BMWBig6

Especially being able to lock the car by hitting the tiny lock button on my own door handle and walk away BEFORE my passengers have even closed their own doors (at which point the car recognizes all of the doors are closed and emits a confirmation chirp from the alarm).

Toecutter

Hear, hear! When I get to the office and my hands are full with briefcase in one hand, large ice coffee in the other, change of clothes and bike magazines in between, all I have to do is contact the handle with my (admittedly massive) forearm and it locks for me! Chirp!

Blake P

Great thread to remind me how lucky I am to have such a cool feature! It's my first car with keyless entry/ignition but I've gotten so used to it that I always forget to pull the keys out when we take my wife's X3.

Ryan1524

The advanced key/start button might be the single most under-rated feature in this car. Too bad the key is not card shaped like a HID security card, though. That would make it even more convenient.

NJRoadFan

One shouldn't have to buy a fully loaded car to get it though. The feature is available on cars costing half with a Prestige Package A4 costs.

Hobbes

I love the advanced key, although I wish it was a tad smaller.

I remember tossing my gear bag in the trunk after a softball game and closing the lid, only to have it pop open. It took a couple of tries before I realized my key was in the bag and the car wouldn't let me lock it inside.

dht34

Tell me about it. Nissans, Toyotas, and Hondas seem to have it standard on most of their cars.

L0U

the key has to be big enough, so if the batery dies, you can still operate the car in manual. The key can also be put in the ignition. Likely never will though.

The only reason I splurged for the high end package was for smart key. Then once in that package, well might as well get the b@o, and then load it up too.

Dirt

That's funny, because I'm constantly trying to put the key into the ignition when I drive our A4. It's not my daily driver so I can't get used to it.

Moviela

The key could be much smaller, but the heft I guess is part fashion statement, and part design constraint because the Valeo metal key is huge. The IC that allows the car to start can be embedded in a standard house key. Look at the valet key. The working part is tiny compared to the housing needed to shove it in the dash.