After the manual boxes, also the mechanical handbrake its existence is threatened, being part of fewer and fewer car models. This is the conclusion reached by CarGurus, after analyzing the British market and 32 car brands.
According to your study, only 37% of new cars sold in the UK they bring a mechanical handbrake, with only Suzuki and Dacia having it as standard on all their models. On the other side of the spectrum, brands such as Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lexus have already completely dispensed with the mechanical handbrake, replaced by the electric handbrake.
As Chris Knapman, editor of CarGurus in the UK, puts it, the end must be near:
It's official, the death of the mechanical handbrake is coming, with manufacturers shifting to electronic handbrake in increasing numbers. In the coming years, we expect the number of cars for sale with mechanical handbrake to decline further, remaining only in a few niche models. Of course the benefits (of electronic brakes) cannot be ignored (…), (but) many new drivers may never experience one of the most familiar car features. The temptation to make extravagant turns with the handbrake will also be a thing of the past!
Make a top… Who ever?
Maybe we are getting nostalgic (… or old), but the mechanical handbrake has always been an essential component in the act of “learning” to drive. Who could resist the temptation, from time to time, to “pull” the handbrake to “pull out” a top? Or else impersonating the rally gods, and treating a few more tangled pieces of asphalt or dirt like a super special?It is true that “drawing” tops is not the best defense to justify its existence for the future, but the incessant march of electrification and digitization of the automobile ends up stealing many of the mechanical charms and interactivity that made us fall in love with automobiles.
Let's be pragmatic…
The electric or electronic handbrake is a fundamentally superior solution to the mechanical handbrake. The physical effort of pressing a button is immeasurably less than pulling or pushing the lever to lock or unlock the car.
Furthermore, the disappearance of the lever makes it possible to gain a lot of space inside the car, and the electronic handbrakes do not need to be adjusted. And it also allows functions such as the “Hill Holder”, capable of reducing the embarrassment of the driver when starting up hills.
But just like the expected end of manual gearboxes, it's impossible not to shed a tear for the also expected end of the mechanical handbrake… There's one more hashtag to add to #savethemanuals: #savethehandbrake.