Almost half of all drivers don’t know everything their car can do
Research suggests many are unaware of features on their vehicle.
Car manufacturers are introducing new features all the time, with many systems acting as major selling points for one vehicle over another.
However, new research suggests that 48 per cent of motorists admit to being unaware of all their vehicle’s functions.
Of 2,000 Brits surveyed by car retailer Motorpoint, 38 per cent said they had accidentally triggered a feature in their car, with 44 per cent saying friends and family had informed them of an unknown extra.
More than a quarter of respondents said they didn’t use features in their car because they didn’t know how to, with 85 per cent saying it’s important to have an expert explain their car’s features during the buying process.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that many motorists are unaware of their car’s features, as the top five factors for UK car buyers are not material features found within the car. Instead, reliability comes out on top (74 per cent), followed by good fuel economy (72 per cent) and low servicing costs (60 per cent).
These are followed by a large boot and a good heating and ventilation system.
Mark Carpenter, CEO at Motorpoint, said: “When it comes to technological upgrades in our daily lives, we tend to think about phones, laptops – or even kitchen appliances, but the motoring industry has also had something of a revolution when it comes to car specification.
“Buying a car is a big investment, so it’s important people have access to the right knowledge at the point of purchase. Access to an expert who can demonstrate key features before signing on the dotted line and during the handover can make all the difference.”
Motorpoint also created a video in which it demonstrates some of the features that some owners may not know about. For example, most Skoda models should come with an umbrella in the door and an ice scraper in the fuel filler cap.
Meanwhile, the Ford Puma’s MegaBox increases boot capacity and can be found by lifting the boot floor, and the Peugeot 5008 has three ISOFIX points in the middle row.