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Payne: Here are the top new auto features of 2023
Posted by Talbot Payne on December 18, 2023
Automobiles are mobile consumer products at the intersection of multiple industries, including rubber, metallurgy, design, fuel and electronics. As a result, they are in constant innovative ferment.
That ferment has accelerated in recent years as the 21st-century electronics revolution — led by the smartphone — has entered the car.
A Silicon Valley tech startup, Tesla, has led the way, but change is coming at a breakneck pace across all brands, bringing not just new toys for consumers, but new headaches to manufacturers. The average number of problems per 100 vehicles rose a record 30 to 192 in the 2023 JD Power Initial Quality Study, the highest number in its 37-year history as cars have become more complicated.
With their skateboard chassis, electric cars are also driving innovation as designers re-imagine cabins and drivetrains. Here are the top features of 2023:
Google Built-in
Android OS (Operating System) operates your phone, and now it’s in your car. After years of building their own software, some automakers are throwing in the towel and conceding those smartphone guys are best at this sort of stuff. Android Automotive Operating System (officially Google Built-In) is now running new GM vehicles as well as those from Honda, Volvo and Polestar.
The system allows a vehicle to instantly integrate your phone with the car on entry — a significant advance for EV owners, allowing them to plan a trip with charging stops. Honda’s version enables you to continue connecting via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if you prefer — whereas GM considers them soooo 15 minutes ago.
Column shifter
The column shifter is back! Clunky column shifters used to be synonymous with pickup trucks, but they have been reborn on EVs. Without a drivetrain tunnel running through the middle of the cabin, EVs like the Kia EVs, Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Choose-Your-Model have opted for column shifters to free up console space.
And since single-speed automatic EVs only have REVERSE, NEUTRAL and DRIVE, their stalks aren’t as clunky to operate as ol’ multi-gear trucks.
Steer-by-wire
Electronics are even changing steering systems. Steer-by-wire eliminates the mechanical connection of wheel-to-steering rack. Where the typical steering wheel rotates 540 degrees — nearly two turns lock-to-lock — variable steer means you only turn about 150 degrees.
On-road inputs are small, which makes it a bit weird. Naturally, the Tesla Cybertruck is all in, while Lexus is teasing it on the RZ EV.
Camera mirror
Not a new concept, but you better have one if you drive a mid-engine Corvette (can’t see out the back), Ferrari 812 Competizione or Polestar 4 (the latter two have no rear window, to assist aerodynamics).
No rear window? We’ll see if that becomes a trend.
Auto emergency braking
Driver assistance systems are hip at a time when autonomous driving is on everyone’s lips. But short of full self-driving, systems like Ford CoPilot360, Honda Sensing and Toyota Safety Sense offer two notable automatic features that will save you a lot of pain: 1) emergency front braking for when you are, say, fishing for something in your purse and take your eyes off the road, and 2) rear brake assist for when you’re backing out of a parking space between two mega-SUVs.
Car-2-car chargers
Electric vehicles are all the rage, but they cause rage when a driver runs out of charge. Can’t just run down the road and fill up a gallon of electrons. But if you see a Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning or Hyundai EV, flag them down.
These new EVs are capable of car-2-car charging to get you on your way again. At 12 miles-per-hour charge rate or worse, however, you’ll need to be patient.
2X hood pull
Most folks don’t know what’s under their hood, but if you’re curious, it can be a pain finding the hood latch. I’ve nearly lost fingers trying to pry a Jeep Wrangler’s hood open.
Happily, Ford and the Chevy Blazer EV have followed BMW’s tradition of installing 2X hood openers under the dash. Just pull it twice (yank, yank) and the hood pops open.
One-pedal driving
Regenerative braking using the electric motor is one of the coolest features EVs offer (almost as cool as a manual transmission in an ICE vehicle).
Hyundai and Audi use steering-wheel-mounted regen paddles, while Tesla and Volvos have in-screen settings. Even the gas-fired 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid is getting in on the act with its onboard motor.
Multi-link suspensions
Multi-link suspension are traditionally associated with nimble sports cars, but now they’re popping up in pickup trucks.
The Truck Wars continue to escalate with high-tech accessories like magnetic shocks and 360-degree trailer views, so it’s only natural that customers now want their trucks to ride like cars.
Digital key
Who needs a door key? Tesla innovated a digital key system that allows access to your car with a phone app, and many other brands have followed suit.
You can also open the car remotely or just cool it down before you re-enter on a hot summer day.
Third-row seat access
Third-row seats used to be clumsy to get into, thanks to their multi-step folding process. Heck with that, most folks just climbed through the gap between captain’s chairs.
Then, the Honda Pilot innovated the one-button seat collapse, and many competitors followed.
All-terrain tires
Motorheads have always sung the praises of sticky tires on sports cars. Michelin Cup 2 gummies, for example, make a big difference if you want to explore the limits of a modern, 500-horespower cyborg.
The SUV revolution has brought us a rash of off-road mountain goats, and they come with their own tire advantages. Whether a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon or Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness or Honda Pilot Trailsport, all-terrain tires are grippier off-road — and on-road in Michigan blizzards.
Engine audio
Emissions mandates are changing automotive sounds. V-6s and V-8s are being sacrificed to the regulatory gods, but customers still crave an appealing engine soundtrack, so, for example, the turbo-4s roar in 2024 Mustangs and Tacoma trucks. Not all EV buyers want peace and quiet either.
The BMW iX comes with a symphony of sounds created by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer (EXPRESSIVE, SPORT, EFFICIENT) depending on what mood you’re in. And we can’t wait for what the pipe organ hanging out the back of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee sounds like in 2024.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.