From better quick-charging for long drives in electric vehicles to powered climate control vents, 2024’s best recent-car features came in some surprising packages.

A handful of vehicles and brands introduced innovations every buyer should consider before buying anything else.

They enhance everything from kid safety to trip planning, and they’re the best recent features of 2024.

Here are my top six:

Access to Tesla DC chargers

No. 1 with a bullet: General Motors and Ford Motor Co. secured access to Tesla’s globe-class charging network for the EVs they make, which will enhance life for electric vehicle owners, boost customer acceptance of the recent drivetrain and transformation the auto and vigor-delivery industries.

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declare what you will about Tesla: It built the best quick-charging network for efficient and reliable long-distance EV trip.

Other automakers are adding access to Tesla’s network, but Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC struck first.

Panoramic display

I have recommended the recent Lincoln Nautilus midsize SUV to people purely on the basis of its revolutionary 48-inch display, which replaces the conventional instrument cluster directly in front of the drive with a widescreen, customizable display stretching the width of the vehicle at the base of the windshield. Not that there’s anything incorrect with the Nautilus. The display is simply that much better than anything else on the road.

The screen’s location is perfectly intuitive, its high-res display crystal obvious. There is no learning curve to using it, and I’ve yet to meet a driver or passenger who doesn’t like it. Test drive a Nautilus at your peril: It may be challenging to pick any other midsize luxury SUV after experiencing the panoramic display.

Lincoln will propose a nearly identical display in the 2025 Navigator, going on sale in 2025.

More:I charged 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E at a Tesla supercharger: How it went

More:Volvo installs lifesaving radar inside 2025 EX90 electric SUV

recollection for vent settings

Not for the first period, I discover myself alone, rowing against the current of view from every other auto critic I’ve spoken to. Power adjustable HVAC vents have been around for a while, but the Lincoln Nautilus, Rivian R1T and Rivian R1S’ execution of the concept combines excellent ergonomics with position recollection linked to driver-recollection settings.

Most of my peers ponder the characteristic, which controls which vents are open and where they’re aimed from the touch screen, is a needless complication, offering no advantage versus manual adjsutments.

They overlook the truth that it remembers exactly how I like my vents, returning to those settings every period my settings are recalled. Call me a dilettante, but that’s a characteristic worth having..

Radar that can inform you left kids, pets in the car

Incredibly precise radar found on Volvo EX90 EV, Toyota Sienna and Hyundai Tucson vehicles alert these vehicles’ drivers should a kid or pet be left in a locked vehicle.

Some of the sensors are so precise they can detect an infant breathing under a blanket, or a fly buzzing in the vehicle. Sophisticated algorithms weed out buzzing insects but alert the driver to dogs or children left behind.

Some of the systems even beep the horn and roll down windows if the driver ignores the alert. Volvo activates climate control to keep the precious cargo comfy if the driver misses or ignores the alert.

The EX90 EV has the most comprehensive structure, with seven radar sensors scanning the SUV’s entire interior, from front footwell to cargo compartment. The Sienna and Tucson both use a single radar to observe the passenger compartment.

Pet, baby driving mode for smooth ride

Hyundai’s top seller, the 2025 Tucson compact SUV, offers a driving mode that adjusts throttle response and torque to make the smoothest feasible launch, a setting the automaker says will keep infants’ heads from bobbing — or pets from losing their footing — as the vehicle accelerates from a stop.

Power side windows

VW ID Buzz’s delightfully retro electric minivan offers power windows in the sliding doors by its second-row seats. Set into the doors’ larger fixed windows, the flush-fitting glass panels retract to the rear for ventilation or just a better view.

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or [email protected]. pursue him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.