5 Most Useful Features While Driving In The Winter

These might even be used exclusively during the cold season but they’re worth the premium during those months

In a country as expansive as India, seasons are experienced differently by its northern and southern residents. This is particularly true in the case of winter, which is especially different for those further north or at higher altitudes who experience harsher weather that also requires some changes to their motoring habits. Here are some features on cars that are most useful when driving in winter conditions:

Defogger

The biggest safety issue with driving in the cold is the fogging up of the windshield, front and rear, which makes it hard to see out the glass. It is caused by the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car, and the resulting lack of visibility is a major concern. As long as the car has HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioner), it should have the feature to direct air to the front windscreen. While blowing hot air helps evaporate the moisture forming near the windscreen, blowing cold air on the inside of the glass is also recommended. 

A rear defogger is usually offered on the higher variants and is equally important for rear visibility. It works differently from the front defogger as it doesn’t use air vents but has strips of heating elements in the rear windscreen to heat it up. That’s why it’s a more premium feature.

Fog lamps

The clue is in the name but fog lamps are very handy for helping with visibility while driving through fog in the cold weather. Since they are positioned lower and closer to the road, they do a better job of illuminating the road than the main headlights in thick fog. Nowadays, cars are also equipped with LED fog lamps which are even brighter than similarly sized halogens. It is still a bit of a premium feature and even regular halogen lamps are also offered on the top variants.

Traction modes

Winter driving conditions also make for slippery roads, even without ice or snow. This means your car would not have the usual amount of grip while accelerating, braking or turning. If you live in an area that gets snowfall, you’d likely get winter tyres or snow chains for your car. But in most places without snow, getting a spare set of winter tyres to be used for a few weeks is not ideal. This is when cars with traction modes shine through. The vehicle’s on board system electronically controls and adjusts the power delivery and braking to avoid losing traction. Even front-wheel-drive models, like the Kia Seltos or Hyundai Creta, come with traction modes that are handy in these driving conditions.

Traction modes are not quite an affordable feature but are offered on the higher variants of premium mass-market models. They may also be limited to automatic variants wherein the onboard electronics have more control over the power delivery based on the different modes.

Heated ORVMs

This is a feature that became more commonly known after it was offered on the Mahindra XUV300 sub-compact SUV. It is another feature that is particularly useful in areas with ice and snow, but handy through winters everywhere. These work similar to the rear defogger and are usually operated by the same button in the central console. Heated outside rearview mirrors get rid of the fog and condensation making it easier for the driver to have good visibility of what's behind them on both sides. This feature is handy during rain as well.

Heated seating and steering wheel

Heated seats not only make it more comfortable to use the car in peak winters, they also allow the driver to be more attentive to the road. A heated steering wheel is especially useful in icy winters as it allows the driver to maintain control over the wheel and counters the risk of slower reactions from cold hands.

This is perhaps the most premium feature set in this list. It is commonplace in cars that are sold in countries that experience icy cold winters, like the UK or the USA. Meanwhile, we get premium mass-market models with ventilated seats to cope with the peak summer that takes up most of our year. They can blow the same air from the AC vents through the perforated seats. In the luxury models, heated seats have a heating element under the seat base and operate independent of the climate control system.

What feature do you find most useful to drive during the winter? Let us know in the comments below.