25 Hidden Features in Cars You’ve Overlooked

You probably spend a fair amount of time in your car, but how well do you really know it?

Whatever make or model it may be, you can actually be sure that your car has a function that you haven’t discovered yet. Sometimes that is because it’s literally hidden and finding it is hard, but in other cases it’s something that’s been right in front of your eyes this whole time. From safety to hygiene, these are 25 hidden features that deserve your attention.

1. Colors under the hood

You don’t really have to be a mechanic to be able to find your way under the hood. Modern cars are color-coded to identify different parts of the engine, so it’s super easy for you to see what to look out for between services.

Parts such as the oil dipstick and the caps for the coolant, brake fluid and windshield washer fluid all have their own color. So you can do the simple maintenance yourself and leave the really complicated stuff to the experts. Most cars use yellow and blue for the parts mentioned, but some brands make them green or red.

2. The Hidden Jeep

OK, this one isn’t really all that useful, but it’s still fun. Most major manufacturers put hidden messages, funny references or memories of the past into their cars. Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Chrysler are a few of the brands that place these kinds of hidden messages.

The American brand Jeep is especially well-known for this. Car magazine Car and Driver found no fewer than 30 of these so-called “easter eggs”. In the Jeep Renegade. Most of these refer to its iconic World War II ancestor Willy’s Jeep. Do you happen to have a Jeep? Then take a good look. You can probably recognize the silhouette of the Willy’s somewhere.

3. The VW Beetle’s vase

From the 1950s, Volkswagen put a small vase on the dashboard of the original Beetle. In the hippie era of the 60s and 70s, this option became really popular. The vase was perfect for a beautiful flower but could also be used for a set of pens, toothpicks, or even lipstick.

When VW brought back the Beetle in 1998 as the New Beetle, they also re-introduced the vase. The vase disappeared again when the model was renewed in 2011. So if you happen to have a very old Beetle or a slightly newer Beetle, do not forget to brighten up your car with a beautiful flower!

4. Hidden cargo areas

City cars are small, but many models actually have hidden cargo areas. The Honda Jazz and Civic, for example, feature a ‘Magic Seat’ system. This system allows you to fold up the rear seats for more cargo space. This way you can take lengthy items that you might not be able to fit into the trunk. You can also fold down the backs of the front seats so that you have a lot of legroom in the backseat. Or you could use to take a nap, of course.

5. BMW’s Brake Dryer

Car designers are constantly working on new ways to make their cars safer. And nothing is safer than a set of good brakes. To counteract reduced braking power caused by wet weather, BMW came up with the ‘Brake Drying System’. The system is activated as soon as the windscreen wiper rain sensor is triggered. At this point, the brake pads are pushed a little closer to the discs in order for them to stay dry. This way, you always have enough braking power to stop in wet conditions. You probably don’t even notice your Beemer is doing this.

6. Neck warmers

Seat heating Is now a relatively well-known option for modern cars, but some brands go even further to keep the passengers comfortable. They offer neck warmers especially for those who wish to keep the roof of their convertible open in colder weather.

Mercedes-Benz first came up with this function in 2015 under the name ‘Airscarf’. Competitors Audi and BMW followed in their footsteps soon after. The systems work by blowing warm air out of the headrests. Of course, the temperature and the precise direction are completely adjustable. This keeps the passengers nice and warm even while driving.

7. Subaru’s ‘EyeSight’ Traffic Light Checker

Nothing is more annoying than waiting for a traffic light. Especially if it’s impossible to see when it turns green. Subaru has come up with a solution for this. The EyeSight system alerts you with soft beeps that the row in front of you is moving again.

Convenient if you weren’t paying attention or if the sun shines in your eyes. Simultaneously, EyeSight can maintain a predetermined distance from the vehicle in front and can warn you of things that could hit you. Other brands call this function adaptive cruise control.

8. Fatigue Detection

Even if you take regular breaks for a cup of coffee, there is still a chance that you will get tired from a long drive. That’s fine if you’re sitting comfortably in the backseat, but it quickly becomes dangerous when you’re the one behind the wheel. Car manufacturers are aware of this.

Independently of each other, several companies have developed systems to keep sleepy drivers awake. For example, the Mercedes Attention Assist system makes the steering wheel vibrate when it senses that the driver is starting to swerve. If the driver still does not intervene after that, the system gently pulls the steering wheel in the other direction to keep the car between the lines.

9. A hidden vacuum cleaner

Vacuuming your car is far from being a pleasant job. If it’s not the cable that is too short, it’s the struggle with the suction nozzle that does not want to follow the contours of your interior. That way, you will never get all that dirt out of the difficult corners. And don’t get us started on vacuuming between the seats.

At Honda, they were well aware of that. In the Odyssey model, they incorporated a built-in vacuum cleaner with a long hose. The so-called ‘HondaVac’ can go anywhere, does not require a socket and can be empties at the push of a button. Convenient for the kids!

10. Fuel Saving Frames

The material a car is made of makes a huge difference for its efficiency. One of the best ways to make a car more fuel efficient is to make it lighter. Because aluminum can be made to be as strong as steel, but much lighter, this material is often chosen by car manufacturers today.

Ford started this practice quite early on. In 2015, the brand made their pickup trucks about 300 kilograms lighter than their previous models. According to Ford, the weight reduction resulted in a reduction of fuel use of up to 29%, depending on the engine type.

11. Nissan’s ‘Easy Fill’

Putting air in tires is a simple, yet tedious job for many people. Just give it some air and you’re done, right? Not quite. The exact amount of air you put into your tires is quite important. It has an effect on the driving behavior and the economy of your car. That is why, in 2008, a system that monitors the tire pressure became mandatory in all cars.

Nissan’s Easy-Fill Tire Alert system not only monitors pressure, it even helps the driver inflate their tires. When you have reached the ideal pressure, the horn will sound. Did you over-inflate them? Then the hazard lights will flash three times to let you know to let some air out.

12. Driving assistants

Today’s cars are filled with computers. Manufacturers are trying to make driving easier and easier by means of these computers. Sometimes the car can almost fully drive by itself. It is therefore worth taking a look at the systems your car features. Some are activated automatically; others require driver action.

For example, there is the ‘downhill assist’ function that prevents a car from rolling down a steep slope too fast. Other sensors allow some cars to recognize hazards, see in the dark and assist with parking.

13. The Talking Mirror

In large cars with seven seats, a standard rear-view mirror is not enough if you want to keep an eye on the children in the back seat. KIA, Hyundai and Toyota have therefore come up with the ‘talking mirror’. The curved glass allows you to see the entire interior from the front seats. This way they can no longer do any mischief in the back!

14. Customizable mood lighting

Nowadays, many cars offer some sort of mood lighting for the interior. Depending on the model, the center console, door panels, footwells, and cup holders can all be illuminated. The lighting does not make the car safer, but the driver does.

A study by the scientific journal Lighting Research and Technology shows that lighting improves the perception of drivers. This way, you’ll notice potential dangers faster. Additionally, the mood lighting helps you to find buttons so that you’re less distracted.

15. Hidden Umbrella

Nothing is more annoying than a sudden rainstorm. Naturally, you don’t always have an umbrella with you. And in the trunk it would only be in the way all the time. They have taken this into consideration at Rolls-Royce: there is an umbrella hidden in the door. However, you don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy this convenient feature. The modest Skoda Kamiq also has it.

16. Slippery Road Detection      

Cars have had warning lights for all sorts of things for a while now. But a warning light that warns for a slippery road is relatively new. It is not an insignificant addition: rain, snow and sleet can me a road dangerously slippery. The Slippery Road Detection works through a sensor that is mounted at the front bumper. When the temperature drops below zero, the systems warns the driver that the roads might be slippery.

17. Hands-free tailgate

Another annoyance: you arrive at your car after shipping, but your hands are full and you can’t reach the key. You don’t have to worry about that when you have a modern car. Models from different manufacturers have a sensor mounted under the rear bumper. With a simple swing of the foot under the bumper, the car automatically opens the tailgate.

18. Stability Check

You may have seen that icon of a skidding car on your dashboard. That is the button for the electronic stability control the car uses sensors to measure whether the tires are losing grip. If so, the system tries to correct the slipping tires with braking interventions and by reducing engine power. Convenient for when the roads are slippery!

19. Advanced Braking

You have probably heard of the abbreviation ABS. But do you actually know what it is and what it’s for? ABS is short for Anti-lock Braking System. It does exactly what you would expect it to do: it prevents the wheels from locking up when you brake hard.

When the system detects hard braking via sensors in the brakes, the systems tries to reduce the braking force on the wheels that threaten to lock up. After all, with blocked wheels, you do not brake faster and you can no longer steer. ABS gives you more control on a slippery road or in the event of a sudden emergency stop.

20. Line Recognition

For some people, coloring between the lines is no easy task. Driving between the lines can be just as difficult. To help distracted drivers, car manufacturers have developed a number of different systems. The system lets the driver know that the car is moving outside the lines via a beep or a flashing light. If the driver does not intervene, the car will simply do it.

21. Hooks

The best hidden features of your car are often the simplest. You can always find something useful in the interior. Take a look around your car. Chances are you’ll come across hooks in all sorts of places that can make your life easier! You’ll usually find them in the cargo area, but you can also find them near the headrests and above the rear doors.

22. Hidden Storage Compartments

Even more is hidden in your interior. Manufacturers do everything they can to improve the storage capacity of family cars. Most storage compartments you wouldn’t even find if you didn’t read the manual. For example, the Dodge Journey has a hidden storage compartment under the passenger seat, two compartments with removable trays under the floor behind the first row of seats and a storage compartment across the full width of the load floor. Even in more expensive cars they apply these tricks: the Land Rover Discovery has a hidden compartment behind the controls for the air conditions. Convenient for hiding valuables!

23. Dimming rear-view mirror

At night, the headlights of the car behind you can be a bother. Did you know that you can adjust the rear-view mirror to help you with that? Even in older cars, you can dim that annoying reflection by pulling a lever on the mirror. In newer cars, the mirror even does this automatically. As soon as the sensor in the mirror detects bright light, it dims automatically.

24. A convenient arrow by the fuel gauge

If you rent or borrow a car, there are things that can take some getting used to. For example, how do you know where the fuel valve is located? Fortunately, someone’s thought of a solution to this. A simple triangle is shown next to the fuel gauge icon. This triangle points to the side of the care where the valve is located. This way, you’ll avoid awkward situations at the gas pump!

25. Improved Soundproofing

Bose is known to the general public as a manufacturer of headphones. However, they are also active in the automotive industry. Together with car manufacturers, Bose tries to eliminate annoying sounds in cars as much as possible. This goes beyond simply using more insulation material.

The QuietComfort Road Noise Control system actively counteracts unpleasant noises. The system uses sensors to measure the noises made by the car and produces a signal through the speakers that counteracts the noise. Thanks to this active noise cancelling, you can enjoy a quieter, more comfortable ride.

Source: The Delite