What are the 5 'must-have' equipment on a car?
There are equipment and features on cars that customers are very excited about at first hearing about, and are willing to spend a lot of money to "stuff" into their cars. However, in reality, they rarely use them.
Below are 5 equipment and options on cars that are lacking, but having them is redundant for the majority of Vietnamese car users:
1. Sunroof
Sunroofs are often "stuffed" by manufacturers into expensive car models or high-end versions to differentiate them from the standard version. However, in hot weather like summer in Vietnam, sunroofs, especially panoramic types, can cause more trouble and inconvenience than the superiority and class they bring.
In fact, many car owners have to apply heat-resistant film or reinforce this expensive equipment with insulation panels, even... cardboard in the summer. In addition, with the harsh climate and high dust content in the air like in Vietnam, opening the sunroof to "breathe fresh air" is very rare.
2. Steering wheel heating, seat heating
These are two trendy features commonly found on imported cars originating from "cold regions" such as North America, Europe or Korea. When activated, the steering wheel and seats will be heated, helping to "break the ice" and dispel the cold air in the car, keeping the driver and passengers warm.
However, in a tropical country with hot and humid weather all year round like Vietnam, steering wheel heating and seat heating are almost redundant and rarely used. Even in winter in the North, when the temperature can drop below 10 degrees Celsius, the car is not too cold, just two-way air conditioning is more than enough for users.
3. Auto Start/Stop
Auto Start/Stop is often found on new luxury cars such as BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz, and is even equipped on Mazda models under the name i-Stop. This system helps save fuel and reduce exhaust emissions by turning off the engine when the car comes to a complete stop and automatically restarting it when the driver takes his foot off the brake pedal.
However, most Vietnamese users do not use this feature because they feel sorry for the car when the engine is constantly turning on/off, especially when moving in the city with many red lights, traffic jams, etc. Many people think that turning the engine on/off continuously like that affects the starting system as well as the battery life, while the amount of fuel saved is not worth much.
4. Automatic parking
This is a feature that is advertised as smart, a new step forward in car use for urban residents. One of the popular car models, the Ford Focus, has introduced parallel parking and reverse parking technology in 2015. And of course, this feature is only available in the Titanium full options version, which is 100 million more expensive than the Trend version.
However, in reality, many customers only use this feature when they first drive, and once they get used to it, most of them will find a parking space and do it themselves "quickly". Because even though it is automatic, the driver still has to do things like shift gears, brake, etc.
5. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is an advanced cruise control system that helps maintain driving speed based on the speed of the vehicle in front, or in other words, helps "tailgating" more easily and leisurely for the driver. ACC often appears on cars priced around 1 billion VND with advertisements about convenience, class and safety.
However, with the complicated traffic situation and the habit of "filling in the blanks" driving quite arbitrarily like in Vietnam, even if drivers use ACC, they cannot completely rest assured to "entrust" their safety to the car.
ACC is only really suitable for driving on the highway or driving in a group. Many people who use cars with integrated ACC say that in reality, they rarely use this feature.
