Tech you don’t mind and tech you do…

[Warped9]

My previous car was a 2004 Crown Victoria. Suffice to say by today’s standards it was almost stripped except for anti-lock braking, power windows, power locks, air conditioning with auto climate control.

My 2024 Bronco Sport Big Bend is a different story and I’ve had to get used to tech features I never had before and didn’t feel I was missing out on. Now I might wonder if they were suddenly gone tomorrow if I would miss them.

- Remote start. Never had this before and it’s nice particularly in winter.
- LED head lamps. I had upgraded the lights on my CrownVic, but the Bronco’s are way, way better in every respect.
- Automatic headlights. I don’t mind this, but I could live without it.
- Automatic climate control. I had this before and it’s nice to have, but not really a deal breaker.
- Heated seats. Very nice to have now, but if it wasn’t there I’d live.
- Backup camera. Even if you have good rearward visibility it’s nice to see whats below the rear window.
- Reversing sensors/alert. Nice for when you’re not sure how close you are to something rearward.
- Blind spot alert. Not only convenient for your blindspots, but also alerting you to something coming you can’t see on either side when backing up.
- Wireless phone charging. Convenient, but I could live without it.
- Phone connectivity. On one hand I wouldn’t miss this, but I do use it for music from my iPod so it’s quite nice for that and better than the setup I had with my CrownVic.
- Tire pressure sensors. Never had it before and I wouldn’t miss it.
- Driving modes. I use it, but candidly I wouldn’t miss it if it wasn’t there given I think it’s unnecessary complexity.
- Customizable instrumentation. Bloody stupid and gimmicky. I leave it one way and wouldn’t miss it.
- Lane keeping assist. Never use it and I have it turned off.
- Auto stop/start. Mostly turned off.

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[RSH]

I had a 2005 Crown Vic ex DEA car, I miss it.
It was more fun in different ways than my Badlands, people would get out of the way when they'd see it coming up on them on the highway, I could also basically park anywhere and nobody would mess with it.
I could carry a whole campground with fire wood and mountain bike in the trunk without a trace of it being there, it was great.

 

[Warped9]

I had a 2005 Crown Vic ex DEA car, I miss it.
It was more fun in different ways than my Badlands, people would get out of the way when they'd see it coming up on them on the highway, I could also basically park anywhere and nobody would mess with it.
I could carry a whole campground with fire wood and mountain bike in the trunk without a trace of it being there, it was great.

My 2004 CrownVic was an LX. I had modified it (mostly unseen) to make it my own after inheriting it when my father passed away. It was a great car and I liked it very much. And it certainly drew a lot of positive attention. My mods made it a much more enjoyable car to drive than what it had been.

Yes, there are times I miss it, too. But in all honesty while it was a very cool car I find my Bronco Sport (conditionally) better in many respects. Driving wise my modified CrownVic was nice and fun, but you always sensed the mass and weight of the car. My Bronco Sport is much more maneuverable and nimble even though I could wheel my CrownVic with ease including parallel parking. My Bronco has better steering than the CrownVic even with its upgrades.

You cant ignore the forty year difference in engineering given the CrownVic was built on a chassis going back to the 1980s. Yet thats also part of its appeal. Back in the day these cars were everywhere, but now seeing one in good shape is rare, and they stand out compared to today’s designs.

 

[dwrufus53]

My previous car was a 2004 Crown Victoria. Suffice to say by today’s standards it was almost stripped except for anti-lock braking, power windows, power locks, air conditioning with auto climate control.

My 2024 Bronco Sport Big Bend is a different story and I’ve had to get used to tech features I never had before and didn’t feel I was missing out on. Now I might wonder if they were suddenly gone tomorrow if I would miss them.

- Remote start. Never had this before and it’s nice particularly in winter.
- LED head lamps. I had upgraded the lights on my CrownVic, but the Bronco’s are way, way better in every respect.
- Automatic headlights. I don’t mind this, but I could live without it.
- Automatic climate control. I had this before and it’s nice to have, but not really a deal breaker.
- Heated seats. Very nice to have now, but if it wasn’t there I’d live.
- Backup camera. Even if you have good rearward visibility it’s nice to see whats below the rear window.
- Reversing sensors/alert. Nice for when you’re not sure how close you are to something rearward.
- Blind spot alert. Not only convenient for your blindspots, but also alerting you to something coming you can’t see on either side when backing up.
- Wireless phone charging. Convenient, but I could live without it.
- Phone connectivity. On one hand I wouldn’t miss this, but I do use it for music from my iPod so it’s quite nice for that and better than the setup I had with my CrownVic.
- Tire pressure sensors. Never had it before and I wouldn’t miss it.
- Driving modes. I use it, but candidly I wouldn’t miss it if it wasn’t there given I think it’s unnecessary complexity.
- Customizable instrumentation. Bloody stupid and gimmicky. I leave it one way and wouldn’t miss it.
- Lane keeping assist. Never use it and I have it turned off.
- Auto stop/start. Mostly turned off.

I guess I'm wondering about the point of this post.

There is nothing on this list that I need, and very little that I could not live without. However, these are safety and convenience items, and IMO all fall into the "nice to have" category.

Auto start/stop is the lone exception. IMO, it's a useless technology that I despise. I avoid it by running in Sport mode.

Most things these days have additional tech that help shape the purpose and utility of said device. And there are, of course, the products to which manufactures add completely unrelated "features" that do nothing but increase the complexity, simply because they can. IMO, this is not that.

 

[Murrow]

My single favorite feature I love about the BS that I've never had in another car is the birds-eye view/front view cameras for parking.

I thought I might find the auto highway lane centering helpful. Instead, I find it super annoying.

My car has never activated the auto [edit: high beams], even though I have them set to turn on. I've been in some pretty dark areas and nothing has happened, so that's a pretty useless feature to me.

Then there are the settings I SHOULD be able to change but can't because of dumb/annoying software decisions, and sadly, I've got a LONG list of those.

 

[Dude]

My single favorite feature I love about the BS that I've never had in another car is the birds-eye view/front view cameras for parking.

I thought I might find the auto highway lane centering helpful. Instead, I find it super annoying.

My car has never activated the auto headlights, even though I have them set to turn on. I've been in some pretty dark areas and nothing has happened, so that's a pretty useless feature to me.

Then there are the settings I SHOULD be able to change but can't because of dumb/annoying software decisions, and sadly, I've got a LONG list of those.

Check for a setting that is keeping your auto high beams off

mine work great

 

[jkernitzki]

My single favorite feature I love about the BS that I've never had in another car is the birds-eye view/front view cameras for parking.

I thought I might find the auto highway lane centering helpful. Instead, I find it super annoying.

My car has never activated the auto headlights, even though I have them set to turn on. I've been in some pretty dark areas and nothing has happened, so that's a pretty useless feature to me.

Then there are the settings I SHOULD be able to change but can't because of dumb/annoying software decisions, and sadly, I've got a LONG list of those.

Auto headlights or auto high beams? Two separate functions.

Auto headlights work perfectly, but the auto high beams are too sensitive to distant street lights or porch lights. I think they should be more focused on the road ahead without looking up or the sides.

 

[Murrow]

Auto headlights or auto high beams? Two separate functions.

Auto headlights work perfectly, but the auto high beams are too sensitive to distant street lights or porch lights. I think they should be more focused on the road ahead without looking up or the sides.

Thanks for the catch. Yes, I meant auto high beams. The auto headlights work fine. I will edit my original post.

 

[Dude]

Thanks for the catch. Yes, I meant auto high beams. The auto headlights work fine. I will edit my original post.

As stated earlier, auto high beams works great for me. Check if yours are enabled:

Where to find / enable the auto high beam setting (2025s)

• Go to the settings menu: Settings → Vehicle → Lighting.
• There you’ll see an option for “Auto High Beam” (or “Automatic High Beam Control”) — you can toggle it on/off.
• Also make sure your headlight switch is set to the “Auto” (autolamps) or a valid headlamp position — Auto High Beams require that.

 

[Murrow]

As stated earlier, auto high beams works great for me. Check if yours are enabled:

Where to find / enable the auto high beam setting (2025s)

• Go to the settings menu: Settings → Vehicle → Lighting.
• There you’ll see an option for “Auto High Beam” (or “Automatic High Beam Control”) — you can toggle it on/off.
• Also make sure your headlight switch is set to the “Auto” (autolamps) or a valid headlamp position — Auto High Beams require that.

Thanks. Yes, it's toggled on. Maybe I'm just still encountering too much light, if they're super sensitive, as jkernitzki mentioned.

 

[RSH]

I've said it before, I'll say it again, the best tech is the bottle opener.
When the other tech is working properly it's pretty much transparent, the headlights light, the wipers turn on when they sense moisture, the cross traffic alert system works, front and rear cameras work, have not had any Sync 3 or display issues, etc etc etc. Even the auto start stop is transparent, I sometimes I need to look at the tach to see that the engine has shut off, it's been that smooth, I do have a 2.0.

 

[Warped9]

Hmm… I don’t think I have front cameras. Isn’t that a trim specific feature?

 

[Summers22]

I don't need notified when a passenger takes off their seatbelt....

 

[Dude]

Thanks. Yes, it's toggled on. Maybe I'm just still encountering too much light, if they're super sensitive, as jkernitzki mentioned.

Likely is too much light but easy to tell if they work at all by driving on a fairly hard road

How the auto high beams operate

• A windshield-mounted camera senses ambient light and other road users; if it’s dark enough and there’s no oncoming or preceding traffic, the system will automatically engage high beams.
• If traffic or street lighting is detected, it reverts to low beams

 

[RSH]

Hmm… I don’t think I have front cameras. Isn’t that a trim specific feature?

You are correct, the front camera originally came on the Badlands and First Edition trims.

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