What is the most underrated part of a car interior?

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 06/24/2014 at 15:17 • Filed to: Sun-visors FTW

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In my humble opinion, a vehicle's sun-visors are critical, and far too often overlooked. I'll use my '06 GMC Sierra as an example of how to do it right.

Now, many of you would absolutely hate the interior of my truck. From the giant grey plastic dashboard, to the intermittent rattle behind the instrument cluster, to the mouse-fur bench seat that cannot be adjusted for seat bottom height or angle, its a paragon of cheap. But the sun-visors are freaking fantastic!

Look at these felt(?) covered bad boys! They can be straight down for maximum shielding. They can flip all the way forward to be less intrusive. They even have bitchin' extenders for when the sun is in that awkward spot above the rear-view mirror. If I put the passenger side visor down, I can block off virtually the entire top of the windshield for the ultimate in morning eastbound or afternoon westbound commuting pleasure.

I can even swing them to the side, and block off the whole top of the side window. YEAH!

I'll contrast that, with the sun-visors from my wife's '06 Mazda 3. The Mazda's interior is far superior to my Sierra in every qualitative measurement ... except one. I'm pretty sure the sun-visors in that car were made by the Playskool corporation. They don't look bad, but feel like the same blow molded plastic a cheap drill case is made out of. Worst of all, no extenders! WTF?!?

What part of the interior do you think is the most underrated?

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:19

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The indicator stalk on BMW's?

shop-teacher > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 06/24/2014 at 15:20

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BMW's have an indicator stalk?

CRider > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:20

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The nut behind the wheel.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:21

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shhhhh......

It's a secret feature... Don't tell them

shop-teacher > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 06/24/2014 at 15:22

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Learn somethin' new everyday!

Pixel > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:28

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Best Sun visor I have ever had was on my '91 Taurus. There was a normal visor, then when you swing it to cover the side window there was a SECOND SUN VISOR that you could swing down which with extender would cover one whole side of the windshield. They were amazing because even if the sun was right where the pillar was you didn't have to keep swinging the visor back & forth to block it.

XJDano > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:28

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manual everything! Steering, windows, mirrors, locks, transmission, lights, seats, & even the radio antenna.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:29

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A well functioning blower preventing the windscreen from steaming up.

You'll never notice this feature until you don't have it...

(Not our car, but my parents owned two similar 2CVs)

We always had a sponge ready and we had to constantly wipe all the windows except the rear with it while driving...

Leadbull > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:30

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Ergonomics.

It blows my mind that perfectly sane people sit in Chevy Malibus AND PROCEED TO BUY THEM.

TheCraigy > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:30

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Gotta say I love my heated seats. Totally underrated feature. It can be middle of the summer but some days I'll have them on max.

Going with the theme of the post though I'd probably say the floormats. Carpet getting dirty? Just pull the mat out and beat it against a wall, and voila clean carpet again. Pop them in the washing machine for a thorough cleaning. And once the mats are finally looking really you can just buy new mats which drop in, in lieu of replacing the actual carpeting in your car.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Pixel 06/24/2014 at 15:37

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Yup, my Buick has the same thing and it's hilarious to show people. "SUN VISORS FOR DAYS!" The main one can flip down and to the side, then there's another one underneath that that flips down forward. Can't see shit with them down, but at least the sun isn't blinding me, just a bunch of cloth and plastic.

camaroboy68ss > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:41

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I don't think about the sun visors untill I hop into my 33 ford pickup. The visor that's part if the design of the cab is just a pain in the ass. It doesn't shield sun but covers a light to where you have to lean in and look up at the light.

Svend > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:42

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The tailgate on my Superb Combi. The car is unlocked but when I pull away the tailgate locks itself so if I'm stopped in traffic people can't just open and grab stuff. The rest of the doors remain unlocked (unless I lock them) but the tailgate will unlock itself when one of the doors has been opened or the driver presses a button to release it. Sounds simple but I like the security.

Also the torch in the tailgate, serves as additional lighting in the boot but is removable from it's recharging point and has a magnet to point it to any point on the car for changing a wheel etc... Simple yet again effective.

Just on the left next to the rear pillar.

Also the umbrella in the rear passenger door which holds the umbrella ready for use but also allows it to be put away wet as it has it's own drain channels.

I do love my Superb.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:43

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The horn button. I didn't realize that not all cars used the airbag cover in the middle of the steering wheel until, while test driving an early-2000s Discovery, I tried to adjust the radio and ended up sounding the horn. Twice. Because the horn is an actual button on the wheel, where the radio controls go on every other car I've ever driven.

shop-teacher > Pixel 06/24/2014 at 15:49

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GAH! I forgot about the second sun-visors! My '98 S-10 had those, and extenders!

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:50

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The lumbar support on my 4Runner. It grips so well.

shop-teacher > Svend 06/24/2014 at 15:52

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Fancy!

Stupidru > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 15:54

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Not my car pictured, but my Outback has the same thing, a little flap-down visor for above the rear-view mirror. It comes in handy more times than not. And I do miss the visors with the extenders- those are the bomb diggity!

shop-teacher > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 06/24/2014 at 15:54

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When airbags first came out, pretty much all horns became buttons on the side. Very annoying. It took a while for manufacturers to figure out how to have the airbag cover be the horn button again. I believe GM was the first to figure that one out, actually. My dad's '95 K1500 had the airbag cover as the horn.

Svend > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 16:18

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All standard on the Skoda Superb.

XJDano > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 16:19

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96+ xjs had this horn in the middle of airbag also. Not sure when airbags were mandated, but 94 or 95 because my 93 didn't have one.

JeffFurbs > Stupidru 06/24/2014 at 16:19

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My 04 wrx has this...confused the ever loving shit out of me when i first noticed it. Took longer than I care to admit what it was used for

shop-teacher > Svend 06/24/2014 at 16:21

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It does sound pretty superb!

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 20:15

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I always forget, but there's only a mirror on the passenger-side visor, right? I dunno what they made them out of, but it might be the nicest material in the whole interior.

GM can make their interiors as cheap as possible, so long as they bring back those seats that are in these trucks. They're literally the perfect seats in my book.

shop-teacher > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 06/24/2014 at 20:28

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I actually kind of hate the seats in my truck. Having no height/angle adjustment to the seat bottom (my truck is a base model) really sucks for long trips. Also, I'm a very big guy, and this has caused problems. The frame for my seat back is bent (my right shoulder sits about an inch farther back than my left shoulder), and I've had to have my seat cushion restuffed twice. I'm toying with the idea of finding a power seat for my side to alleviate these problems.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 20:43

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I think base-model Tahoes came with cloth power seats. Sounds like it's time to head down to a pick 'n pull and get yourself a power seat.

anothermiatafanboy > shop-teacher 06/24/2014 at 22:08

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And to think, I took out the driver visor on my Miata for that slight bit more view out the top of that tiny windshield. Because....racecar?