaw-dropping feature, the idea is usually to press down the unlock button of your car keys for about 5 seconds.
28. Foldable seats
These flexible car seats were first pioneered by Honda and later on many other manufactures followed suit. It is a feature most ideal for compact cars that are more space-squeezed to free up rear cabin space for extra or convenient storage.
The seats can be folded in any direction-up, down, forward, or backward, providing a more versatile space management option. With such an option it becomes a lot easier to ferry tall loads sitting uprightly such as houseplants and bicycles or new bought furniture. Maximizing cargo configurations in your small car increases your car’s load capabilities by a huge margin.
29. Retractable bonnet ornament
While bonnet ornaments have been around since the inception of the automobile industry, in modern luxury cars, these same stationary ornaments have now been given life. This is seen as a great bonus feature for most pricey cars. And considering the price you pay, it is all worth it.
The ‘Flying Lady’ bonnet ornament found on Rolls Royce cars has now been designed to retract within milliseconds when a thieving attempt is made on it. This ensures the spirit of ecstasy is indeed carried on without disruptions. It all really boils down to safety at the end of the day.
30. Volkswagen bud vase
This really cool idea first originated indeed from the Volkswagen Beetle. The vase has been creatively designed to house a flower bouquet and give your car’s ambience a touch of beauty that just will never fade. The flowers also act as natural air fresheners inside the car, effectively keeping away strange odors.
Beyond offering an extra touch of beauty, the flowers also brighten up the car by adding some color and joy to your daily driving experience. It is truly a great way to introduce some flora inside your car. The only downside perhaps is keeping the flowers watered frequently.
31. Tesla Christmas Style
This is an extra entertainment feature for Tesla cars. Neither for safety nor convenience, but simply to entertain your whims, especially when you are in that freeing holiday spirit. Once you activate the Christmas style, simply close the doors and step out of the car and begin to enjoy the show, both you and your family or friends.
Music is the first reflex that gets activated, followed by the lights’ synchronization to your music’s rhythm. A few seconds later, the car’s wing doors join the party. Just like the lights, the doors begin to open and close in sync with the music playing inside the car.
32. Neck warmers for convertible cars
If you don’t drive a convertible car, you may never understand the significance of these really nice neck warmers. But for the owners of such cars, a neck warmer really comes in handy during moments where you are cold or freezing from the head downwards, and it makes them feel warm again.
In that consideration, the manufacturer’s of these adaptable cars made sure to integrate heaters into your car seat’s head rests, affording you an extra layer of temperature control. Truly, this is accessibility on another level! If you want to get to know about some other interesting and unknown car features, keep on reading!
33. Mini Cooper Convertible
Do you ever forget that your Mini Cooper’s roof is retractable? Or perhaps you never even had the slightest clue about it. Well, these amazing cars have a convertible feature. Through their openometer gauge, they can easily compute how long it has been since the car’s roof was last used.
And that will definitely depend on how often you use the car and the weather routine of your location. For most car users in cold places, the roof is mostly intact until the sun shows up, even if it is just for a couple of minutes. This is also a really cool thing to know about.
34. Skoda ice remover
Most car users in Europe are exposed to more severe weather conditions, including the most severe winters, and there it can happen to be very icy. That burden trickles down to their cars in the form of proper maintenance.
Fortunately, a forward-thinking team from Škoda came up with a timely solution. The team integrated an ice scraper in every vehicle’s fuel tank. That made sure the useful tool is always at hand whenever needed. Storing an ice scraper in the gas tank cap is astoundingly clever. You don’t have to worry about snow getting inside your car as you brush it off.
35. Built-in bike rack
The Opel Corsa was definitely made with bike lovers’ interests at heart. It comes fitted with a bike rack that is also retractable, which is really cool if you want to drive mountain biking or something else. It is fixed on the car’s rear bumper and easily emerges when activated.
This is Opel Corsa’s unique feature that creatively made use of a car space that is mostly overlooked and wasted by most car users. This feature also presents a better alternative to bolting a frame manually on the back of your car, leaving it looking less appealing. It provides a safe way to transport your bike upright.
36. Logo-infused headlights
This is especially seen with McLaren cars, whose headlights perfectly resemble the actual shape of the company’s logo. Interestingly, these headlights also align with the body shapes of a majority of their cars. Since this is probably an uphill climb for most other car manufacturers, lucky are they that already drive McLaren models.
The headlights mimicking the company’s logo are a sure sign of pride and represent the groundbreaking milestones the car manufacturer has made in becoming a race car leader. Isn’t this a really cool fact about the McLaren cars? Keep on reading to find out more about car features.
37. Champagne cooler chest
Found in Rolls-Royce models, these champagne cooling compartments are a great addition in as far as driving convenience is concerned. Even though you may not always need to cool champagne in all your trips, it is still worth talking and bragging about this unique feature that is actually rarefied air in the automobile world.
This innovative feature also offers an enchanting way to entertain your guests in style. Just at the touch of a button, the sleek champagne case is transformed in the most alluring way, showcasing your hospitality in a different way. This is a pretty nice car feature, honestly.
38. Mercedes sound safety
Mercedes has taken their car technology top-notch over the last few years. Among their most groundbreaking tech migrations is the pre-safe safety feature. The safe sound system is immediately activated in case the car senses an unavoidable collision. The noise produced by the system helps obstruct any hearing loss occurring amid the crash impact.
The noise itself is not harmful. At 80 decibels only, it is equivalent to the quantity of sound beside a busy highway. Being prepared before an accident happens is a critical safety element. You may not prevent the accident but you may minimize the damage of the aftermath. And retaining your hearing ability is equally important.
39. Citroen Picasso Trolley
Citroën Picasso has made the list of foreign vehicles that fully capitalizes the bumper space. It comes with a shopping cart that can be conveniently stored in the bumper and only produced when visiting the grocery store or farmer’s market.
This is indeed a valuable tool that essentially eases your movement flexibility. This trolley doesn’t just go as far as the packing lot, like the chain store trolleys. Your bumper trolley stays with you wherever you go. Its convenience even goes beyond the grocery stores. It can be used during camping or even during ball games to ferry sporting gear and the likes.
40. BMW brake drying mechanism
BMW has always been a technology leader in the auto world. That’s for sure. And their latest brake drying tech innovation places them even further ahead. This feature works through sensor collaboration. One sensor detects the wheels slipping, and the other sensor detects the windshield wiper operation. They then conclude the presence of rainfall.
The brake drying system then periodically presses the brake pads against the brake rotors. Through this action, water is dried off the surface of the discs, effectively making the car make a quicker and safer stop in an emergency situation. This process guarantees durability of your braking hardware such as the rotors and pads. Cool, right?
