What Are Your Must-Have Options?

[Moutee]

Originally Posted by bumoftheday

Notice how short my must list was, with HID's being one of them. Once you have them, you never want to go back.

Exactly why that made it on my list. I couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by weekendwarrior

steering wheel audio controls - fell in love with them a few years ago, and have to have them now.

Can't believe I forgot to mention these. I take them for granted until I get into another vehicle.

[BigJimZ28]

350+ Hp
good brakes
T-tops or conv.
rear wheel drive

[MIKES3]

Leather & Heated Seats

[bwalker25]

honestly A/C, a good audio system

[mteele]

My only must-have options are a nice big engine with a mnaual transmission

[simracer]

My list is so short, most of my must haves aren't even options anymore.

A/C, radio w/CD or Aux in, power windows and locks, cruise control, rear window defroster and heated seats.

Didn't realize until I got the BMW how handy heated seats were. I like leather headrests, but can take or leave leather seats. Cloth seats hold you in better if you don't have well bolstered seats. I like my old split cloth/leather seats like in my Gen1 Taurus SHOs.

I still tend to think the more gadgets you have, the more that can go wrong. Plus, I don't like options that add a lot of weight (i.e. moonroofs-especially glass, automatic transmissions and power seats). And I really don't like stuff that weakens a car structurally (t-tops, targas, convertibles).

A manual transmission and a favorable power to weight ratio should be standard from the factory!

[FJF]

Interesting thread, guys. I guess that my preference is for a lack of options. I like a bare-bones, raw, overly mechanical car as a personal vehicle. I look for a lack of bells and whistles, instead of the opposite. Number one priority, besides a match in driving style and a connection with the machine - how fast does it go around corners. I think you see where I'm going with this. FWIW, I drive a tweaked, street-legal rally car, a tuned Evo IX. It's a rush.

[ryke12]

I like good, comfortable seats. When you drive an hour every day to school (when there's little traffic), and an hour back, along with a half hour drive to work, good seats are very important. Leather's my personal preference. I dunno about the cruise control, it makes me go to sleep so I never use it. Heated is also important.

HID lights are quite important too!

I'm going against the grain (maybe not here with the enthusiasts though) when I say that I don't like sound deadening. A small amount is nice, but I rather like hearing what's going on outside (road noise isn't an issue for me). I drove my moms Lexus once and hated it. It was like driving in a coffin.

I also don't use the moonroof in my car (or is it a sunroof? I never understood the difference). It just seems rather silly.

Oh, and (jumping back and forth here) my car seats need to be lighter than black. In Georgia, black seats get very very hot (another problem with my moms Lexus, black leather. It's impossible to just get in and drive when it's been sitting around for a few hours because you'll burn yourself.)

A good audio system is a must as well! I love music.

The car has to be powerful too. I won't demand a 6-cylinder because of the S2000 and RX-8 (and other cars which are getting great power from smaller engines) but I can't deny how nice it is when I go WOT in my VQ35DE (only an Altima though, so it's slightly detuned from the awesome iteration found in the 350Z). That's another reason why sound deadening isn't terribly important for me.

I guess after looking at the above, I'm not really a luxury guy. Give me a good powerful car with a good audio system (or a good intake/exhaust setup, same thing ) and leather seats (really the only two bits of luxury I need) and I'll be happy. Not even really picky about the transmission, but I wouldn't say no to a manual .

[simracer]

Interesting. I didn't think about actual seats being an option. Wouldn't have occured to me, but at least in the BMW when you step up to the sport option, you do get the seats with better bolstering and extendable thigh support. Mine is a non-sport, but unless you're really careful about getting in and out, the bolsters become a wear point.

I'll Amen the over use of sound deadening. Don't mind plastic liners in the wheel wells. I don't really want to hear gravel hitting metal. But I do want to be aware of suspension and engine noises.

I like music but don't need to have a great sound system in the car. Cockpits just aren't ideal listening environments anyway, so I reserve nice sound for my home theater.

But this is coming from the guy who took the resonator cone out of his Taurus SHO so I could hear the engine better. The song that Yamaha made at full snort was music to my ears.

I generally frown on automatic transmissions because of additional weight and slow or inappropriate gear changes (say midcorner). I might have an automatic, but it would need to have at least the same number of gears as the manual version, snap off fairly quick gear changes and when in manual mode, it had better stay in the gear I've got it in whether it's bogging at 1200 rpm or bouncing off the rev limiter.

I might make an exception to that with a larger displacement V8 for which the additional weight of the automatic would be a little more transparent.

[WSUcommuter]

My must-have options:

1) Paid off
2) Easy to work on

[NickDobby]

So many items are standard now, i just wish they would make the auto-dimming rearview mirror one of those items. Nothing worse than a tailgating truck or suv blinding you with their batman spotlights