4 Things At The Chicago Auto Show That'll Make You Want A New Car In 2025

I bought a brand-new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XLE less than a year ago. At the time, I was surprised at everything you can get in a new car. Before that purchase my newest car was a 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, and things had definitely changed in the intervening time period.

Things have changed a lot even since I bought my last car, as I discovered at the 2025 Chicago Auto Show. All the latest cars were on display, including those introduced mere days ago, like the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness. So, as I took in what was available on today's cars, I mentally assessed what I would want to look for on a new vehicle. Of course, it's too late for me, but it might not be too late for you.

Naturally, I'm not really talking about standard equipment. You would be hard pressed to find a vehicle without standard safety features, infotainment systems, and the like. What I'm talking about are the little extras that make for a better driving experience, or in some cases, a better passenger experience.

It's a sad reality, but these days just about anyone who sits in the back seat of your car is probably going to have a phone, tablet, or other electronic device to keep them entertained. If not, you are arguably a better parent than me, or almost anyone else that I know. For those like me, giving your passengers a way to enjoy their entertainment while sitting in the back seat is a nice little bit of extra comfort.

I got a hook/phone holder from Amazon for both front seats of my cars for this very reason. However, the 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor that I saw at the show went much further. The back of each front seat headrest had a mechanism designed to hold a phone or tablet of basically any size. I only had phones with me, so I wasn't able to test how big a tablet it could hold, but the jaws that clamped the top and the bottom could expand pretty far, so I'd imagine many tablets would work.

The center console of the front seat also had a slot built into it that is designed to hold a tablet, presumably if both rear passengers want to watch the same thing. This is the first time I've seen something like that built into a car that wasn't an aftermarket option — it's certainly appreciated.

A lot of cars these days have cameras that can show you what's going on around the vehicle. Bird's eye view is one I'm particularly sad my RAV4 doesn't have because we didn't opt for it. Interestingly though, it's not just visual information that's possible these days, and the other options were made very clear by Jeep.

When I took a test ride in a Jeep Wrangler through the obstacle course that Jeep had set up, the infotainment center had an off-road display that could show you the current pitch and roll of the Jeep as it drove up onto a hill or across a set of steps. In another view, the Jeep showed a front view with graphics showing where and what the wheels would be rolling over, similar to the backup graphics that my RAV4 can show. 

Of course, if you don't plan to go off-roading, this might be less important information, but overall it's definitely a step in the right direction. Knowing what's going on around your car is just as important as knowing what's going on in your car.

I won't point to a specific brand in this particular scenario but having power outlets everywhere through a car is incredibly important. To an extent this is done today and isn't really new. My RAV4 has a USB-A and two USB-C ports in the front seat, plus two USB-C ports in the back seat, but some of the cars I saw at the Auto Show had USB-C ports for every seat in the car, including the third-row seating, and often in more convenient places than the back of the center console.

Additionally, I scarcely saw a car that didn't have some kind of power port in the rear hatch. Not every car had an AC converter or a 110v outlet, but just about every car I saw had a DC outlet in the hatch. This is important for scenarios like camping or tailgating because very often what you'll want to power won't be convenient for the front doors.

One of the standout materials that I saw in a vehicle came in the Rivian R3X — it had cork-lined moldings in the front of the car on the dashboard. It was such a nice look and feel, I realized I wanted more of that in every car. Putting aside the fact that cork is a very sustainable material, it just looks really good.

The 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness had seat covers made of StarTex Upholstery, which feels really nice to sit on, but also is washable and water-resistant. Normally, I'd say this is great for kids and pets, but let's be honest, it's good for anyone because frankly, messes happen.

Finally, alternative materials on the roof are great, such as the electrochromic panoramic roof that spans the length of the VW ID.Buzz. This roof can go from semi-translucent to opaque with a push of a slider button. It's really slick when you watch it happen, and it is slimmer and more stylish than a panel that you slide forward and back. Overall, it gives the ID.Buzz a bit more of a futuristic yet retro look, and I was all in on it.