8 Quirky Car Design Features That Work Brilliantly

1. EP3 Honda Civic Type R gear stick placement - John Marcar

After taking delivery of an EP3 Type R for a few days, the number one question I received from people was… “Is that the one with the funny gearstick that comes out of the dash?”

As you can see, yes it is. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the car having not driven one before, I expected it to be a bit strange and perhaps take a little bit of getting used to. Surprisingly though, it’s wonderful. The gear stick is in the perfect place and makes shifting up and down the gears really fun.

2. Chevrolet Chevelle swivel bucket seats - Denise

I have swivel bucket seats in my Chevelle and they are great for getting in and out easily. Especially when your hands are full.

3. Fiat Panda door handles - The Swimming carrot

I quite like the doorhandles on my Fiat Panda. As you can see, the door handle is integrated in the arm rest, suits the very minimalistic design of the car.

4. Opel Manta A engine bay light - Opelimist

The Opel Manta A model has in the SR series a lightbulb inside the engine bay area, so if you need to fix something or check something your engine bay lights up. I think that’s a nice feature.

5. BMW E36 3-series glovebox torch - me

Like many BMWs, my old E36 328i had a torch which plugged into a slot in the glovebox and charged off the car battery. I thought it was a pointless gimmick, but I was amazed at how many times it came in handy.

6. Mercedes C-Class enter/exit feature - Beck

My 2001 C320 has an easy enter/exit feature that moves the seat in closer when you put the key in, and back to help you get out while avoiding kicking the door as you get out. Seems like a useless add-on, but I’ve grown to absolutely love it!

7. Honda NSX fixed stalks - me

The first time I climbed into the 2005 Honda NSX we had on test recently, two things struck me: firstly, the feeling of being transported back to the 1990s, and secondly, the ‘WTF’ nature of the stalk setup.

There are two conventional moveable stalks to take care of indicators and windscreen wipers, but behind those are a set of chunky fixed stalks, covered in buttons and dials for things like the headlights and cruise control. It seemed bizarre and a bit stupid to begin with, but I very quickly came to appreciate the setup: it’s really intuitive and easy to use, and much simpler not having everything bunged onto just two stalks. The buttons and knobs are all quite big too, which I like. Ain’t nobody got time for small, fiddly controls.

8. BMW E46 330Ci key fob 'double tap' - Gabz

I like the ‘double tap’ on BMW coupe fobs that lowers the front window (driver side) to help entering in tight spots. Then as you close it, it goes up automatically. I was told about this before buying my 330Ci so I knew, but otherwise I wouldn’t have realised what the point was.

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