QOTD: What Irks You Most About Your Car?

Driving away after sealing a deal at the local dealership or bargaining a fair price in someone’s driveway can be a great feeling. You’ve got what you wanted, for a sum approaching your target price, and now you’re in the driver’s seat. It’s time to appreciate what you have.

That warm, blissful feeling sometimes wears off in a hurry.

Minor annoyances and irksome issues missed during the initial shakedown cruise often rear their ugly head. While it’s probably not a deal-breaking issue, it’s something that diminishes the driving/owning experience just enough to bring you back down to earth. And, as time goes on, this peculiarity calls further attention to itself.

What’s your current car’s biggest annoyance?

I’ll bite. Your author’s base Chevy Cruze rolled out of Lordstown, Ohio with economy top of mind (and profits seemingly second). Fit and finish, compared to his mid-range first-generation model, seems slightly lacking; however, this writer was in the market for the most car for the money and was willing to live with unimproved steering and shift feel. Past experience shows that the torsion beam rear suspension, while far removed from the fancy, multi-link rears found in some compact cars, has durability in spades.

As “L” does not, as this writer joked to the salesman, stand for “lavish,” the glue-and-toilet-paper headliner attracts dirt and stains like a child’s pants at recess. Those undersized 15-inch wheels with awful wheel covers? The covers came off the minute I got home, and the rims themselves are now relegated to winter duty only, so that unsightly problem’s now solved.

And yet these issues are not what I’m here to gripe about. No one expects the interior of an el-cheapo base compact domestic car to rival the best of Germany. No, my singular gripe involves a feature the competing 2018 Hyundai Elantra lacked: a 7-inch touchscreen. Truly, the dash would look horrible without it, and Bluetooth connectivity is a must in areas with strict distracted driving laws.

The issue that reared its head very, very soon after driving off the lot involves screen brightness. Simply, it’s too bright. Scrolling through the menu revealed no manner with which to tone down the glow; a dash toggle only impacts gauge cluster brightness. When outside the city at night, scanning for wayward whitetails, the blue-ish glow from the center of the dash hampers forward vision to some degree. Usually, I’ll click the home page button just to cut down on brilliant icons.

It’s an issue that hasn’t gone unnoticed by other 2018 Cruze drivers, though each one seems to have a different story to tell. Some managed to dim their screens, others not. Some find dicking around with it in reverse gear solves the issue, others aren’t so lucky. Apparently, each Cruze is one of a kind. Like a Fabergé egg!

So, B&B, what’s your biggest gripe with the vehicle currently taking up space in your driveway?

[Image: General Motors]