Top 3 Gimmick Driven Cars

We don’t know about you, but sometimes we feel like there are more gimmicks knocking around these days than actual products that are useful.

For example, Buzzfeed is full of those “58 times hipster restaurants went too far” lists, which show full English breakfasts that are served on shovels and other such nonsense.

Sometimes keeping things simple is much better than trying to make things edgy or “cool” and we’re sad to say that we’ve seen gimmicks creeping into our once pure automotive world.

Equipment grades and added extras have started to get somewhat out of control, particularly when it comes to the luxury end of the market – have any examples jumped into your mind already?

Just to get you started, we’ve outlined three cars that have over-the-top features that seem to be there for no particular reason…

 

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

We wrote an article recently on the future of Rolls-Royce models and the manufacturer’s main focus seems to be on providing a level of luxury that most sofas and beds can’t ever hope to attain.

Mercedes seems to be going to the same way, seeing its cars less as a mode of transportation and more as a way to feel relaxed, particularly when it comes to its E-Class model.

This thing is so zen it’ll just straight-up irritate you; from its 64 – yes, 64!! – interior lighting options to its eight different massage functions, it’s too much. Wired magazine hilariously says that one of these relaxing massage settings “feels like a kid kicking the back of your seat”. We’re not ones for using social acronyms, but – LOL.

 

BMW 7 Series

Everyone is getting excited about how connected their cars are these days, thanks to the likes of infotainment systems and heads-up touchscreen displays. It’s all very exciting and things like this make controls on the paddles by the steering wheel seem archaic.

The BMW 7 Series knows nothing of pesky things that you have to actually touch: how grimy that must be for other drivers! Instead, people who are getting around in one of these flagship models will just have to wave their arm around to get the car to do something.

Being more specific, there is a sensor in the roof that picks up when the driver flails their arm around or waggles their fingers. You can do any of these movements to change the volume on the stereo and you can even swipe your arm across the air to answer a call.

Anything that keeps you from actually touching the thing you might want to use. Although this does sound handy (ha), we feel like you might be mistaken for making turn signals. Could get dangerous, that one.

 

Porsche 911

Not always the most popular of manufacturers on a good day – apart from in motorsport that is – Porsche has managed to irritate once again.

This time it’s the 911 model that sees the brand’s team intent on focusing its energy on anything other than performance when it comes to its road cars.

If you’re so inclined, you can now specify that your air conditioning vents and paddle shifters be wrapped in leather. Before you ask, yes – there are a range of colours that will see your car become the most coordinated model in the car park.

Of course, you’ll probably also be asking yourself, ‘what have I done??’ when it gets to summer and you realise that you’ve wrapped leather around every square inch of your car’s interior. Not fun.

There’s a lot more we could cover, from floating gear sticks to granite interiors – who cares about efficiency? – but now we’d love to hear from you about cars with gimmicks gone mad.