Advances in car technology, along with changes in design trends, mean that many traditional car features have been on the decline in recent years, with some now on the brink of becoming completely defunct, and a handful of others already consigned to the history books.
Examples include manual handbrake levers being replaced by electronic parking brakes, manual gearboxes making way for automatic transmissions and single-gear electric cars, and physical dashboard buttons being replaced by fancy touchscreens.
Off the back of this trend, a study, commissioned by us here at CarGurus, has revealed the car features that UK drivers will miss most when they’re gone.
The study of 2,000 UK motorists found that more than half believe that the loss of these traditional manual controls is taking the fun and interaction out of driving, and that the next generation of new drivers will miss out on the joys of driving altogether.
Here, we list the top 20 traditional car features that our survey told us are most cherished by the UK’s drivers, and will be missed most when their time is finally up. For each, we provide a brief description, along with some tactics to give yourself the best chance of finding a car with it fitted.
The Car Features That Drivers Will Miss Most
- 1. Spare wheel
- 2. Handbrake lever
- 3. Door mirrors instead of cameras
- 4. Manual gearbox
- 5. Clutch pedal
- 6. Typical car engine noise
- 7. Key-operated ignition
- 8. CD/cassette player
- 9. Centre dashboard buttons instead of a screen
- 10. Climate Control Knobs
- 11. Key operated doors/boot
- 12. Push-button AM/FM radio presets
- 13. Analogue dials and gauges
- 14. CD auto-changer
- 15. Manual window winders
- 16. Pop-up headlights
- 17. Opening quarter windows (vent windows)
- 18. Ashtrays and cigarette lighters
- 19. Manual sunroof (crank-operated)
- 20. Choke
1. Spare wheel
What is it?: An extra switchable wheel concealed under the boot floor or underneath the car, which you can put on in the event of a tyre puncture to replace the stricken wheel. These are gradually being replaced by cheaper (and lighter, and thus better for fuel economy) tyre reinflation kits, which include a can of foam for resealing the hole in the faulty tyre, and a compressor to pump it back up. These often don’t work, though, and are totally ineffective against slashes or blowouts, leaving you stranded.
As found on: Hardly any new cars these days, unfortunately. To give yourself the best chance of finding a car with a spare wheel, choose a rugged off-road model that makes a design feature of it by bolting it to the tailgate, rather than squirrelling it away elsewhere. Think Land Rover Defender or Ineos Grenadier.
2. Handbrake lever
What is it?: A mechanical lever that pulls a cable to mechanically lock on the rear brakes when you park up. These are gradually being replaced by electronic alternatives, operated either automatically, or via a switch. Here at CarGurus UK, we’ve been charting the steady decline of the manual handbrake annually over the last few years, and you can read the latest Manual Handbrake Report here.
As found on: Although not that many cars with a handbrake lever remain, one of the few that does is the Abarth 500, although only the petrol-powered ones in the form of the 595 and 695, not the newer electric ones.
3. Door mirrors instead of cameras
What is it?: A simple piece of glass to show you a reflection of the view behind you, rather than complicated arrangements of cameras and screens. Not only are mirrors much cheaper, but they also give you better depth perception of what’s around you.
As found on: Thankfully, physical mirrors still outnumber camera-based alternatives by quite a lot. So, you can still choose pretty much any model and have the option of physical mirrors: just avoid certain high-spec Audis and Kias, which seem to be offering cameras more and more.
4. Manual gearbox
What is it?: A device that allows you to switch manually between a car's gears, using a lever, to accurately transfer the rotation of the engine into rotation at the drive wheels. Manual gearboxes are decreasing in number due to both the increasing popularity of automatic gearboxes, and the increase in all-electric cars, most of which don’t have gearboxes at all.
As found on: Many model ranges still offer manual gearbox options, but for the sweetest-feeling manual gearshifts, try the Mazda MX-5 or Honda Civic Type R.
5. Clutch pedal
What is it?: The left-hand pedal of the three on a manual car which connects and disconnects the engine drive from the wheels. The decline in manual cars also means a decline in clutch pedals.
As found on: All manual cars (except automated manuals, which are a rudimentary form of automatic transmission), so again, try the ones with the sweetest gearshifts, the Mazda MX-5 and Honda Civic Type R.
6. Typical car engine noise
What is it?: The glorious sound of a traditional internal combustion engine which, due to legislation aimed at drastically increasing the number of electric cars on the roads, could one day be a thing of the past.
As found on: The majority of cars, but for some of the best engine sounds look to the Ford Mustang, BMW M3 and Porsche 911.
7. Key-operated ignition
What is it?: Where you start your car by putting a piece of metal in a slot and turning it, rather than simply hitting a button.
As found on: The more basic the trim level of your car, the greater your chance of having a key-operated ignition. For example, even the mid-range Expression trim of a basic car like the Dacia Sandero has keyless entry, so only the entry-level Essential version is fired up using an actual key.
8. CD/cassette player
What is it?: Machines for playing physical media through the car’s infotainment speakers, rather than playing digital files, either stored in a connected device, or streamed from the internet.
As found on: It’s pretty much impossible to find either on a new car these days. For a CD player, you’ll want a car of around ten years old, while to find a tape deck, you’ll have to go back more like 20 years. You’re best looking at a fairly mainstream model like a Vauxhall Astra.
9. Centre dashboard buttons instead of a screen
What is it?: Physical buttons and knobs on the dashboard to control the car’s various functions, quickly and easily. Most manufacturers these days prefer to operate most - if not all - functions through a fashionable touchscreen to clean up the design of their cabins, but this kind of interface diverts far more of the driver’s attention away from the road ahead.
As found on: Three words for you: buy a Mazda. The Japanese firm believes that touchscreens are too distracting for use in cars, and refuses to fit them as a result. As a result, plenty of physical buttons for various functions remain present and correct. Most Mazda models do have screens, but once on the move you scroll through the intuitive on-screen menus with a rotary dial controller, which is much better. Even the latest Mazda models like the CX-60 adhere to this approach.
10. Climate Control Knobs
What is it?: Despite the trend for incorporating control of most functions into touchscreen systems, some manufacturers did, until quite recently, draw the line at the climate controls, because these controls are used so very often. However, in most cases, even those have now been assimilated into the dreaded touchscreen, for the sake of fashion.
As found on: Like we said a moment ago, you can rely on Mazda to stick with the rebellion against touchscreens, so you’re on safe ground with one of those.
11. Key operated doors/boot
What is it?: You’ll do very well to find any car from the last 20 years that doesn’t have a remote plipper on the key to operate the central locking, so finding a car where you stick the key into the door lock and turn it will be a tall order. However, we think drivers’ grumbles lie not with remote central locking, but with the keyless entry systems that can sometimes leave you unsure as to whether your car is locked or not as you walk away after parking it.
As found on: Like we said earlier, even basic models like the Dacia Sandero have keyless entry on all but the entry-level version these days, so either get yourself one of those, or a last-generation Sandero from a few years ago, where remote locking came on most versions, while the entry-level Access car had a turn-key arrangement.
12. Push-button AM/FM radio presets
What is it?: Exactly what it says on the tin: configurable buttons to quickly select your preferred radio stations. You have no chance of finding these in the most modern cars, because with most, even the most used often-functions such as the air-con controls are integrated into touchscreen systems. This means you’ll have to look at older cars in order to find them.
As found on: We happen to know that the 2012 to 2019 Vauxhall Mokka has these. Don’t ask us how.
13. Analogue dials and gauges
What is it?: Digital driver displays might look cool and be endlessly configurable, but on the core task of delivering essential driving data, analogue dials and gauges do the job every bit as quickly, easily and clearly, if not more so.
As found on: Many larger cars will have digital driver displays throughout the range, but on smaller and more basic cars, it’ll be trim-level-dependent. For example, the range-topping Volkswagen Polo GTI+ gets digital instruments, but on all other Polo trim levels, analogue dials are standard.
14. CD auto-changer
What is it?: The ultimate symbol of dedication to the choons in the 1990s: if you had a multi-disc swapper fitted to your motor, everyone knew you were a dedicated muso. The best way of putting a vast slice of your music library at your fingertips, until smartphones came along.
As found on: Most teen-owned hatchbacks of the 1990s. Would often be accompanied by a Max Power sticker and a bootful of speakers.
15. Manual window winders
What is it?: Remember when you had to turn a handle to lower or raise your car’s windows? These days, the vast majority of cars require you to simply press a button, and in the majority of those, you only have to press it once rather than holding it down. For UK drivers, however, it seems that there’s still some nostalgic love for keep-fit windows.
As found on: Again, low-spec or older cars give you the best chance of getting yourself some wind-up windows. For example, in the present-day Dacia Sandero, all versions have electric front windows, while only the entry-level version misses electric rear windows, too. The previous-gen Sandero, though, had winders front-and-back in the most basic version, and while the others got power front windows, no version had powered windows in the back.
16. Pop-up headlights
What is it?: Once the very essence of motoring exoticness and glamour, electrically retracting pop-up headlights featured on many of the most revered sports car models of the 70s, 80s and 90s, models such as the Lamborghini Countach, the Ferrari Testarossa, and the Lotus Esprit. Oh, and the Ford Probe. And you don’t want one of those. Sadly, though, such headlights are now a thing of the past in modern car design.
As found on: These days, the car you’re most likely to see with pop-up-peepers is the Mk1 Mazda MX-5. It may be old now, but it’s still incredibly good fun to drive, reasonably reliable, and can be had for a song.
17. Opening quarter windows (vent windows)
What is it?: Yikes, that’s a blast from the past! If you’ve even been near an original Volkswagen Beetle or Morris Minor, you might have observed that they have small windows ahead of the main roll-down side windows that pivot or tilt to let air in without the big window needing to be opened. In an age of air-con, though, this feature hasn’t appeared on modern cars for several decades.
As found on: Like we say, you’ll need to look at ancient models like the original Volkswagen Beetle or Morris Minor to find this feature.
18. Ashtrays and cigarette lighters
What is it?: Most new cars still have the electrics necessary to facilitate a car cigarette lighter, because it’s nothing more than a standard automotive 12-volt socket. However, most cars these days come with a simple plastic stopper cap, rather than the bit that gets hot and pops out to fire up your stogie.
As found on: Some manufacturers offer these in a smoker’s pack as an affordable optional extra, or you can buy universal aftermarket car lighters and ashtrays online for a few quid.
19. Manual sunroof (crank-operated)
What is it?: Another very leftfield one, this. You’d have to be particularly mistrustful of electric motors to want to go to all the bother of finding a car with a sunroof that opens mechanically instead of electrically: the latter is commonplace with modern cars, where the former is virtually unheard of today.
As found on: We seem to remember that the E30 BMW 3 Series had one, but if you buy a modern classic like that, it’ll probably be because of the car’s iconic status, cool image and enjoyable driving manners, rather than its handle-driven sunroof…
20. Choke
What is it?: A choke is essentially a valve that restricts the flow of air into the engine to make the fuel-air mixture richer when starting, and once the engine warms up, that restriction is reduced and finally disabled. It’s been several decades since cars have had manual choke controls because most chokes became automatic, and the cars these days don’t have them at all because pretty much all of them have fuel injection, rendering a choke obsolete.
As found on: Should you want to find yourself a car with a manual choke, get yourself an example of the original Issigonis-designed Mini. Only the very latest examples of these had fuel injection, and all pre-1991 cars will have a choke control. And it’ll most likely have a clothes peg on it. If you know, you know…