In general, what do you most dislike about modern cars?

[forddeliveryboy]

This is the usual fdb long-winded post. Ignore everything below, just say what you don't like about modern cars.

 

Or read this if you really want. For me it's a lack of suspension on many modern cars. I detest the overweight problem too, as I do the general lack of engineering refinement even in more expensive machines - everything seems to rely on electronics and brute force to make things work. A modern Jag is a good example - crap ride, some with 4 cylinder inline engines and a feel of over-design yet lack of consideration to fine detail, which Jags tradtionally had, no matter how cheaply they were made. They don't even look much to my eyes.

 

But it's the lack of suspension which really pisses me off. It's yet another sop to both fashion/image and those who think they are good drivers. Where I live it's a serious handicap - the 5 or 6 miles to the nearest main road have poor foundations, poor surfaces and are full of twists and turns. Get on the main road and if you wish to make swift progress, it also turns bumpy above certain speeds. When a car's body and chassis follow the wheels up and down too faithfully, it grows unstable at a lower speed than one which allows the wheels to move freely. Watch any successful rally car.

 

Shallow-as-a-property-agent sidewalls transmit almost all higher frequency bumps to the suspension, which is so often over-stiff, so it's less able to maintain a constant pressure on the road - what does that mean? Less grip and stability. Travelling at speed on anything other than a motorway is bloody uncomfortable as well as less stable. Perhaps few people drive surreptitiously and properly quickly any more, so it doesn't matter?

 

I've driven a 45hp Renault 4 recently and it was a master of making good speed over a variety of roads. There was no lack of cornering ability round faster corners - a particularly fast 90^o bend with a smooth surface and no undulations was quite relaxed at a speed at which a Focus begins to grow fidgety, though not from a lack of grip. In the dry. In the wet, the little French machine from the 50s was unmatched by most modern motors for its serenity through corners, whether bumpy or not. The tyres moulded themselves to the road, the suspension was honest enough to deflect to the cornering forces and instead of unloading the inside tyres, the suspension actually allowed the body to heel. Result, within reason (it wouldn't work on a racetrack), there's more grip.

 

What have we achieved from an owner's perspective in 50 years, over the better cars which were being made in the 50s and 60s? - superb Renault 4s and 16s, various Citroëns with a logic and perfection of engineering which bettered the best aircraft technology, spacious BMC designs which make modern stuff look like dungeons, MGs which made you grin, Saabs which were simple, tough, fast and refined, Volvos which were more faithful and honest than your dog, Jaguars which even the French coveted, Italian cars which rendered anything German totally irrelevant, as well as setting female hearts racing, Rovers which instantly and unquestioningly raised your social status two notches by being so decent and well-mannered, and not least the deep sense of satisfaction to own and use something from Murrica.

 

We've improved crashability, which is more likely to happen in a car with poor visibility and which induces general boredom. We've lost a tactility, the deep desire to own or much affection once purchased. Add to that beautiful sounds and smells and not least, fine suspension and ride. But we've electronicked the points so servicing can happen never, if you wish and the exhaust is officially cleaner. Fords and Vauxhalls have got relatively good, better makes have gone to the wall or been bought by crap makes and made less good, but way more pricey. No surprise then, that this forum is so lively.

[Bear]

High scuttles, thick A-pillars, deep dashboards, low-profile tyres, lack of suspension finesse or compliance, fat doors with window lines at shoulder height.

[Matt]

Whenever I drive a modern, especially my mums Volvo, I can't help but feel an overbearing cosseted feeling. For some reason I really dislike feeling so safe while doing something that is by all means incredibly dangerous. I learned to drive in a car older than me. Driving around in a car that offered similar crash safety as a tin can was very humbling. I also dislike how easy they are to drive, in my view driving should always be work as you'll be more inclined to respect speed and how dangerous it really is but on the other hand if a car is too tiring to drive we need to talk about fatigue so I fully understand why safe cars are important.

 

I haven't spent enough time in enough moderns to really comment on the ride but if I pay attention to it in the motherships Volvo I do notice that it's a bit jiggly over the smaller imperfections. I'd still choose it over the Swift for a long drive every time mind you.

 

Also the visibility. The fucking visibility. My god.

[Eddie Honda]

So just to be clear, it's the crap ride?

 

Bring back tall tyres! Pug 404s I've heard are good in the ride department.

[fred]

Bloody thick A pillars - fact in most cars you have to do a ALT CTRL DEL with foot and hand to start the sods - and the dashboard warning lights are Orwellian

[fred]

And all Cross overs look the bloody same (old man flat cap rant)

[dieselassist]

lack of 'driver feedback' of any kind - especially in terms of steering; spose that's down to electric steering; deep aircraft carrier style length of the dashboard, so no idea whats happening after the end of the dashboard, as regards the front of the car; most of them are so sloped downwards id never see the bonnet front edge anyawys...

modern cars look huge from the outside, but I find im massively cramped inside one - Im 6'4 - up against the headlining usually... my old man bought a new Quashkai off the dealers, lot; 20 mins later he was complaining he couldn't find the handbrake ... later "...I don't think they haven't fitted one'- its a button on the dash, the handbrake /e-brake... even the usual switchgear- wipers, rear demist etc etc - impossible to find/new random hirogylipic to denote its function on it...

 

...as someone on here before, said 'motorised white goods style motoring' with no soul....

[hauserplenty]

Electric handbrakes, electric power steering, pushbutton starting which means if when the battery dies in the keyfob you're stranded. Cue a trip to the stealer. Where they'll likely fob you off, of course.

Also the back-up screens, which are convenient but could lead to slowly losing your ability to drive a car without one, if you use it too often.

 

It seems They're trying to get us ready to accept not needing to drive the car anymore. Plus, with all the systems mentioned above being electronic:

 

REMOTE CONTROL.

 

No more high-speed chases? Hmm. Brings to mind the TV show "Bait Car", where the crooks (almost) always get caught.

 

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...

(dons tinfoil hat)

As Autoshiters, we are still in control...For now...

[lisbon_road]

Lack of elegance.  So many of these cross overs or SUVs (forgive my ignorance) look inelegant and heavy.  

 

And daft low profile tyres.  Just don't look right to me.

 

And I think too complex.  I'm not a heathen in that I believe modern electronics have given us better reliability and emissions (well I believed that pre VW scandal) but I think that the temptation to stuff them in everywhere has got a bit crazy,

[JohnK]

I don't dislike modern cars. Yes they are bloated, more technologically advanced and fairly boring, but that's not the issue

 

To me, I struggle to justify spending so much money on something that will do the same job as something costing around £500.

 

That was the one and only reason I sold the 520d. Great car, but was losing money like it was going out of fashion and apart from Bluetooth and built in sat nav (replaced instead with a cheap parrot kit and a Tom Tom), did absolutely nothing different to any other car we owned.

 

We thought we might miss it, but actually haven't given it a second thought.

 

Edit - should probably add, the Civic CTDi which owes us £1300 is actually more economical than the 520d was which helps. I think that's probably the only other major advantage for some people ie company car drivers in relation to new cars - the advances in fuel economy.

[Parky]

Solutions to problems that never existed, namely electric steering, and electronic handbrakes.

 

Also poor quality solutions to problems that do exist. Instead of making cars out of cleverer materials to aid strength, manufacturers use heavier steel or increase door and scuttle heights to aid crash resistance. Yeah it works but it's not very clever.

 

Massive wheels on small cars. Fair enough they do look good sometimes but does make replacement unnecessarily expensive!

[alf892]

The constant debate about how shit they are

[Paul Dupart]

Stop start feature.

 

Jerky 7/8/9 speed electronically controlled auto boxes.

 

Automatic headlights that come on, on a sunny bright day when you pass through the shadow of a tree.

 

18/19/20 inch alloys that buckle over the first pot hole.

 

Coils springs that snap.

[Shep Shepherd]

LED daytime running lights, which seem to have taken over from front foglights as 'look at me, I'm a twat' and/or 'bullying the driver in front of me, because I'm a twat' lights.

 

Surely there must be a way to turn them off or make them less dazzling.

[TataBobu]

No, there's no way for the user to turn them off other than removing the bulb(s).

What I hate most about them is that they're full of useless garbage, like anyone would need three way electric seat adjustment, or two settings assisted power steering in a hatch smaller than the seat of my pants.

The bloody A-pillar is so thick that in some cases they have to add an extra window in it, like in the Xantia Picasso.

Not a month ago I rented a car from Luton for 10 days. I've got a crappy '51 Astra, with a 1.6 petrol engine in it. Why crappy? The steering was just like I was playing need for speed without a force feed-back steering wheel, the stereo lost the stations on the motorway like the aerial was there just for looks, the bloody A-pillar was as thick as my leg, the seats are so bulky I couldn't find a proper setting that would allow me to get on board with ease, and allow a passenger taller than 4 feet in the back seat.

On top of that, the "sporty" car stood on 225/ZR45/18! I mean there were more than 2 inches between the front caliper and the inner side of the alloy!

[Cavcraft]

Threads about them.

[FakeConcern]

Not many cars newer than 2005 ish that I like the look of (never mind how they drive).

[D Spares & Tyres]

Bleeping noises

 

My old cars don't tell me off for not wearing a seatbelt or for leaving door open etc

 

I am your master, do not disrespect me with your beeping!

[Honey Badger]

High scuttles, thick A-pillars, deep dashboards, low-profile tyres, lack of suspension finesse or compliance, fat doors with window lines at shoulder height.

 

Pretty much nails it, along with the overly cosseting and protecting feeling they give you while driving.

[Taff]

the monthly apr

 

[John F]

Nyphur, on 29 Oct 2015 - 07:26 AM, said:

 

We really don't need any Citroëns.

 

EFA, lol.

 

The thing I dislike most about modern* cars is that the backs are so high. I had a mk 1 Focus on hire when they were brand new in 1998 and I couldn't reverse it without leaning out of the door to see what was behind me, this seems to be the norm nowadays.

[Bobthebeard]

+1 on the automatic headlights. Mrs Beards Honda Accord has them. She likes them but I do not. Whenever I drive the car I switch the auto function off and rely on common sense. On auto mode, and on a motorway they switch on and quickly off again when going under bridges. This has more than once been misinterpreted as an intentional headlamp flash to the vehicle in front. Not good.

[garbaldy]

I can think of only one thing that really annoys me with moderns and that is the sense of speed, it just isn't noticeable without looking at the speedo and having an oh shit moment.

[taxi paul]

My modern annoys me with. Massive a pillars, dashboard like a dance floor, electric handbrake, switches you can't find when you need them. It looks massive on the outside but cant fit three adults across middle seat, unless they are 5'5" and eight stone. When a day running bulb went recently I was told by main dealer I had to buy a whole headlight unit " cos its a sealed unit" . Thankfully he was wrong but I did have to use a socket set and half an hour to remove loads of trim to get headlight unit out. Sadly I need a modern for kids , work and caravan. I console myself by driving my rover 75 as often as I can.

[DVee8]

Value for money,is just a start.

 

A starter Ford Focus on Fords website is £13995.A hyundai or Kia same size car from £12995.

[gordonbennet]

Luckily i don't have to drive modern cars often any more, used to deliver the bastards though and even putting them on and off a transporter was enough to make you detest them, do have to drive modern lorries though and they're getting compulsory lane assist, auto emergency braking, electric parking brakes and other assorted shit, and i've been stuck with satans automated manual gearbox for the last 11 fuckin years.

 

Anyway coincidentally yesterday when i got back from my run had to take one of the gaffers over to the next town to collect his car from service...first service roughly two years old 18000 miles i'd love to buy that, not.

 

So we took his bosses almost new Aldi A3.

 

Had a quick look round it, check for damage i won't be getting the blame for, all 4 massive wheels scraped, tyres must have had 1" sidewall, utterly pointless, might as well have painted the tread on the wheel.

I get the keys, press the plipper and get in, he can't get in and i can't find out how to electronically open the door so lean over and open it manually.

His boss is a shortish feller but the pump action manual lever soon got me down and back to a sensible position.

We hunt round for an ignition slot, can't find the bugger, eventually spot the little button his side, eventually twig its keyless go with a stop start button, so pressed brake pedal and said button and the Massey Ferguson beside us starts up, er no the rumbling 4 cyl engine in the aldi had started, thats it.

Electric parking brake, he reckons it should be auto release, sod that i release it mesen.

Its auto, not a pleasant one particularly compared to RWD/4WD 80's/90's designs but it works, i move out the parking space and touch the brakes gently and we both shoot forward, effin brakes are superlight as is the current trend.

 

We get going, actually apart from the engine sounding and feeling like it should be in a tractor or cheapo van at idle and picking up speed, it goes well enough and the gearbox selects the right gears, just as well i wasn't getting into manual shifting.

 

The car is claustrophobic inside, i don't suffer that but do in modern cars, the rearview mirror gives an oval view through the smalley rear window but not full width, door mirrors arn't too bad to be honest at least they are mounted wide enough to be worth using for parking, graduated convex for blind spotting, good for that.

Rear and all round visibilty typical of a modern, but the A pillars are nowhere near as bad as other moderns i've driven, some of which are so thick and shallow raked as to be dangerous.

Handling on open road good, ride on good road good, road roar surprisingly absent, it bowls along at 70 @ just over 2000rpm and a quiet conversation was easy.

Switches everywhere, the steering wheel is festooned in the sods and i'm bleedin 60 now so can't read when the bloody symbols are on them unless i put me readers on, but to be fair apart from stop start the car did everything for me, indicators worked and were normal to operate.

Washers and wipers fired up a couple of times on their own, fucks knows why and i hadn't a clue how to stop it happening.

 

Got into town, first set of lights the effin engine stops, as it does at every single stop of more than about 2 seconds, car restarts when you press the throttle but has lost that instant take off, i dislike this intently.

Rough roads and sleeping policemen it doesn't like, you feel every bump.

 

Dropped my gaffer off, then spotted a button on the dash that looked like it might do something, pressed it, yes engine fired straight up and the bloody stop/start disabled, that made the umpteen light changes going home much more pleasant and the take off that second quicker, not as i'm racing about mind.

 

Nearly forgot this bit, i'm reversing up to some thin posts that support a chain, so parking sensors no bleedin good, so as i always do when parking any vehicle  opened the door to look out back, parking brake straight on and car refused to move, had to shut door and look through back window instead, that was annoying.

 

Average mpg on screen 44mpg when i got in, that had increased to about 46 by the time i got back, not as that means anything.

Got out and pressed lock, i thought it was locked but tried the drivers door and it unlocked, relocked and tried door, open again, fuck this must be that effin keyless go.

 

Did i enjoy it, no, was bloody glad to hand the keys in and climb into me Landcruiser to go home, space, no electronic shit, 75 aspect 16 " tyres that soak up all the bumps, ultra smooth auto box and a growling V6 petrol thats an aural pleasure, progressive brakes that work well but don't chuck you out the screen just by resting a size 11 steelie on the pedal.

I'd be ultimately disappointed if i spent what probably £25/27k? on this aldi, or was paying the equivalent rent/lease/company car tax, not for me just prefer driving simpler vehicles.

 

Was anyone shocked yesterdayafternoon in sunny Northants by not being tailgated by an aldi that indicated as appropriate?

[brownnova]

Oh is it that time of the month again... The time where we all whinge about moderns...

 

*yawn*

[John F]

brownnova, on 29 Oct 2015 - 09:50 AM, said:

Oh is it that time of the month again... The time where we all whinge about moderns...

 

*yawn*

 

 

You don't like the thread? Then don't click on the thread.

 

It really is that simple. Really.

[HH-R]

The moaning about thread content on this forum is more annoying than the actual thread content. If we don't want to read about moaning about modern cars then we can not click on a thread called called "In general, what do you dislike about modern cars?".

 

Ah, John beat me to it.

[fordperv]

The drivers of them, only kidding they just aren't my cup of tea