Cars in 2016: Read the best options to pick your vehicle

Autotrader has been crunching the data, going through the options lists and examining historical consumer sentiment in order to put together its guide to the best options to select if buying a new car in the year ahead.

Buying a new car has never been easier. BMW's new web portal, for instance, can take care of the whole process in just 10 minutes, all from the comfort of your living room.

However, the lists and array of optional equipment and features, even on the most mass-market cars has never been longer or more complex and it's often impossible to know what is worth the investment.

"All of the major automakers are racing to integrate the latest and greatest features into their vehicles," said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. "The last several years have seen great advances in automotive technology, from features that keep drivers safer to some that make the car infinitely more entertaining to drive. And in 2016, we'll see many of these features make their way into a wider variety of vehicles."

To clear up the confusion, Autotrader has curated a list of the feature that it believes will be the best options to pick in a 2016 car.

A 360-degree camera

In the US, a reversing camera is already obligatory, but more and more companies, from Audi to Nissan, are now taking the technology to another level by offering virtual all-round or bird's eye views of the car's surrounds for missing any obstacle when reversing.

Self parking

All mainstream motor manufacturers now have a self-parking system as standard or optional equipment that can cope with both perpendicular and parallel spaces. They are faster, and more reliable than most humans, however, their real usefulness will depend on where you live and drive. If it's the city center and you rely on finding and quickly maneuvering into on-street spaces, it's a must-have. This may explain why it's already one of the most commonly specified features for European car buyers.

Automatic steering

Autotrader is using this as an umbrella term for a number of different lane-keeping, traffic jam assist and highway-piloting systems that are beginning to trickle down from concept to production. According to Bosch's figures, lane-keeping features alone are enough to prevent up to 28% of accidents resulting in injury caused by poor lane discipline.

LED headlamps

They look cool but they also do a better job of illuminating the road than any other current-generation headlamp technology. On Audis, Mercedes and now even the latest Fords, the LEDs can automatically refocus so as not to dazzle oncoming drivers, shine around the car ahead and even bend to brighten a corner before steering into it.

Smartphone integration

Consumers want access to apps and other smartphone services while behind the wheel and they prefer the systems on their handsets to the ones that car companies are offering. Therefore, better smartphone integration, via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay is going to be a true must-have for anyone that wants hands-free calling and turn-by-turn navigation.