There are varying degrees of commuting. For some it simply means ten or twenty minutes each way in fairly light traffic, while for others it can take forty minutes or more in a bumper-to-bumper crawl. Anyway, commuting used to be a dead time and a real pain in the back. But there are ways to make this daily grind less painful, more productive, and even a relaxing experience. What turns a daily commute into a stress point is normally one niggle or the other. All it takes is one problem that’s bothering you, and if you could solve it, your commute would be better. Here is a list, in no particular order, as it is not possible to order a list of essential items.
Heated steering wheel
A luxury that becomes a necessity
Cold hands are unpleasant, and this is one of those problems that can make your daily commute very uncomfortable. A heated steering wheel provides immediate comfort because it heats up faster than the car’s cabin. You have more grip on the handlebars because warm hands are more flexible and you don’t have to wear gloves.
We tend to dress for cold weather, so an HVAC that’s warm enough for your hands can overheat your body. A heated steering wheel is also more energy efficient, especially if you drive electrically.
Quiet cabin
Helps you relax, think, work
The increasing use of acoustic glass and rubber dampers makes a quiet cabin possible. You’ll never realize the extent of the lack of wind and road noise until you’re back in a car with a noisy cabin.
A quiet cabin means you can listen to your music or podcast without distractions or make hands-free calls without having to shout or ask someone to repeat themselves. A quiet cabin is better than a noisy cabin, because even a faint but persistent noise will cause irritation and fatigue.
Remote starting with preconditioning
Start your commute in comfort
Remote start with preconditioning makes it possible to get into your car already cool on a hot day, or warm in freezing weather. Knowing that you can start your journey without sweating or freezing for the first few minutes until the HVAC kicks in takes away one of the stress points associated with commuting.
Preconditioning in really cold weather also saves time and provides safety benefits. We all drove away before the windows were completely demisted because we were late, but the preconditioning takes care of this and also melts away all the ice and snow.
Heated and ventilated seats
Because you’re sitting
The one thing we all do during the commute is sit down, and if your seat is too cold, you will be cold and uncomfortable too, and this is a pain point that can turn a boring commute into a very unpleasant experience. A seat heater is a must-have in any place where it is really wintery.
The same goes for ventilated seats, which can circulate cool air under your body and legs while driving on a hot day. Heated and ventilated seats are very specific mechanisms for personal climate control and will make your commute a better experience.
Supportive seats with lumbar support
Removes one pain point from commuting
Our spines are S-shaped and we are not all the same size. A supportive chair with lumbar support, especially one that is adjustable, will help you maintain that natural S-shape.
When your back, especially your lumbar region, is properly supported, you will prevent slouching and reduce back pain and strain, as well as the fatigue that results from poor posture. Your circulation will improve and you will feel more comfortable. Your weight is optimally distributed, which reduces muscle tension.
Head-up display
Avoid distractions
A head-up display projects crucial information onto the windshield, in front of the driver’s face. This information may include car speed, navigation instructions, traffic alerts and other alerts. With a few minutes of practice, the driver learns to shift eye focus minutely, allowing the eyes to see the information on the screen or look through it to the road ahead.
A head-up display is an important safety feature because the driver does not have to take their eyes off the road and this ensures faster reactions when sudden action is required. It reduces eye strain and makes driving, and therefore commuting, easier and better.
Quality audio system
For a better experience
A high-quality sound system will go a long way in making your commute a more relaxing experience. Immersive, clear audio reduces driving stress, improves your mood and keeps you occupied without distraction. Good sound helps you relax, while a bad sound system irritates and stresses you out.
Good sound is also essential if you use productivity features such as voice commands, speech to text or text to sound to stay connected to your work during otherwise wasted travel time.
Advanced driver assistance technology
Makes your commute safer and less demanding
Commuting means spending a lot of time in traffic on the same roads every workday. Advanced driver assist technology (ADAS) has become so much a part of our driving experience that we no longer notice it, while many drivers become irritated by the constant warnings and tend to switch off the system. You should spend some time getting to know your car’s ADAS and using it to help you on your commute.
Adaptive cruise control with smart stop-and-go is a must-have for your daily commute, as is lane-keeping assistance. Blind spot monitoring takes the stress out of heavy traffic, while automatic emergency braking and collision warning save the day if you lose your concentration. Automatic high beams are ideal if you do part of your commute in the dark.
Seamless smartphone integration
This allows you to work or relax without hassle
A large percentage of drivers will choose a car because it has cell phone integration. That’s because our cell phones are such a big part of our daily lives, we need our cars to join in too.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, especially if they are Bluetooth compatible, give you safe and easy access to your music, navigation and communications, all without touching your phone. Text-to-speech and speech-to-text let you compose, send, and receive emails or text messages while you drive and keep your eyes on the road. This turns the time you spend commuting into productive time.
Reliable navigation
Because Traffic
If your commute only has one road option and is generally not that busy, a navigation system isn’t that important. Once you have a choice of routes, and these can vary depending on how busy they are at any given time, navigation becomes crucial. Built-in or app-based navigation with real-time traffic updates helps avoid traffic jams and road closures, saving time and reducing stress. If you realize you’re going to be late for a meeting, you can call ahead and alert the other participants before the meeting starts.
A navigation app like Waze helps you avoid traffic jams and road closures with real-time traffic updates, saving time and reducing stress. Even if you can’t avoid being stuck in traffic, a reasonable prediction of how long your trip will take gives you a solid data point, knowing that the commute will be completed in so many minutes.
More GM vehicles get Apple Music with high-resolution Dolby Atmos audio streaming
GM hasn’t backed away from migrating CarPlay, but apparently Apple’s music dominance has proven too tempting to resist.
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