The simple answer is, at the risk of a spoiler alert. Yes. There may well be two sides to this coin, but the intention of tech’s infusion in the cars we buy now, and will increasingly buy in the years to come, has become a hindrance rather than objectively useful. There was a time when car buying was simpler. Your checklist likely included how comfortable the seats were, ample legroom, power windows and rear parking sensors, and some nice-to-haves such as automatic climate control, and a music system. Then you stretched your budget attempting to buy a trim that’s a notch higher in terms of price, because it had that touchscreen music system instead of one with physical buttons and a small scroll display. The good old days.
The MG Windsor EV requires you to stab your fingers on a touchscreen for something as simple as outside rear view mirror adjustments. (Official image)
Technology in cars isn’t inherently bad, and I’ll clarify that from the outset. Features such as electronic stability control, anti-brake locking systems, adaptive headlights and rain detecting windshield wipers, for instance, essential and helpful. I can say there are moments when the ABS braking tech is fully utilised whilst on the road, when a cretin wants to occupy the same road space that you do, without indicators or a care in the word. Modern vehicles are significantly safer, more efficient and better connected with wireless and wired phone integration into the infotainment system screens (though you’ll still see nitwits texting and driving — just bad apples, with no hope of learning).
But carmakers have left no stone unturned to make things an absolute nightmare on the showroom floor, and subsequently when things start to go wrong (its a matter of when and not if), at the service centre. It was well a case of excitable innovation at first, when the good old touchscreen music system evolved into a connected infotainment system with 4G connectivity, maps preloaded for navigation and in some cases apps too for streaming music, podcasts and more. Some may prefer that elaborate experience in cars, but it’s purely overwhelming for many. This gives me an idea — how about a “simple mode” for the infotainment system, much like some Android phones have? I’m sure many of my father’s generation would prefer simplicity, because it’s impossible for him to navigate layer after layer of interfaces for simple tasks such as changing the radio station.
Some car makers have really taken things a bit too far. The MG Windsor EV, for instance, requires you to stab your fingers on a touchscreen for something as simple as outside rear view mirror adjustments. Things good drivers subconsciously do, now require rewiring. Overwhelming, and simply unnecessary.
A lot of this has resulted in absolute complication on the showroom floor. I’ll give you some examples. Tata Motors at present has some 79 variants of the Nexon on sale, across petrol, diesel and EV powertrains. Hyundai has 69 options of the popular Creta to choose from, including N-Line and Creta Electric. It’s a similar story for the smaller sibling, the Venue, which has 41 variants including the N-Line. Mahindra, not to be left behind, makes a customer choose between 43 trims of the Scorpio. It is a common theme, not restricted to these three car makers, and is being done by pretty much everyone in different degrees.
Often, there are very minor feature differences between similar variants, and only a hawk-eyed buyer can pinpoint those (salespeople too often get confused). A lot of research is needed before buying the car of your dreams. Because those dreams are tiered, in many variants and editions.
I have a feeling that increasingly, customers will begin to gravitate towards brands that keep the buying decision away from such complications. Maruti’s recent launch, the Victoris, is selling well not just because of the value-for-money price and the proposition it offers with the hybrid options, space and safety, but also because there are a grand total of 18 variants across Strong Hybrid and mild Hybrid powertrains (if you’ve decided which powertrain from the outset, the complexity of choice is further trimmed substantially).
It is astonishing that carmakers seem to have forgotten a basic thing — a car isn’t a smartphone. A phone can have your visual attention for as long as you choose to, a car particularly when you are driving, fundamentally doesn’t have that luxury of time.
And that’s even before I get to the industry’s obsession with a software-first approach to everything. Many wouldn’t believe it, but my 12-year-old Hyundai Elantra still felt a better engineered, mechanical brilliance, that no modern car from the last 5 years can manage. I know people who still swear by their timeless VW Polo hatchbacks, their Honda Civic sedans and the first generation Maruti Baleno. Those cars didn’t often go wrong, and mostly when they did, it was mechanically fixable. Cars these days require service centre technicians to be software engineers too—and that’s never going to work out well.
Next up, the subscription trap. It is coming. Mark my words.
Vishal Mathur is the Technology Editor at HT. Tech Tonic is a weekly column that looks at the impact of personal technology on the way we live, and vice versa. The views expressed are personal.
