I don't want any of this in a car. I want analog/tactile nobs, zero connectivity, and at most a power cable and holder to plug in a smart phone. Anyone left that provides this?
The simultaneous trends of bigger SUV/trucks with higher hoods and poorly designed "infotainment" systems is terrifying, especially for pedestrians and cyclists.
Well, reviewers busy fiddling with ten thousand settings in 14 INCH TOUCHSCREEN. While 2021 model has only 12.4 inch screen. So new one is best thing that happened.
> I wish that car reviewers would do their job and be critical.
Well, it’s all about Youtube clicks now. Who shows more new cars faster. Being honest and critical does not help those individuals because that will cause that they’ll stop receiving cars for reviews.
You see. Today to review a car, you have to get s special press car. Can’t pick up a random rental and do a review for it.
I believe new Mazdas come with no direct connectivity and have no touchscreens. You can still connect your Android Auto or CarPlay device though, and control it with a knob.
Got a Mazda3 this year and the "no bullshit" infotainment stack was a huge selling point for me. Airplay integration using a knob is a little wonky in places (primarily interacting with maps), but I consider it a feature not a bug because I basically don't do any interaction I can't do via voice commands. Physical buttons for all climate etc, not a capacitive "button" to be found in the car.
I’ve got a new and somewhat-old Mazda. The new one does have an internet connection but it really only seems to be used for remote start and door lock status/control. Its using the Verizon network (in the US) and it also pings a location when you power off the car. (All these things are available through a python api so thats fun)
Hmm, that smartphone integration implies there is something at the other side communicating. Don't think I want that either. Guessing many folks would be fine with bluetooth audio for music and directions.
New Dacia cars fit the bill and they use modern Renault drivetrains under license. Funnily they get poor safety ratings because they don't include many electronic driving aids (lol)
Calling their structural safety great seems like an overstatement -- I can't find a Dacia model on EuroNCAP that doesn't have sketchy dummy kinematics, and one new model (Spring) performs startlingly poorly in crash tests
The best appears to be the 2021 Dacia Logan[1] which has a crash test littered with "marginals":
> [...] structures in the dashboard presented a risk of injury to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions, and protection for this part of the body was downgraded to marginal. Chest protection was also rated as marginal for both front seat occupants, based on dummy readings of chest compression.
> In the side barrier test, representing an impact by another vehicle, chest compression indicated a marginal level of protection.
> ...geometric analysis of the rear seats indicated marginal whiplash protection.
I think Dacia makes great cars for what they are and their price, but there are much better options for crash mitigation.
I drove a brand new SEAT this year as a rental which had a clutch that was almost impossible to actuate smoothly due to a very bizzare non linear bite profile. I wonder if it's similar for Dacia cars.
The only Dacia stuff I'm personally interested in is the stuff with the new Renault hybrid drivetrains
No, the Dacia clutch has a very short bite profile, like most Renault cars. I find it annoying after driving mainly Suzukis and VAG group cars. The Seat Leon is quite a nice drive and we also had a rental Skoda Fabia which was ok as well, apart from a too soft suspension that makes you think it's going to flip over. My other car is a previous model Audi A1 1.4 TFSI, which is very stable and much fun to drive on good roads, but it's unreliable, the trunk is useless and Eastern European roads are full of potholes and inequalities, so I'm selling it.
The Captur hybrid is the only Renault PHEV I'm aware of and it has automatic transmission.
The hybrid version of the Jogger will – like Renault’s full-hybrid versions of the Clio and Captur – be based on a 1.6 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. The E-Tech system uses two electric motors, a starter motor and a drive unit, that are controlled by a clutchless “dog box” transmission.
Dacia did not release horsepower figures or a sales price for the hybrid version, but the drivetrain produces 140 hp in the Clio. Dacia said it will be “the most affordable seven-seater hybrid on the market.”
Renault says the E-Tech system allows for 80 percent of urban driving in electric-only mode, and for a total fuel savings of 40 percent compared with a comparable gasoline drivetrain.
That's fair. It's still a massive improvement over the cars built before 2000 which would decapitate you with the steering column from a fender bender.
This is exactly what I want. I think there’s a huge, untapped market for an electric car with minimal software. A car that doesn’t need software updates and doesn’t track you.
Just like that huge, untapped market for a cell phone with minimal software. Yup, people will be lining up around the block for the modern equivalent of a Motorola razr or Nokia brickphone.
When these choices don't meaningfully exist there's not enough information to know whether it is viable or not.
The present situation exists due to increased monetization, not because people are clamoring for blue-sceens, dangerous distractions, broken bluetooth, and pervasive surveillance in cars.
"Hey wouldn't it be great if my disgruntled ex could find out where I am every minute!?"
It’s like trying to find a cathode ray tube TV anymore: technically possible to produce, but economically infeasible in terms of costs. Chips are just cheaper than going analogue, even with the current shortages.
