Conventional Car Handbrake is Nearing its Extinction

They say that the only thing that is constant is change. Well, that may be true because you can’t innovate or improve something if you’re not willing to change the current form or structure of a certain thing. Look how far mobile phones have evolved through the years. Same concept of evolution applies when you talk about cars. Who would have thought that combustion engines could soon be dethroned by electric power, right? If evolution means innovation, could this mean that the traditional car components we know could soon near its curtain call?

There’s a huge possibility that this might happen. If you look at the infotainment of modern cars, you’ll usually see touchscreen head units adorn the center dash. Most of the Millennials would probably sync their phones into the infotainment system rather than insert a CD to listen to their favorite tunes while on the road. With that in mind, could conventional handbrake also be a thing of the past? A company from the UK, CarGurus, says that yes–handbrakes could soon be extinct.

According to CarGurus, only 37 percent of the new cars in the UK comes with a manual parking or hand brake. Yes, it seems that traditional handrakes in the UK is reaching its end as car manufacturers switch to electronic parking brakes. The only two stronghold brands that favors traditional handbrakes in the UK are Suzuki and Dacia. In the Philippines, electronic parking brakes are also becoming a norm in brand-new cars. In fact, the all-new Honda CR-V comes with an electronic parking brake.

One of the reasons why electronic parking brakes are becoming popular is because it requires less effort to engage it. Plus, it relatively holds the car more securely and doesn’t require adjusting like the conventional handbrake. Some also come with auto hill hold assist, which is an added safety feature. In addition, electronic hand brakes translate to more cabin space. However, electronic parking brakes could be more costly to maintain and repair.

How about you? Which do you prefer? Will go for the conventional handbrake or the electronic one?