There’s no such thing as a perfect car, contrary to what automakers’ advertising departments and that GT3 RS screensaver on your laptop would have you believe. I’ve been testing and writing about new cars for almost 25 years, flitting between $10k subcompacts and $2 million hypercars, and the thing that unites them all is that they could be even better.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great cars out there, cars that get pretty much everything right, or might seem to on first acquaintance. But even then there’s still room for improvement. Sometimes those faults might be evident before you’ve even turned a wheel. Maybe the design is off or the driving position is bad. But often the deficiencies aren’t always obvious from a short test drive.
Related: What’s The Most Pointless Feature In Modern Cars?
You’re only going to notice the seats are hideously uncomfortable on long journeys the first time you undertake one – I like the little Audi S1 hot hatch for daily blasts around town but I liked it a lot less three hours into a drive to the south of France when a got chronic butt cheek pain from the sports seats with another six hours to go.
And the fact that the turning circle is hopeless might only come to light when you lazily try to navigate your way up through the levels of a really tight parking garage and have to suffer the shame of making a three-point turn just to get around the corner. Take a bow Mk2 Ford Focus ST.
You might also end up driving another car and find that experience makes you look at your own car in a different, less favorable way. Porsche Cayman GT4 RS? Fabulous car, unless you get to drive a McLaren 765LT on the same day and realize the Porsche’s steering is actually nothing special after all.
So what one thing would you change about your car, truck or SUV to make it more enjoyable to drive and live with? Whether it’s an extra 200 hp (203 PS), a Double Big Gulp-sized cupholder on the console or something else entirely, we want to hear what would make your car better.