We love a gimmick or two, don’t we? And we’d love them even more if these gimmicks do add on to the usability or “cool” factor of a car. But these features are rather subtle, barely noticeable, but there for you when you need them. Features that are not absolutely necessary, but good to have nonetheless.

Hidden umbrellas

A nifty feature that is surprisingly lacking in modern production cars, one can’t deny the functionality of an umbrella tucked away into a neat little crevice in the door frames. While most people would be more familiar with the umbrellas in Rolls Royce’s vehicles, Skoda has actually been at it for years too. And while the full-sized umbrella from the Rolls is beautifully crafted out of polished chrome and body-colour matched handle, the Skoda’s built-in umbrella is of a much more common variety: foldable and durable. Similar concepts, different execution methods (and a huge price offset), but the same end result: keeping you dry in a downpour.

The Porsche Taycan’s "wash mode"

Tired of washing your beloved Taycan and worrying about grimy water seeping into the gap between the rear panels and the automated spoiler? Well, Porsche’s got you covered. Delve into the Porsche Taycan’s infotainment menus and you’ll find a neat feature called “wash mode”, which lifts the spoiler ever so slightly to give you access into the crevice underneath the spoiler. Now you can avoid water stains, even where no one else would look.

The pedals of a Renault Twingo RS 133

A fun car ought to have fun features. Someone at Renault obviously thought so, which was why they’ve fitted these quirky pedals to the Twingo RS 133. Push play, stop and pause. but no rewind. You’ll have to work the shifter to rewind this track.

BONUS: Steering wheel mounted dynamic controls

This isn’t a hidden feature per se, but it is still cool nonetheless. Most performance these days are fitted with a slew of optional extras, but the one thing I can never get enough of are the dynamic control buttons and switches mounted on the steering wheel. From Mercedes-AMG and Porsche to Ferrari’s Manettino dials, these add to the drama and theatre of driving something that goes from zero-to-illegal in a matter of seconds.