EVs: It’s the little features that matter

I recently purchased a new car after doing tons of research. But after buying it, I realized that what I found I enjoyed most about the car had little to do with all that research. Instead, it was an assortment of technology features that add convenience, improve safety, and just make things more pleasurable, things that are rarely covered in the reviews.

I leased a Lexus RZ, an SUV EV that has received just fair ratings, simply because of its limited range of 220 miles. For me that was never a concern because I have a plug-in hybrid for the occasional long trips, I rarely drive over 100 miles at a time, and can charge as often as needed using a home charger. In fact, its lack of a much longer range, led to a substantial discount that made the car much more affordable.

Now, these features are not unique to my car, but are found on many of the new models. Some even make it possible to interact with the car without needing to touch it. When I walk up to the rear tailgate, I move my foot near the bumper and the tailgate magically opens. That means I can walk up to the car with both hands full of packages and load them into the back. I never have to carry a key fob. I simply carry a key card in my wallet that lets me unlock the car with a touch. I can also control my car from an app, including remote starting, locking and unlocking.

I’m a big user of Apple CarPlay and now I never need to plug my phone into the car. The phone connects wirelessly without removing it from my pocket. It sounds trivial, but it makes a huge difference in usability and is one of my favorite features. I use CarPlay mostly for listening to podcasts and for navigation. If I have an appointment on my calendar or have done a recent search, Apple Maps opens up with a suggestion of where I might be going. If I want to go elsewhere I can simply tell Siri to, for example, navigate to the nearest Costco. A car without CarPlay and Android Auto would be a dealbreaker for me, making it perplexing why GM is removing it from many of their new cars.

If you’ve not bought a car in recent years, you’ll find that the LCD displays have gotten much bigger and more useful. I went from an fuzzy 8-inch to a crisp 12- inch display more than twice the size. Other new cars have even larger displays, some 40 and 50 inches wide going door to door. Displays are now sharper, brighter and clearer and can display multiple functions at once. Most cars also have LCD displays directly in front of the driver with the ability to choose a variety of layouts and what’s displayed.

One improvement over older cars is the number of cameras and proximity sensors on current models, almost too many to count, but probably 15 to 20 in my case. They enable all sorts of new capabilities. A top down view of my car pops up on the display anytime I pull into a parking space or go into reverse, showing how the car is positioned, as if I was viewing it from above. I can push a button and see a rotating view of my car as if a cameraman is walking around it. Multiple cameras are used to trigger warnings when a car is in any of my blind spots or I veer too close to an adjacent lane.

Cameras and proximity sensors are also used to self-park the car. Simply engage a button, drive past a space, and the car automatically backs up into the space. A heads up display was something I never paid much attention to, but it adds a lot of functionality. It provides navigation direction, displays the speed limit and tells me what buttons I touch on the steering wheel, eliminating any need to take my eyes off the road. My rear view mirror can switch from a conventional glass mirror to a panoramic color view of the rear using another camera above the license plate. It’s particularly useful at night.

Adaptive cruise control is a feature now found on most new cars and it makes driving safer and more convenient. It keeps the car at a safe distance from the car ahead, accelating or decelerating as needed, and even stops the car if it detects a collision. It provides an alert when you stray over the line between lanes and automatically steers the car through highway curves, while requiring you to keep your hands on the wheel.

I never gave much thought to automatic folding side mirrors, but not only do they help when I park in my garage, they provide a visible indication of whether my car is locked, because they retract upon locking.

None of these features are revelations to those who own a recent model car, but they are worth mentioning for those shopping for a new car, because they are features you encounter everyday.

Apparently others are coming around to a similar conclusion. In a recent J.D. Power’s owner satisfaction survey* for “Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout,” Tesla has been dethroned by electric vehicles made by so-called traditional automakers, because of these other features. Tesla has always excelled in ratings for their range, but have been faulted for their sparseness and lack of comfort features.

J.D. Power noted, “Traditional manufacturers have listened to the voice of the customer. They’re launching enhanced vehicles that are more in line with what customers want, including improved interior storage and higher quality materials, as well as ensuring features have ease of use. For BEVs, recent launches from traditional manufacturers have surpassed perennial leader Tesla when it comes to owners’ level of emotional attachment and excitement with their new vehicle.”

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  • The study measures owners’ satisfaction with new vehicle design and performance and measures people’s emotional attachment and level of excitement on a 1,000-point scale. For this year’s results, J.D. Power analyzed over 99,000 responses from owners who were asked to rank new, 2024-model-year vehicles on 37 attributes after 90 days of ownership.