Car

Must-Have Gadgets and Features for New Car Owners

Must Have Gadgets And Features For New Car Owners

Getting your first car is probably one of the best feelings in the world. Tiresome public transport, expensive taxi services, always relying on someone else to get from point A to point B… Yeah, all these things are behind you now. You are your own master, and you have an entire world under your tires.

Still, this novelty comes with a couple of asterisks. Owning a car is a great responsibility and the first couple of months until you ease yourself into the whole driving shtick can be a bit bumpy. Any kind of assistance in this regard is more than welcome.

Well, let us take a look then at some of the must-have car gadgets and features for new car owners that should make this transition easier, carefree, comfortable, or simply more fun.

Essential safety features

These things come built into most new rides. If you don’t have them, be sure to pack them in since they have a massive impact on your on-road safety and, in turn, your confidence. What exactly are we talking about? Well, how about automatic brakes that stop the vehicle if you are in danger of a frontal collision? If this upgrade seems too expensive, you can at least upgrade the vehicle with the forward collision warning that will improve your brake response times. Also, consider using blind spot alerts. Keeping track of all things on the road is hard. This gadget greatly improves your road awareness.

Streamlined controls

We all know how important it is to keep your car cool in the hot summer months. Well, not if you need to go through convoluted touch screen menus to simply fire up your AC units. Your eyes should be on the road. The same goes for the audio system. That is why you should always look for the vehicles where these systems are assigned to knob controls. If you are unable to do so, at least look for the infotainment systems that support voice controls. In the case of older vehicles, replacing the old car head unit with the two-know Android infotainment system is the way to easily get the best of both worlds.

Capable music system

People say you should never completely shut yourself from the surrounding traffic noise. They are right since horns, tire screeches, and other sounds can save your life. But, firing up music that won’t completely isolate you from external noise can go a long way in making you more relaxed, focused, and in control. So, be sure to check the affordable car amplifiers for sale or even consider replacing the complete speaker system with something that will pack more punch and make the experience more immersive. Urban traffic can be very aggravating. This is the best way to blow off some of that steam.

Convenience features

These small quirks and upgrades are not as critical to driving safety as the safety features above but they sure make on-road experience less taxing. How about auto-dimming mirrors? Most of the new vehicles use bright LED lights which can be incredibly taxing when someone follows your vehicle close behind. The other thing that comes to mind is the 360-degree camera system. If you install a rear view camera as well as put the cameras under side mirrors and on the grill, you will be much more aware of objects around the ride. Worried about parallel parking? Well, you should worry no more.

Comfort features

Going on any sort of longer-distance travel can turn out to be a nightmare for your back and feet. Sure, newer vehicles have drastically improved the comfort of their seats and you will have plenty of adjustments to play with. But, stock seats are stock seats. They aren’t great at promoting road safety. Well, it is good to know then that this problem can be simply solved by installing ergonomic seat covers that are usually packed with more ergonomic designs, pleasant materials, and in some cases even heating and massage features. You can get a similar treatment for your feet with custom pads.

Maintenance features

Last but not least, let’s take a look at a couple of features and upgrades that should keep your car in top shape. When you are just learning the ropes of car ownership, knowing you can solve any issue you may encounter gives you that extra ounce of much-needed confidence. So, start building your maintenance kit with an OBDII scanner that will allow you to interpret error codes and signals, a smart tire inflator, a portable jump starter, and a car jack. When you cover these critical mentions, you can proceed to things like smart tire depth gauges, windshield defrosters, and de-icing lock torches.

Conclusion

Well, these were some of the essential features, upgrades, and gadgets that should make your first months as a new car owner less stressful and actually enjoyable. And there are a lot of things to enjoy here. And rest assured, there are a lot of things to enjoy here. Just fire up your new four-wheeler and you will have an entire world in the palm of your hand. Just be sure to roam the roads in a responsible and safe manner. The upgrades we proposed will definitely help you along the way.

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Paul Tomaszewski is a science & tech writer as well as a programmer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of CosmoBC. He has a degree in computer science from John Abbott College, a bachelor's degree in technology from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and completed some business and economics classes at Concordia University in Montreal. While in college he was the vice-president of the Astronomy Club. In his spare time he is an amateur astronomer and enjoys reading or watching science-fiction. You can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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