I'm just in the process of deciding what extras I want to order on my new TDV6 SE, and although I realise extras are always a personal preference, I wondered what others had found useful or useless.

I know most people on here with MY10 RRSs own HSEs and therefore lots of the extras on the SE are already standard for you, but which "gadgets" do you use all the time and which ones do you never use?

I'm quite happy with the exterior styling of the vehicle as it comes, it's more the techy and gadgety stuff I'm interested in - and I've not got a stack to blow on extras so it's really just stuff that if I didn't get I'd spend the next 3 years wishing I had. I'm not really worried about what will add value to the car when I come to sell it. I'm speccing the car for me, not the next owner! The sort of things I'm talking about might include:

Flappy paddle gear changers on steering wheel
Fridge
Reversing camera
Full camera package
Auto-main beam
Seat memory
DAB radio

The car's going to be an on-road family car (wife and 2 young kids), no serious off-roading though it'll end up bumping its way along a few farm tracks in its time and maybe a bit of greenlaning.

So what gadgets on your RRSs (standard or extra) could you not live without and which do you never use? Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.8::MG Montego Turbo::MGB GT::Rover Sterling::MGF::MG ZT 190+
Discovery Series II Td5 GS::Discovery 3 TDV6 S::Freelander 2 TD4 XS::Freelander 2 TD4 SE
Range Rover Sport TDV6 3.0

Seat memory very useful especially if the wife is going to be driving it too.

Auto main-beam people either like or dislike. I had it on a loan BMW the other day and wasn't convinced it worked properly (or maybe it was a trust issue on my part ).

Fridge comes in handy for keeping drink and Yorkie cool

Never had a car with a reversing camera but can imagine it being useful. Full surround cameras still a bit gimmicky I think - but suspect people will want to see it specified come resale (I know you're not bothered about that).

Flappy paddles waste of time on this sort of car.

DAB radio - must have really in this day and age  

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Schmoogle isnt far off it.

Seat memory with lazy entry - GF 5'1'' I am 5'10''

Chill box is great in summer and a cubby hole in winter

Flappy paddles are indeed waste of time on this sort of car.

DAB radio - the way ahead

Winter pack - heated seats/windscreen!!

Nothing I would get rid off - will use it all in time! Now - MY11 RRS Autobiography TDV6, Orkney gray, tints, steps, daylight running lamps and allllll the toys!!!
Ex- RRS HSE TDV6 07 Java Black, bi xenon, corner lights, side steps, tints, cool box, smoke side repeats, chrome "sport" boot sill
Ex - Audi A4 Cab 3.0TDi Quattro
Ex - Freelander2 SE TD4
Ex - CRV Auto

Fridge (especially with young kids) essential, Winter pack and TV.

No need for flappy padel GB agreed.

Agreed...Frige and Winter pack - it's amazing how used you get to certain things - I nearly went for a Cayman recently, and it didn't have heated seats and it put me right off.

Even electric seats is something I look for on a car. As much as I hate to admit the americanism, but perish the thought of buying a car without cupholders - although the day could come soon when drinking a non alcoholic drink is banned!

Agree with others but for me a sunroof is a must as well

lespes wrote:

Agree with others but for me a sunroof is a must as well

OK, thanks for the views so far. Here's what's going through my head at the moment:

Rear view camera: Definitely getting

All-round camera system: Love the thought of this, but in reality don't think I'd ever use it apart from trying to show off to people.

Auto main-beam: Wouldn't bother with this on its own, only if I went for the surround cameras as the pack that also includes this is actually cheaper than getting the camera system on its own as far as I can see.

Front parking aid: OK, so I shouldn't need this, but I've come to get used to it on my FL2 and I would kill myself if I didn't have it and managed to scraunch the front end on something. More importantly though, if I don't select this I get a horrible feeling that I might end up with a blanking plate instead of a switch on the dash, and that's something I HATE, a constant reminder that you could have had better every time you drive!

Seat memory: Sexy without doubt, but a lot of money for something that in all honesty I wouldn't use much. Wife will probably use the car about once a month if that.

Winter pack: Get that anyway with the SE. No point paying any extra for heating rear seats as kids are both in kids seats.

Fridge: Tempted. Do you still get some storage space in the armrest for iPod etc?

TV: Is this the one that the passenger can see in the main screen but the driver can't? Trouble is, the kids in the back would want to watch too and I imagine that the one on the passenger side will see the TV but the one on the drivers side will see the drivers display. Anyone with two young kids will know that this is NEVER going to work. Rear seat TV is beyond budget.

Sunroof: Usually go for sun roofs on cars I have, but to be honest I never really use them. Nice to have a bit of extra light through the roof, but reckon I can live without.

DAB radio: Tend to listen to MP3s or CDs when driving, only really listen to Radio 1 at all and think I can live with that on FM for the sake of £600.

Flappy paddles: Hmmm, interesting that you think these are unnecessary... I was planning on running my RRS in command shift much of the time to try and beat the fuel economy of the auto box. I tried to train myself to do this on an auto FL2 I had as a hire car once, but found that using the stick didn't come naturally for some wierd reason, just thought paddles may be a bit less demanding on my ageing brain.

------------

So far it's looking like:

Reversing Camera - yes
Fridge - maybe
Front parking sensors - maybe
Body side mouldings (for car park door dings from other drivers) - maybe, should really
Flappy paddles - think I need another test drive to play with them

Want to try to fit it all within £1000 though...  Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.8::MG Montego Turbo::MGB GT::Rover Sterling::MGF::MG ZT 190+
Discovery Series II Td5 GS::Discovery 3 TDV6 S::Freelander 2 TD4 XS::Freelander 2 TD4 SE
Range Rover Sport TDV6 3.0

@ Nightfox:

All round camera - completely agree

Fridge - yes a bit of a storage tray suitable for ipod

TV - what your talking about is FFRR only.

Flappy paddles - driving with these all the time to improve fuel economy - MADNESS!

Side mouldings - A horrific addition with no real benefit.

Front sensors - I have scraped mine despite these, always think I can get a bit more than the beep

My priority list looks as below:

Reversing camera( A Must. Extremely useful when reversing into parking spots)
Seat memory (A Must- My wife is much shorter than I am. Indeed all of my cars have this as teh most high priority item)
Fridge (Very nice to have)
Flappy paddle gear changers on steering wheel (If you are going off-road or want to try and beat teh Autoi box economy this is nice to have)
Full camera package (Unless going seriously off-road or have a difficult parking environment , I just wouldn't bother)
Auto-main beam. I dont believe these will ever work fully (especially when aproaching cars frombehind or when approaching on left hand bends. May end up developing bad habits if like mne you drive mutliple cars)
DAB radio (Dont bother - Dreadful UI on the MY2010 makes this rather un-usable anyhow)

Heated screen works brilliantly (16 seconds defrost from fully frosted this morning). However glare of teh vertical heating elements can become annoying in some lighting conditions.

As an aside, I started up going down the SE+Options list and found that I couldnegotiate a better deal on the HSE over the SE+Options (mainly because the dealers tend to have HSE's ordered and available already whereas SE's are harder to find and nearly always have to be specified and ordered). I got a cancelled orderwith the exact spec I wanted. Note also you get quite a few extra 'pretty' items (such as 20" wheels) on the HSE that you might later regret not having.

Think of it another way, how much extra a month is the HSE over the SE+Options? 2010MY HSE 3.0 TDV6. Stornoway Grey/Ivory. Extended leather, winter pack.

Memory seat is also helpful in recalling the seating position after you move the front seat in order to lower the rear seat back.

DAB radio defo purple people eater

There are no good days, just some days that are not as bad as others!


Gone RR 4.0 P38 Autobiography MY99 Red ( money pit)
Gone RRS MY06 2.7TDV6 HSE Rimini Red
Gone RRS MY10 3.0TDV6 HSE Bali Blue with lots of bits (never grew to love it)
Here Now - 3.6 TDV8 FFRR OVERFINCH Stornoway Grey - loving it x
My work car Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDci Zetec auto Estate in Silver

Add in Keyless entry......not having to fish keys out of handbag to get in is essential IMO. Anyone dealing with small kids to get into the car will also appreciate. Just go to pull door handle & it opens......magic.

Powerfold mirrors can also give you a couple of extra inches if you regularly drive through country lanes, or you end up with the risk of scrapes, especially when white vans are put into the equation.

Memory seats also recommended if more than one driver.