We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
NO MATTER HOW much you know about cars, comparing specs across manufacturers can be tricky.
Upgrading from an older to a newer car means you’re likely to come across some features you won’t have seen before, and life isn’t made easier by the fact that features can change names depending on the manufacturer.
Looking for adaptive cruise control technology, for example? That’s Active Cruise Control if you’re buying a BMW, Intelligent Cruise Control for a Nissan, or (wait for it) Active Distance Assist Distronic for a Mercedes-Benz.
So how can you compare car listings with confidence, and decode the manufacturer brochures? With the help of car expert and motor journalist Bob Flavin, we’re taking the mystery out of the most common new-car features (and sharing the jargon to look out for).
Digital cockpit
This non-mechanical dashboard swaps out the speedometer, rev counter and in-car controls for LCD screens or touchscreens. There are variations to the name “digital cockpit” across manufacturers – keep an eye out for Peugeot’s i-Cockpit, Skoda’s Virtual Cockpit and Mercedes-Benz’s high-spec MBUX.
Most useful for? ”Night drivers, who will love the fact that everything is well lit-up,” says Bob. The cockpit is often personalisable too: change the colour, lighting and fonts to suit your tastes.
Smartphone connectivity
Depending on the age and model of the car you buy, the term “connectivity” can mean one of a few things. “There’s the basic level of Bluetooth connectivity that allows you to take a call through the speakers of the car,” says Bob. “Most newer cars also support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allow you to use apps like WhatsApp or Google Maps within the car’s own system.” Moving up a level, some car companies offer bespoke smartphone apps, where you can monitor anything from your car’s fuel level to its next service date. If in doubt, ask your dealer exactly which connectivity features you’re getting.
Most useful for? EV drivers will get lots of use out of bespoke manufacturer apps – the NissanConnect app, for example, allows drivers to start charging their EV via their smartphone without going outside the front door.
Driver profiles or driver modes
SEAT Drive Profile, Volkswagen Driver Profile Selection, Ford Selectable Drive Modes… all of these serve a very similar function, allowing the driver to toggle between different driving and comfort preferences at the touch of a button. Want to drive more fuel efficiently? Try Eco Mode. Want a car that’s super-responsive to acceleration? Switch to Sport Mode.
Most useful for? “Households who are sharing one car between multiple drivers should look for models that offer individual driver profiles,” says Bob. These allow each of you to adjust revving capacity, seat height and even air-con to suit your personal preferences.
Adaptive cruise control (ACC)
A step up from standard cruise control, ACC keeps you safe by slowing down to match the speed of the car in front of you. And a whole lot more besides, says Bob. “Advanced systems will help you take motorway exits and navigate junctions, as well as dropping your speed if the speed limit changes.” You’ll find this under multiple different monikers – the American Automobile Association found 20 unique names for ACC across manufacturers, including “dynamic radar cruise control” and “distance assist” – but they all describe the same functionality.
Most useful for? “Anyone who is up and down the motorway regularly should have adaptive cruise control as a priority when buying a car,” says Bob.
Lane departure warning or lane assist
Cars with this feature help you to maintain a safe lane position, either by warning you if you’re about to cross the white line (lane departure warning) or adjusting your steering so you stay in the centre at all times (lane assist). Some manufacturers will bundle a group of safety or autonomous driving features together under one name, like Honda’s Sensing Suite or Nissan ProPILOT, both of which combine adaptive cruise control, lane assist and more.
Most useful for? “Anyone who’s relatively new to driving or is driving a lot on busy roads,” says Bob.
Matrix headlights
Want to feel safer when driving in low or no light? Opt for matrix headlights. “Instead of a single lamp on the front, matrix headlight are made of multiple smaller bulbs which can shine much further,” says Bob. The bulbs serve as cornering lights, lighting up the road ahead on a bend, and can also put oncoming drivers into a low-light blackspot to avoid dazzling them.
Most useful for? This feature is a game-changer for night driving in general, but is particularly helpful on dark rural roads.
City emergency braking
This semi-autonomous feature is designed to prevent low speed collisions, particularly on busy city roads or in stop-start traffic, where you’re driving under 30 km/hr. “If the car in front of you suddenly stops and you don’t intervene, your vehicle will brake and stop for you,” explains Bob. Look out for names like Volkswagen’s City Emergency Brake, Audi’s Pre Sense City or Ford’s Active City Stop.
Most useful for? Anyone who does short hop drives on busy roads, or who often drives in the city centre.
Self-parking system
You’ll often see this referred to as Park Assist or Intelligent Park Assist. While there are different levels of functionality and effectiveness, the basic theory is the same: the car parks itself or helps you to park correctly, using cameras or sensors on the outside of the vehicle.
Most useful for? “If you’re not a fan of parallel parking, this will take away the stress,” says Bob.
Pre-crash system
Often called Pre-Crash Assist or Pre-Collision Assist, this feature helps your car to “prepare itself for a collision”. That can mean warning the driver of an obstruction ahead, tightening seatbelts, activating airbags, applying the full force of the brakes – any or all of the above, depending on the manufacturer.
Most useful for? Everyone, really. “Features like these are becoming standard on newer cars, helping to keep road users safe,” says Bob.
Want to buy a new car with confidence? DoneDeal hosts the widest selection of cars for sale in Ireland, with over 80,000 on sale today. The vast majority of those, over 60,000, are from over 1,000 trusted local car dealerships that offer certainty in your purchase through warranties and history checks.
To check out DoneDeal’s range of cars from all of Ireland’s trusted car dealerships, see here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
This is getting way too complicated for me! I quit!!
It’s simple, they screw us and we take it
Its simple – the idea of 17 different nations all having the same currency is daft
You cannot have ONE currency and 17 FINANCE MINISTERS!
Mmmm its begining to look an awful lot like Declan Ganleys proposal to federalise the EU debts using the ESM as the vehicle to facilitate this.
Correct Sean. Also looking an awful lot like Ganley was right when he said there would be no money left in the ESM by the time Ireland required the second bailout.
I don’t agree Sean. The fact that knowing that the EFSF and ESM will be able to intervene and buy bonds directly will probably push the yield down even without them actually having to do anything. That will make it possible for countries to actually use the markets instead of the bailout mechanisms.
If you look at the recent short-term Spanish bond issue it was actually oversubscribed from buyers. Yes, Spain paid a premium because the markets knew that they have no other choice currently but to pay that price. If however the Spanish can simply turn to the EFSF/ESM and sell their bonds to them at a lower yield then the markets will ultimately have to follow because they have to buy and sell bonds to make any money. There the markets will offer the lower rates and the EFSF/ESM won’t actually have to do anything.
@ Jim Walsh
Your analysis is somewhat skewed.
Firstly EFSF and ESM do not have the €750 billion being brandied about, this is an imaginary figure because they are just sums that have been promised by EZ member countries including Italy and Spain! Where is it going to come from if it is actually needed?
Secondly, you sound very simplistic when you assume that the markets will offer lower rates because of (a non existent fund?). That is precisely what was expected when we had this phony €100 billion bailout for Spanish banks 2 weeks ago, rather the markets rightly saw through the charade and the Spanish bond rates has not reduced but topped 7% this week .
By the time the markets see that this an unholy cross between a sham and scam- it will all start again.
Not at all… Italy payed 20% of Spain’s bailout at an interest of 3% … To pay this Italy borrowed from the ESM at 7% … Basically it has put both countries over the edge and now Italy’s closer to boiling…. European union fail…..
This is just a precursor to the American dept crisis… The real crash the dollar bust
750bn would be enough to bailout Spain for this year, but not Spain and Italy.
Spanish banks borrow over 300bn a month from the ECB, and have 3 trn in debt.
This is a big step forward but a long way from resolving it. Look at how Greece has nearly swallowed half of that 750 already and it is only 1/14 the size of these two and its banks and private sector have low debt, as opposed to Spain/
Italy did not borrow from the ESM at 7% – they borrowed on the open markets at 7%
The whole thing is going to burst in 3 years time
What date?
I predict this will go ahead and the morning headline will be ‘costs drop on borrowing’ followed by an evening headline of ‘costs rise after morning rest-bite, markets unconvinced’. Whatever they do the markets keep coming back at us harder, we really are slaves to the markets.
We are slaves to the market but it is a point as well, that half gestures like this, can’t be expected to solve anything.
The crisis is because of the euro. You cannot have a monetary union without a fiscal union. And you cannot have a fiscal union without political union.
The parliaments of Europe will never agree to political union
They will also never agree to fiscal union. The principle power a parliament has is control over the finances. They will never hand over this power to Brussels
The euro crisis could be over in the morning if the ECB was allowed to buy up sovereign debt. But Dr Merkel will not give them that power. She will only give them that power when there is a fiscal union. And a full fiscal union, if there ever is one, could take years
For example the Bank of England has bought up a THIRD of UK sovereign debt. That is why Britains yields or interest rates are down at 1.5%. If Spain had its own central bank, it could mop up all their govt debt and have the same low yields
The markets ate sure to look for a way to exploit this if it becomes reality. Is it possible?
The question is will it become reality? All 17 countries will have to agree to this scheme. Will the triple AAA countries agree if they think it will damage their ratings?
Sorry that last comment should have been directed at Too Trueleft and not Sean.
That piggy bank is looking awfully small right now.
*sorry not directed at you. General comment.
have your say