What equipment is really necessary when buying a new car?

Leather interior? Sports seats? Security systems? In this review you will find expert advice when buying a new car. What is needed for your comfort and safety, as well as to save the cost of a car during its resale.

1. Sports suspension

Sports suspensions are often a serious misunderstanding: they make the car more uncomfortable in any driving situation. But the VW Golf or Opel Astra will not become a sports car even with a sports suspension. High center of gravity, sitting position of the driver, etc. saved.

Manufacturers equip many models with a multi-stage system that allows you to fine-tune the required parameter. Sports tuning is the toughest of all options. It is suitable for the perfect road. In other cases, it causes only inconvenience, so this option is rarely used.

Rating: most likely not needed.

2. Auxiliary parking systems

Parking assistance systems are now needed in many cars: aerodynamics and safety regulations have made the racks thicker, and ambitious designers have played a role in reducing visibility.

Parking sensors help because sound signals tell you how far the obstacle is. Particularly sophisticated sensors work with the speakers of the sound system, and also distinguish obstacles to the left and right.

A reversing camera that shows what is happening behind the car – in the highest possible resolution – offers even more convenience. Unfortunately, cameras are often bundled with expensive navigation packages, although some budget cars are already equipped with large color touchscreens.

A separate topic is automatic parking systems that direct the car to the parking lot. What sounds like a silly trick can be very useful - the systems usually set the car with minimal clearances, straight and without scratches on the rims.

Rating: quite practical.

3. Emergency braking system

The option applies to electronic assistance systems, which are becoming increasingly popular among manufacturers (because they are in demand and bring additional income). Although, this assistant, just like the parking assistant, develop laziness with the driver, because of which his driving skills suffer.

An example of a recommended assistance system is an emergency stop assistant who uses cameras or radar sensors to detect and prevent obstacles, and even to activate an emergency stop. This system is a very reasonable investment. Up to 30 km / h, rear collisions can be completely prevented, or at least the damage can be limited. More sophisticated systems also recognize pedestrians and cyclists.

Assessment: mandatory, but not basic - you need to learn to control the situation near the car yourself.

4. Adaptive Cruise Control

Adaptive cruise control is closely linked to the emergency stop assistant. Here, the car not only supports the pre-selected speed, but also adapts to the cars in front with the help of the radar.

Before ordering this expensive additional equipment, you must perform a test drive - good systems respond quickly when you start to overtake a truck in a fast lane. Poor systems stop early and abruptly. In Their case, you need to wait a while before giving a command to automate the kickdown in order to return to the desired speed.

Rating: quite practical.

5. Lane Assist (control of blind spots, driver fatigue and lane retention)

The boundary between the need for help and common sense is here approximated, and many systems make sense only for specific purposes. For example, this option will help if you drive 40 kilometers per year on highways with good road markings.

The best thing for the driver if he feels tired is to turn off the road to a resting place, instead of the computer itself determining whether you are tired or not. The same applies to retention in the lane - nobody canceled attentiveness on the road.

Assessment: you can purchase such a system, but in practice it is rarely useful.

6. Multilevel adjustment of the steering wheel and seats, sports seats

In this case, it all depends on the situation. If the driver is tall, has a decent weight and travels a lot, he will appreciate the ability to fine-tune the steering wheel and seat.

In fact, an adjustable driver's seat in 12 directions is usually noticeably more comfortable than a model that is adjustable only in height and length. As for sports seats, they are already ordinary and support the body in the correct position.

A long trip in one position is very tiring, therefore, choosing a sports option, you need to pay attention to the practicality of the model. In addition, you need to allocate enough time to properly configure the chair.

Rating: quite practical.

7. Leather interior, leather steering wheel

In addition to all the aesthetic sensations, it should be noted that the absence of a leather interior actually reduces the resale value - leather is a must here.

The disadvantages of a leather interior are that it is expensive, it heats up for a long time in the winter, and cools for a long time in the summer. If you have money, you can order seat heating and ventilation, and such problems are quickly fixed.

The pluses include an easy-to-clean surface and (at least for more expensive brands) a pleasant feeling: good skin is pleasant to the touch, and also retains its original appearance for a long time (if you properly care for the product). In general, leather seats and steering wheel braid are elements that give a feeling of confidence that you are sitting in a decent car. Even this factor can justify their presence on the list.

Rating: quite practical

8. Built-in navigation

Built-in navigation is usually terribly expensive compared to high-quality smartphones or navigators. In the past few years, infotainment systems have been improved thanks to the rapid development of digital technology. Now nothing works without a touchscreen and the Internet.

On the other hand, if you have a standard navigation system, you do not need to install a mobile phone (including a cable for charging) in the car. Typically, such assistants adapt well to vehicle speeds.

Some of them recognize turns in their own navigation system and tell the driver when to accelerate. Thanks to this, the driver does not need to be distracted by viewing the map on the phone - he knows where to go.

In any case, you need to understand the principle of operation (each manufacturer creates its own system, the logic of which can seriously differ from the analogue of another brand). Touch screens are not very useful if you want to adjust something while driving.

Assessment: The system can be installed in a car, but such waste is not always justified, given that there are decent budget counterparts.

9. Xenon and LED headlights

Xenon headlights - a new generation of automotive optics, which replaced the usual analogues. For all models, compared to conventional halogen headlights, the lamps last longer and the light output is much higher.

However, the fact that such lights consume less energy is not true: they are more efficient in converting energy, but a higher brightness means that the energy consumption remains almost at the same level as in the classical case.

Expensive headlights are often equipped with features such as light beam correction. It allows you to illuminate the road without harm to oncoming traffic participants. It is comfortable and safe.

Rating: quite practical.

10. Additional airbags

An airbag is a piece of equipment that everyone wants to have in their car. Together with optimized safety systems, airbags make an important contribution to reducing injuries, even if they injure a person when deployed (most often minor burns and scratches).

Especially for smaller cars, additional side airbags for the rear seats are definitely recommended. Tests show that side curtains protect the head much more effectively than chest airbags (i.e. side curtains extend upwards). Yes, and refueling such elements occurs at a lower cost.

Assessment: required, but not included in the standard package.