Agreed on 2015 being the peak - I have a Mazda 6 which has similar mpg and is big enough to be a stealth camper.
The only contrivance I could do without is keyless ignition, which provides an effective attack vector for thieves and the ability to lose the keys while driving.
A mobile phone in works well to augment the aging infotainment / satnav, the only issue being UK law is unclear on whether it's allowable to touch a phone in a cradle. The police say you cannot touch your phone when driving and lawyers say you are only banned from using a handheld device, which a phone in a cradle is not.
I've had 2 Mazda 6's. Great cars, but the second one had keyless ignition, which I found really annoying. If I am leaving something valuable in the boot (trunk) I want to try the door handle to check the car is locked. But as soon as you walk up to the car it unlocked. I would have to give the key to a family member and have them walk away first. Grrr.
My 2015 Passat is of course very similar. It has in a way the perfect amount of features, regular backup cam, parking sensors all around, acc. Actually ours don't even have satnav and I don't care since it has Android Auto. Id like this car but EV, please.
It is a diesel though so I worry a bit about the particle filter clogging, which can be somewhat expensive afaik.
I was so mad our 2016 Jetta was totaled in an accident last month for all the reasons you listed. VW makes effectively the same car, but the cost for a new one went up $10k since we bought ours.
The telemetry has long since stopped working but I’m left with is a car with adaptive cruise control and between 50-80mpg (imperial).
Record was 82mpg after following a lory on a 150 mile motorway run.
It’s still got useful satnav, infotainment systems and all the safety features I’m aware of.
It even has nice little touches like the self-dimming rear-view mirror, for when you’ve got a berk with full-beams on driving up your arse at night.
I’d miss that stuff on an older car.
I can afford to get a new car every year if I wanted but modern cars are annoying and creepy.
I have no idea what I’d replace it with so I just keep it running.