- Parking sensors top list of tech that motorists can't live without.
- Research also revealed that 1-in-4 drivers don’t know how to use their ADAS.
- Active safety features are distracting, according to 38% of respondents.
Convenience and comfort features top a list of the technologies motorists "can’t live without" in research by the UK division of eBay, scoring signficantly ahead of the latest advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise and steering assistance.
The study looked into attitudes towards in-car technologies of 2000 drivers. Parking sensors (37%) were rated the most essential piece of kit, ahead of USB ports (29%) and Bluetooth connectivity (29%).
While passive technologies and in-car entertainment scored highly, active safety systems were less popular, with 38% of motorists finding intervention by active avoidance technologies such as autonomous emergency braking, or lane keep assist, disconcerting.
In fact, more than half of drivers participating in the study have never used one or more of their advanced driver assistance features; with cruise control, lane-keep assistance and lane departure prevention systems topping the list of shunned features.
As a piece of promo geared towards putting modern comfort and convenience features into an older car, eBay has purchased a 2005 BMW 330Ci and fitted several of the top-rated technologies.
Retro-fitted features include upgraded in-car entertainment to include smartphone mirroring via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto (rated top by 14% of survey respondents), blind spot warning (11%), a reversing camera (27%) and front and rear integrated dashcams (13%).
