I’m such a fussy person that while I like vented seats, I found the fan noise obtrusive.  So I didn't bother with them in the new car.  Swamp ass is less of a problem here than Texas. Even with black leather seats..

In 1995, I failed my first attempt at my licence in Ireland. Spent the summer on a Student visa in Colorado. Passed the test there with 10 mins practice. Despite never having driven an auto before. Drove across the western States and back and had a great time.

Backup camera and sensors, coupled with wing mirrors that angle downwards mean you can parallel park AND not kerb your wheels. The ES is big for typical EU car spaces, so this helps every day.

Used to scuba dive a lot. Cracking the valve open a bit on a cylinder is deafening.. leaving open causes the pillar valve to ice over. This can stop you closing it. Cylinders need to be inspected regularly for rust or straining . And scuba cylinders are filled slowly and emptied very slowly. Then, every few years,…

European here. 25 years of manual driving and my God am I over it. Two pedals for past 4 years and from now on..

Bikes are a form of transport in the rest of the world.

I got away with a large 2 seater couch on the roof bars on a e90 sedan. To be fair, I was pedantic in fitting it, and many ropes were employed. But still, janky. Kept it below 80kph on motorway. Which you can do in Ireland without being hazed by brodozers.

B6 Passat.  Dull as hell.  Frumpy and chintzy,  and the poverty spec version was basically abusive.  105bhp 1.9tdi was miserable. 

Middle aged person here . Tapes were great for stealing music from the radio, and copying your friends vinyls/tapes/CD’s (after about 1988), but you had to deal with them being chewed in the player, pulling them out, splicing with scotch tape, and re-recording onto another tape. My version of Bat out of hell is…

Also consider the lifecycle of a small Euro-box. The second and third owners of these are young drivers who will neglect/abuse them and they end up really tatty. We also generally don’t have a culture of repairing minor dings and dents in cars. Unless it will cause an inspection fail. And we drive smaller engines at…

1981, Dad pulled into driveway with Citroën Cx. I was 7 and was playing in a puddle. He honked the two tone horn. Then the car did its party trick..

Pet hate is people looking at phone whilst driving.  In Ireland,  it's 5 points (12 gets you a ban).  Apparently insurers will treat you like a DUI driver with this particular endorsement.   That is borderline uninsurable.   Our PSA is similarly blunt as Serbia's.

Me too. Citroën CX. We got one when I was 7.  Cool. But delicate. 

European here: I  learnt in a 1986 mk3 Escort 1.1L. There were moderate hills it could not climb. 1.4L Mk3 Golf? Not much better.  Europe still has some woefully underpowered cars, and many required clutch thrashing to move.  

Mount Venus Road, South Dublin foothills, about 20 years ago, on way to work, a deer hit my car, impact on wing, went over roof via “A” pillar. Minor scuff to clear coat, deer vaulted 6 ft ditch and hedgerow into countryside... 2001 Opel Astra. Deer Parkour enthusiast....? 

European here.... I kinda get it. As would most of Europe if we were not historically taxed into gutless cars for tiny roads. There is a convergence on vehicle size outside of trucks. Many 1960's- 70's era suburban homes have had their driveways widened from when the Leyland Mini and Mk 1 Cortina was the benchmark for…

Bluetooth for phone and audio (been ubiquitous for 10 years- so does it still count)

Concierge on HVAC. set to 21.5C. And never touched. It adjusts the seat heating to compensate for lag in cabin temp. Manual HVAC on wife’s Audi seems Dickensian privation in comparison. Also auto headlights and wipers.

My ES beeps if the trunk is left open for the whole journey.  After 30 seconds I know, the trunk is open. Because I am transporting a Christmas tree or bicycle or some other long thing and the bloody rear seats back does not fold down...

Too much grip is boring. Wife has had 3 quatros (2001 tt, 2016 A6, 2016 tts). My opinion not hers.