With car technology accelerating at a rapid pace, the nation’s motorists say there are particular vehicle features and driving scenarios resigned to the past that they feel nostalgic about.
Some 4,000 UK adults were asked what they miss about motoring before vehicles became overrun with technology that’s designed to make our lives behind the wheel easier, more comfortable and – in theory – more enjoyable.
The study, conducted by insurer Aviva, found that many still miss motors they previously owned – mainly because of the simpler mechanics and more engaging drive.
A fifth said they yearn for a car they’ve parted with, 15 per cent found it hard to give up an old motor, and one in 13 motorists still have a keepsake from a car that was once parked on their driveways – such as the keyring or an accessory.
But despite having some fond motoring memories of the past, the poll revealed that there are elements to driving in a previous era that they certainly won’t miss.
Two fifths said they are glad to see the back of fluffy dice hanging from rearview mirrors, a third welcomed the back of fuzzy steering wheel covers, and three in ten are happy that rude car stickers have been resigned to the history books.
Ranked in order below, these are the nine features and facets of driving from years before that Britons say they miss. Speed camera-free roads wasn’t one of the options.
However, the one motorists felt most nostalgic about only disappeared from new cars in 2024 when the last model with this feature was removed from showrooms…
With almost every new car now coming with sat-nav or smartphone compatibility to use navigation apps, the need to ask a human for directions has quickly been resigned to the past
9. Asking people for directions – 11%
In a world where almost every new car has sat-nav or compatibility with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, the need to ask locals for directions to a hotel, pub or specific location has become a thing of the past.
With every man and his dog also having access to a smartphone with Google Maps or pin-point location apps like What3Words, the need to rely on humans to be guided to a destination has all but evaporated.
For one in ten UK adults surveyed, they said they miss this once necessary interaction with other people.
8. Stopping at roadside diners – 12%
At one point in time, there were 439 Little Chefs across Britain. But in 2018 it went bust. Some 12% of drivers say they miss roadside diners like this today
Motorists of a particular vintage will remember Little Chef. Whether this will trigger fond memories or remind you of being ripped off for an astronomically expensive full-English breakfast, there’s no doubt that the roadside diner is gradually being resigned to the history books in Britain.
At its height, there were 439 Little Chefs across Britain’s strategic road network. And at the time it faced stiff competition from rival Happy Eater.
But by 2018, Little Chef had gone bust.
More than one in ten said they miss these roadside diners, though there are still some dotted across the country.
Today, there are nine OK Diners at the roadside and four Brightside Roadsides, as well as a number of smaller independents, such as the two Mollie’s in Oxfordshire and Bristol, which are US-style motel diners.
7. Writing down directions before a trip – 13%
Another motoring task superseded by satellite navigation is having a hard copy of directions to take when driving to an unknown location.
From jotting down a route map of turn instructions or printing reams of AA’s Route Planner guidance, to sketching out road junctions onto crinkled pieces of A4 paper, drivers for decades were reliant on these methods to get to their destinations.
But with the arrival of navigation systems and apps like Waze, motorists are now given a selection of route options – including the fastest, most economical and those avoiding tolls – leaving little need for drivers in 2025 to plan ahead.
Some 13 per cent of those polled by Aviva said they miss this element of motoring today.
6. Getting lost – 14%
Even we have to admit that we’re a little struck by this one, because getting lost at the best of times isn’t pleasant.
Yet 14 per cent of drivers, who likely dismay at the reliance on sat-navs, said they miss finding themselves in a geographic pickle now and again.
Some 15% of the adults polled by Aviva said they miss manual wind-down window handles
5. Winding down windows – 15%
Electric windows aren’t necessarily a new feature, having become mainstream over two decades ago in a push for more convenience.
But while 15 per cent of motorists say they miss the old-school manual wind-down window handle, there are still some new models in showrooms in 2025 that still have these.
For instance, the entry versions of the Dacia Sandero and Spring EV still have manual cranks for the rear windows.
One in six drivers miss using a road atlas
4. The road atlas – 16%
The youngest motorists on the road are likely to have never seen one before.
But for drivers who were on the road before the mid noughties, a road atlas would have been dumped in the rear footwell or boot of a previous cars without question.
For the one in six drivers who say they miss grabbing a paper map book from the pocket behind the front seats when on a road trip, they will be happy to learn that the AA Road Atlas is still available in 2025 (costing £14.99 at Halfords).
=2. Road trips – 18%
Almost two in five drivers told Aviva that they feel nostalgic about road trips, which they believe are not as popular as they were in previous eras.
In a world with infinitely more distractions, 18 per cent of UK adults polled said they believed there had been a significant decline in the number of groups of friends and family who jump in the car together to pass the time and take in new views and locations.
For those considering going on a road trip, these are the 10 most Instagrammed roads around the world – with a couple of them being very close to home.
With passengers in cars now having access to smartphones and tablets, singing with family members or playing I spy is something the nation’s motorists say they’re missing
=2. Sing-alongs and games during journeys – 18%
With kids typically more interested in their smartphones and tablets – and many often wearing ear or headphones – the popularity of singing along to music in the car with the rest of the family, or partaking in a game of I spy has all but diminished.
Nearly two in five UK adults told the insurer this is something they miss about motoring in the past.
But we bet they don’t miss the endless questions of ‘are we there yet?’…
1. Cassettes and CD players – 28%
The one feature drivers miss most from the past is cassette and CD players in cars, the Aviva poll found
The one feature of driving from the past that motorists say they miss most is listening to music on cassettes or CDs.
More than one in four say they have nostalgic memories of having to rewind their favourite tapes to find the songs they loved most, or having a CD wallet stashed in the car that was filled with albums and home-made compilations.
And the CD player is something that has only recently been omitted from new cars.
Last year, Subaru hit the eject button on the CD players in cars for the last time when it updated its Forester SUV and replaced it with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, allowing drivers to connect their smartphone and access their huge library of music kept in apps like Spotify and Apple Music.
Subaru was the last brand to have sold a model with in-car CD player. The Japanese car firm stripped its Forester SUV of its CD player as part of a model update in 2024
This ended four decades of CD players in cars, with Mercedes-Benz the first to offer the technology back in 1985 as the successor to cassette player.
Yet, data from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association showed that CD sales had recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2024.
James Driscoll, senior motor claims manager at Aviva, said that while drivers now have more convenience to access their music, it is pivotal that they ensure this can be easily accessed on the move as to not create a dangerous distraction.
‘While some of us may fondly remember changing CDs or cassette tapes and having large, fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror, this could be seen to be a distraction under the Highway Code – not to mention the latter obstructing your view,’ he said.
‘Though most cars will now have a different means of playing music, such as through Bluetooth, the temptation to change songs and become distracted as a result, is still a possibility which is why it’s important to take five minutes to prepare your car for the journey ahead.’
