3 Car Features That Make Winter Driving More Enjoyable
If you love taking a long, scenic drive to unwind after a long work-week, then you may cut this drive out during the cold, snowy winter that turns long drives into chores instead of relaxing experiences. If you live in a cold, snowy area of the country, then you choose a vehicle that makes you feel safe in the winter, so why not choose one that keeps winter driving enjoyable as well? There are several features that can help you enjoy driving all year-round, and some will actually make you look forward to driving in the cold.
1. Heated Interior Features
Anyone who drives in the winter knows that it takes a few minutes for the engine to heat up the air that is then used to heat the car. This wait time can make jumping in the car for a quick drive seem like more of a hassle in the winter. When you opt for a vehicle with heated seats and even a heated steering wheel, you can feel much warmer while you wait for the entire car to heat up. These features warm up before the rest of your car does, as they are typically heated with your car's electrical system.
Some luxury cars today not only offer heated front seats and steering wheels, but also heated back seats. Heated back seats are great if you have children you like to take with you on your drives.
2. Heated Wipers and Windshield
One task that can suck the joy out of winter driving is having to scrape ice off your windshield and wipers before you go for a drive. Waiting for a typical windshield defroster to melt the ice can help, but that takes time and usually still leaves you having to scrape off those last bits of ice on windshield wipers that always seem to stick around. The worst thing is when your wipers become "glued" down with ice, leaving you having to struggle to break them free.
When you choose a car with heated wipers and a heated windshield, you can eliminate most manual labor that goes into clearing the ice off your windshield. You can also have a clear windshield much more quickly, as you won't have to wait for the engine to fully heat before it can provide the warm air needed for the windshield defroster to do its job.
A heatable windshield has either a coating that conducts electricity or small, invisible strands of conductive metal embedded in the glass. The latter is more common in today's heated windshields. The windshield is connected to the electrical system of your vehicle that requires no heat-up time, unlike the window defroster that requires a heated engine to work well.
3. Lane Departure Warnings
When driving on snow-covered roads in the winter, lane-division marks can be difficult to see with the naked eye when covered with even light snow. This leaves many drivers fearful of drifting into other lanes unintentionally and causing auto accidents. A vehicle equipped with a lane departure warning system signals a driver when they are drifting into another lane unintentionally, so they can straighten up quickly.
Automatic lane hold systems are similar to lane departure warning features, but they actually keep the vehicle from drifting automatically. Many vehicles come equipped with a combination of these two features, so you can choose whether you want automatic correction or you want a warning to correct your driving instead. These features not only makes winter driving more safe, but they lead to more enjoyable, no-worry driving in bad weather.
If you love going on long drives in the summer but you dread them in the winter, then after you make sure you choose a winter-safe vehicle, look for additional features that can help you enjoy winter driving. You can then take long, scenic drives admiring the beauty of winter, just as you take them in the spring, summer, and fall.
For more information, contact a local car dealer, or visit websites like http://tischerauto.com.
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