Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#91

Post by MaxikCZ » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 8:55 AM UTC

Im driving 2018 Skoda Octavia (3rd generation). No internet, no anti-theft, no subs. It has touchscreen radio, but basically everything have a dedicated button still (whole clima control, including heating seats, front/rear glass etc). I touch it like twice a year. You can get it AWD and my avg is around 8-9 L/100km (I drive rather energetic and short trips, it can do 6 L/100km when I try).

4th generation is where the mess began. Colleague is driving one and I wouldn't want it for free. Stuff like simulating motor sound inside cabin (has a dedicated speaker/rumbler under windshield) can only be turned off trough 4 clicks on touchscreen (which is basically non-responsive for 2 minutes after starting), and have to be disabled everytime ignition starts. And so much more its pitiful.

Middle EU

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#92

Post by dsotirovski » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 8:58 AM UTC

You might need to be a bit flexible on the "modern" requirement in order to get what you want/need.

Being familiar with fairly recent models(in the EU), if you sacrifice the AWD/4WD requirement, you can find some low-end minis/hatches that will do - if you would consider them. Likely the case in the US, too.

Going "up" comes with at least some of these undesirable(for you) features for all new cars I can think of.

AFAIK the only candidates that meet these requirements are older model cars.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#93

Post by rkagerer » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:00 AM UTC

Was in the same boat. 2018 Rav4 Trail ticks several of those boxes and has been good enough.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#94

Post by yeukhon » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:07 AM UTC

Subaru Forester

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#95

Post by GoToRO » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:12 AM UTC

roydivision wrote: post #89

I'm very interested in this as well, but from a European pov, if anyone has any advice. My current car is a ~2011 (2nd model) Nissan Qashqai, which is wonderfully basic, manual buttons, no sat nav, no screen, basic stereo but a USB connector and BT. I looked at a Peugeot 3008 at the time, the view in the driver's seat was like sitting in front of Blackpool illuminations [0]. [0] http://c.files.bbci.co.uk/12DD5/produc…

Dacia Duster

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#96

Post by guerby » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:20 AM UTC

In the EU new cars have to be connected to the cellular network, this is called "eCall"

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/security-and-em...

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#97

Post by speedgoose » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:24 AM UTC

zhivota wrote: post #38

el-dude-arino wrote: post #3

Well I an tell you right now you don't need 4wd, it snows like a MF where I live and if you have FWD with proper snow tires (which you should regardless), you will drive circles around 4WD/AWD cars with just all season tires on in winter. Just buy a mid-2010's honda civic or a toyota camry.

Honestly I did fine with FWD and no snow tires on my 97 Ford escort in college in the snow belt (200+ inches of snow a year). People love to waste money on AWD/4WD.

Not having snow tires is illegal and dangerous in Norway.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#98

Post by comprev » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:29 AM UTC

Audi All-Road? Surprisingly versatile cars

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#99

Post by avar » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 9:32 AM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #73

PaulHoule wrote: post #7

Used car with front wheel drive, preferably traction control, put Blizzaks on all four wheels and you’ll do OK in snow unless you insist on driving on unplowed roads. There are a wide range of cars I would consider. Say a Toyota Camry or a Honda Accord or a Nissan Altima. Lately I have been partial to Buicks. An old Nissan Leaf with a shot battery can still go 70 miles which makes it a great second or third car in a…

My son has a 1996 Buick and there is no problem getting parts Hopefully the airbag in the steering wheel is not integrated with the horn in a vinyl housing. The vinyl shrinks with age, and eventually to the point where there is sufficient pressure to continuously honk the horn. When that happened to the 1997 Le Sabre I bought for my kid, the options were disconnecting the horn or replacing the airbag. The replacement…

That's a weird issue I hadn't heard of before.

Wouldn't a simpler and cheaper solution be to run an extra circuit to the horn? You'd then honk it by pressing a new button (or use an unused one) in the dashboard.

The difficulty mainly depends on how hard it is to get a pair of wires from the horn across the firewall into the dashboard. On some cars this would take no more than an hour in total.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best car without undesirable features?

#100

Post by BerislavLopac » Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 10:14 AM UTC

> 1. Internet connectivity. If the car is connected, it's tracking me.

Just because you can't connect to the Internet from your car doesn't mean that the car is not being tracked. Pretty much all cars built since 2016 or so have built-in infrastructure to collect various telemetry and send it to the manufacturer; prior to that there were dongles that were installed by various parties (automotive clubs, insurance companies, fleet owners...).

Most manufacturers also offer (or are working on offering) that data to third parties, although in most jurisdictions it requires the vehicle driver/owner to explicitly agree to it. In any case this whole area is still in its infancy, and we can expect to see more standardisation and wide use of that data in the coming years.

Source: worked in that industry until recently.