If you have to spend a lot of time in the car — commuting, running around town, doing lots of country road trips – you’ll want to buy something with all the creature comforts. There’s more and more tech in cars these days, but we boil down a list of the three most important features to look for if you’re buying a new car in 2022.
Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
Let’s face it: everyone is constantly available and on the phone these days. There’s a big temptation to use your phone in the car – but it’s not safe and it’ll cost you big time if you get caught. Instead of risking it, find a car that has Apple CarPlay or Android Auto depending on what sort of phone you have.
CarPlay and Android Auto let you mirror a slightly simplified version of your phone’s screen on the car’s own touchscreen, meaning you can interact with it legally and safely on the go. Texting is done by voice and there are fully-featured versions of Apple Music, Spotify and other entertainment apps to serve up tunes on the go.
Plus, you’ll get the best directions from Google Maps, Waze and other GPS navigation apps which are usually a lot more accurate than the car’s own in-built sat-nav because they have traffic and live reports from other drivers.
Even better if the car has the wireless version of this tech, which means you don’t even have to deal with the hassle of plugging your phone in to make them work.
Heated and Cooled Seats
You’ve heard of heated seats — everybody’s best friend in winter. But what about cooled seats? More and more cars are offering the option of fan-cooling that is built into the seat itself. This is way more effective than blasting the air conditioning because you are actually cooling your body down directly.
Awesome in summer and especially useful if you jump in the car right after going to the gym or exercising, ventilated seats keep you calmer and cooler when the weather is warmer outside. Plus, when it gets cold, cars with cooled seats can usually switch to a heating mode too.
Auto-Braking and Lane-Keeping Assist
Most people reckon they’re a pretty good driver, but let’s face it: we all have our moments. Many new cars act as a second pair of eyes, with extra safety systems designed to stop you from accidentally drifting out of your lane … or running up the back of someone! They’ve helped us out plenty of times.
Auto-braking watches the road ahead and is ready to jam on the brakes if you’re momentarily distracted, or if things move too quickly for you to react in time. The best cars also have reversing auto-braking, which can stop the car if a pedestrian walks behind you without noticing that you’re about to hit them.
Lane-keeping assist helps to keep the car in the centre of your lane without drifting from side to side. The quality of these systems is really variable, but the best cars make driving a lot less tiring by giving you a bit of assistance here and there.
