Panoramic Roofs Rule the Roadways
At a recent Heels & Wheels drive event — the organization promotes and supports women in automotive media — I had the chance to drive a wide array of vehicles with price tags ranging from less than $20,000 to more than $100,000. One standout feature becoming universally representative of modern design is the panoramic sunroof. You’re pretty much nothing without one in 2015.
Related: Small Moonroofs Are So 2001
Of the hundreds of cars I’ve driven over the years, most recently Hyundai and Kia have managed to pop the top, so to speak, of many of their vehicles, sporting impressive sunroofs spanning the vast majority of the roof. At Heels & Wheels, the 2016 Kia Sorento (below) set the standard.
But not everyone is on board. This very “now” feature can be implemented (and executed quite well) as an option in a $26,000 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE, yet neglected in the $39,000 2015 Buick Regal GS. When I stepped into the Regal with its optional sunroof, it looked dated, despite the swanky finishes throughout the rest of the vehicle.
What were the other cars I drove at Heels & Wheels with impressive panoramic sunroofs? The 2015 Infiniti QX80 (below), 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport, 2015 Nissan Murano SL (top photo) and the 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen TSI SEL.
The panoramic roof is a feature my family appreciates on my own personal car, a 2010 Mercedes R-Class. Nothing beats loading the kids and their friends up in their jammies for a late-night ice cream run, complete with stargazing along the way. Once you experience one, you’ll never want to go back to the old rinky-dink sunroofs that only the driver and front passenger can enjoy. Best of all, this is a feature you can opt for in many vehicles, regardless of your car-shopping budget.
