wrt. Cars, there's a whole can of worms which IMHO matters to every car shopper (whether they think they care about it or not): Ergonomics. Every driver may have their own preferences on where important controls (pedals, steering, AC temperature, volume, etc.) should be; every passenger (including the driver) may have preferences on the hip point, seating position, interior material, etc.. In reality these are (rightfully) widely differentiated across models and makes.
People complaining about CVTs is a cliche. On the other hand, I generally like them, and really dislike any transmission that doesn't shift smoothly (although then I bought a car with one for other reasons).
One reason people may think cars are all the same is because auto journalism has atrophied. I think partly because good journalism is unhelpful in selling ads now, and partly because nobody cares about it for making buying decisions now anyway.
I remember when every single review of the Kia Niro said its transmission was atrocious. They don't say that anymore. But I test drove one, and I don't think anything's changed, probably they just are better at avoiding people who might give a bad review.
I'm far from an enthusiast, but even for me there are cars on the market with engines so weak that I don't like it.
Apart from the engine, there are some nice technological features on modern cars, like parking cameras or even automatic parking.
Then there are hybrid and electrical cars.
> Bottle water
Do you include sparkling water in that? Because they can taste very different.
> Computer monitor
Size. Resolution. Refresh rate. G-sync. Reflective vs matte.