Driving A Car With A Million Optional Extras Has Turned Me Into A Creature Comfort-Loving Wuss
A funny thing happened the other day. I needed to get somewhere, so I jumped in the car - only, it wasn’t the Jaguar XE S we’ve been running as a long-term test car since December, since CT Features Ed Darren had the keys. Instead, it was my own car, a basic spec MkV VW Golf GTI, which meant I reached for the electric seat adjustments, only to find it has none.
“Oh!”, I thought. Then: “Since it’s a cold day, I’ll turn on the heated seats and steering wheel.” But the Golf doesn’t have those features either, and I felt a twinge of disappointment. You see, just a month and a half with this car has made me a bit soft. With about £10,000 of optional extras - including four heated seats (the front ones being cooled too), a heated front windscreen, head-up display and 360-degree cameras, I’ve quickly grown accustomed to having every toy under the sun.
This meant that on the recent miserable winter’s day when I swapped back from the supercharged Cosworth Toyota GT86 we’d been testing - with its low equipment list and super firm suspension - I was bloody glad to be back in the wafty Jag.
We have had a couple of reasonably minor issues which are currently being investigated by Jaguar (full report soon), but driving the XE has overall been a positive experience, and I adore the way it cocoons you from the outside world with lashings of leather and fancy gismos. All while still being able to put a smile on your face when you’re blatting down a good road, of course.
All this leaves me a little worried, however. Does this call my credibility as a petrolhead into question, since I’m no longer happy to daily a car unless it has all sorts of creature comforts pre-installed? Does it mean - as one CTzen recently suggested - I’m getting “too old for this s**t”? I’m not sure, but when I flick the XE into Dynamic mode while having my bum and hands nicely toasted, I cease to care.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
its called being rich.
Says much about a man, like….
oh, don’t mind me
What i want is a button for my seat heaters so i don’t have to use that horrendous JLR touch screen. A loading screen when switching between menu’s? Seriously?
The JLR touch screen is probably the weakest point of the whole car, and yeah I’d rather a proper button for the heated seats! There is a newer infotainment system on the way which I’m yet to try, but I’m told it’s a significant improvement
Nothing wrong with that. Have a specced out daily/family cruiser and something fun for the weekends.
I get this. I grew up driving base model Hondas and loving every second. When I finally bought my own car, a Mazdaspeed 6 GT, I was instantly spoiled. With leather, heated seats, and an awesome stereo to name a few things it makes me wonder if I could ever go back to a bare bones cheap and cheerful daily.
I remember my first car the only creature comforts it had was you know what it had none but my daily car now is packed with them and every time I drive my wife’s car I keep looking for the AC or the folding mirrors worse still I can stand there sometime trying to unlock it pushing the key only to find it as to be unlocked the old fashion way
Try living with a car with keyless entry and go, my car will tell me to remember my phone but not my keys.
And I don’t even need a roof! (MX-5)
Does it have a “change my tampon and rinse my crotch” button in case you develop a period while driving it?
Having heated seats in my RAM is so nice for Minnesota winters. Also love the smart climate control that turns the driver’s seat and steering wheel on automatically when the exterior temp is <40F. It’s nice having the physical button for it too, don’t need to worry about navigating the menus and can go by feel rather than needing to look.