New car technology: Will I be able to cope?

We know that a lot has changed in car technology and interiors in recent years, and this can feel intimidating for parents wanting to buy a new family car.

Some of the changes include new ways of starting the vehicle or selecting a gear, while beeps and alarms from safety assistance systems can feel overwhelming and make driving with your family more stressful. No matter what kind of car you are considering for your family, they all have new technology that’s likely to differ from what is in your current car.

We know that as parents the car is already pretty busy with kids asking endless “why” questions while you are trying to back out of the driveway, wanting things passed to them or crying in their baby seat. So adding to that new technology, warning beeps and changing things like the gear selector can seem like a lot.

Some of the new technology may seem a little alien at first but once you become accustomed, they can help make driving easier and sometimes safer. As a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au, I have to get used to a different car and its technology each week with my family. Some cars make driving my family around much harder and other cars just get it right first time.

So let’s have a look at some of these changes and how they might benefit or negatively impact driving with your family – and the cars that get it right for families…

Opening the car will be a new experience for some. Gone are the days of putting the key in the lock and almost gone are the days of pressing a button on the key fob. Most new cars have an auto unlock option so you can open the doors simply by having the key fob in your pocket and touching the handle. Some cars even have handles flush with the doors that pop out when you approach them.

Gesture or proximity-controlled boot lids can be great for families when you go out to the car laden with lunchboxes and toddlers and no free hand to open the boot; you simply wave your foot underneath or simply stand next to it instead. This is great when it works – it’s like having an extra pair of hands and frustrating when it doesn’t (you stand there waving your foot endlessly and nothing happens)! It can also be a hazard and many have experienced the boot accidentally shutting on them when they are leaning into the boot when loading it.

Getting it right: Kia Carnival

The Kia Carnival is a very popular seven- or eight-seater family people-mover with sliding side doors that can be set to automatically slide open when you walk towards them with the key fob in your pocket and they close automatically when you walk away.

This is particularly helpful for families with young children if you are carrying them to or from the car. The boot lid works the same way and you get plenty of warning beeps before it starts moving.

Perhaps the first thing that will surprise you with new cars is how you start them! The majority now have a push-button start located in different positions depending on the vehicle. Commonly they are found in the centre console, either side of the steering wheel on the dash or by the driver’s right knee.

Others I’ve experienced have a twistable switch instead of a traditional key. However, some do not have a start button at all and simply sitting on the driver’s seat powers up the car.

It’s worrying from a safety perspective for families if it’s so easy for a child to jump into the driver’s seat, while the keys are nearby, that they could accidentally start the car simply by sitting there. It does change how you have to allow your car to be used by your family and more than ever you have to have eyes in the back of your head as a parent.

Getting it right: Porsche Macan

It’s not in every family’s budget, but the luxurious and sporty Porsche Macan is the closest to the key ignition we all remember with a key fob-shaped switch to the right of the steering wheel that you twist like you would a traditional ignition key.

It is less easily pressed than a button, the fob still needs that firm final turn like a key that most kids wouldn’t succeed in starting the car.

Getting it right: Volvo XC40

A popular five-seat SUV for families, electric versions of the Volvo XC40 are started by simply sitting in the driver’s seat. One of the great features of this method is the vehicle turns off if you are not sitting in the seat so you can’t accidentally leave the car turned on when you nip out to do drop-offs (although this can be a hazard if your kids climb into the front when you’re packing the boot).

Great for cutting vehicle emissions and helping our environment, automatic engine idle-stop technology turns of the engine when you come to a stop at an intersection or traffic lights to save on fuel and reduce emissions.

In some cars this can be quite jarring for little passengers, especially in cars where the engine judders to a stop. As parents we often use the car’s noise and motion to get our little ones to sleep (however much we think we won’t before we have kids), so if we are driving them to sleep and suddenly the engine cuts out we are back at square one again! So it’s very important to be able to turn this off for nap time journeys!

Getting it right: BMW X1 and X5

The BMW X1 and X5 are both practical five-seater family SUVs that have their idle-stop controls logically positioned with the engine start button. This is particularly good for parents as an immediate reminder when they start the engine to turn that off straight away for nap time journeys.

Like teenagers going through puberty, car companies are currently experimenting with their individuality when it comes to gear selector design. Some are more user-friendly for families than others, especially for parents who are often distracted when parking and manoeuvring with kids in the car and are more often in places like school or playground car parks where there are kids moving around the vehicles and it is critical to know which direction your car is going to move.

There are many different variations on this once-standard item, including rotary dials, twist stalks, indicator-like stalks and push buttons. Thankfully, these designs do free up the centre console space for more storage and more minimal interiors. Some designs are more successful than others for parents to use during those frequent times we're under pressure.

Getting it right: Genesis GV60

Perhaps the most elaborate of all gear designs is in the Genesis GV60. A glowing crystal ball-like sphere in the central console that rotates when you start the car to reveal a sculpted rotary dial. This extravagant design is the icing on the cake in the beautifully designed, opulent interior of the Genesis GV60 and it’s also easy to use.

Getting it right: Tesla Model 3 & Model Y

These popular electric family cars have an indicator-like gear stalk that you flick up and down to select gear, as well as activate the cruise control. Perhaps the simplest of all the technology in the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, they are quick to get used to and are conveniently located for use when parking and manoeuvring quickly.

Getting it right: Hyundai Palisade, Santa Fe and Staria

Hyundai has its own take on gear selector design and has opted for push-button gears in these family-focused models. Larger than the other buttons on the dash, they are easy to locate and the buttons illuminate when selected so you can use them easily in a hurry.

The key fob has become almost like a remote control for some cars, not simply to lock or unlock the car anymore but to start the vehicle, cool or heat the cabin before you get in and, with some, you can drive the vehicle backwards and forwards. At first, I did think these were a bit of a gimmick, however having now lived with some I am converted to their usefulness in family life.

Getting it right: Hyundai IONIQ 5

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 can be driven backwards and forwards using the key fob alone, which can be so handy to be able to move a wide car like this in and out of a tight parking space, especially when getting infants and toddlers in and out of their car seats without worrying about banging the doors into neighbouring vehicles.

Adaptive cruise control can feel very alien the first time you try it, however it’s worth persevering until you are confident using it as it will feel like your new best friend once you’ve mastered it!

Compared to conventional cruise control, the car automatically adjusts its speed according to the traffic in front of you to keep a safe distance (and you can control how close it follows). When not following traffic, adaptive cruise control systems tend to be more accurate than conventional cruise control at keeping to the set speed when going down hills, which can be really helpful in areas with speed cameras. Still, some cars with adaptive cruise control do this better than others!

The controls come in various forms, from a twist or press-button stalk behind the steering wheel to more easily-seen buttons on the steering wheel.

Getting it right: Ford Everest and Ranger

Adaptive cruise control in the Ford Everest and Ranger is one of the more successful and accurate systems, particularly because you can set it to take just one touch to adjust to a new speed limit when it recognises a new speed sign, which makes it easy if you regularly go through areas of varying speed limits.

We are all so used to being able to adjust the air-con and climate controls on the dashboard or centre console but the latest wave of technology in many new cars has resulted in these controls being completely moved to within the central media screen.

This may be okay in the pre-child days of driving alone in your car peacefully. However, when driving along with kids in the back screaming about being too hot – and everything else going on – a three-step process of navigating touch-screen menus to adjust the fan speed or temperature is two steps too many.

Getting it right: Range Rover Evoque

With a high-tech solution that works really well, the Range Rover Evoque has two screens. The climate controls are in the lower screen with two rotary dials to control fan speed, temperature and seat temperature. The dials have multiple functions that work seamlessly with the screen. The system is beautifully designed to be very simple and user-friendly to use.

Getting it right: Subaru Outback

The Subaru Outback has one of the most well-executed modern climate-control systems for ease of use. Situated in the surround of the media system, the controls remain visible all the time so you do not have to click into the media system to access them.

New cars have so much driver assist technology to make driving safer for everyone and help prevent accidents happening in the first place. However, we are often tempted to turn some of them off because they destroy the enjoyment of driving or they drive us to distraction with constant beeping and fighting our steering inputs.

One of the worst offenders is the speed limit recognition system in some cars that bongs when you are just 1km/h over the speed limit, whether or not it was the car’s own cruise control that drifted a bit, the technology has misinterpreted a road sign or you are in a school zone during the middle of summer holidays when normal speed limits apply.

Sometimes they will continue to sound the warning for 15 minutes of a journey, testing the patience of every adult onboard let alone the children.

Getting it right: Mazda CX-60

The Mazda CX-60’s speed limit recognition is clearly visible in the head-up display, which makes it nice and easy to see – and there is no bonging or ringing alarms, just a clear visual where you can easily see it and it doesn’t disturb the rest of your passengers big or small.

Another of the contentious driver assist technologies is lane departure warning. In a lot of cars this is a loud beep or alarm that sounds to warn the driver when they go out of their lane. We understand this is designed with safety in mind but the reality for parents when they have a busy car full of family or sleeping babies, this sound is too much. Especially on narrow or twisty roads! However, some cars have a vibration or visual warning instead.

Getting it right: Mazda CX-5

The Mazda CX-5 gives parents the option to set the lane departure warning to a beeping sound, rumble sound or steering wheel vibration to alert you when you go out of your lane without indicating. This is great for families as often the loud beeping noises are triggering for kids and escalate anything already happening on the journey.

Driver attention warning is a technology well worth checking for when car shopping for your family. In a lot of new cars this is a loud beep or alarm-like noise that sounds to warn the driver when they are not paying enough attention to the road ahead, are looking away too much, or the vehicle perceives them to be driving erratically or inattentively.

In some cars, however, the systems are triggered if you wear sunglasses or even when frequently looking in the rear or side mirrors as you might when Friday night commuters are weaving about on the motorway, or looking across when approaching roundabouts.

The most successful systems for families have a vibration in the steering wheel or driver’s seat instead.

Getting it right: Honda ZR-V

The Honda ZR-V gives an initial visual warning rather than a beeping alarm which is great for parents so they are alerted without disturbing the rest of the passengers in the vehicle.