About 3 am this morning, I got a phone call from António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations. “Are you awake?” he asked, like an idiot. Of course I’m not awake, António, the hell are you thinking? “The world’s in crisis!” he slurred into the phone, clearly drunk, and then demanded that, to help this vague crisis situation, I “write something about how awesome the left cupholder is in this 2018 Honda Fit I just bought from the Ambassador from Misophonia.” I tried telling him I didn’t think Misophonia was a country, but by then he was going on and on about some cream he was putting on a rash and how it got on his genitals and felt kinda good and now he needs to score more but it’s prescription only and he’s wondering if he can fake a rash and by this point I just want to go back to sleep, but he is the secretary general of the UN, and he may actually have a good point about that cupholder in the Fit.
I hung up on Tony and tried to go back to sleep, but I was haunted by what he told me. The Honda Fit is one of a surprisingly small set of cars that has a cupholder specifically placed just for the driver’s use, outboard of the driver’s seat, and I can’t stop thinking about what a nice feature this is, and I’m baffled why it’s not more common.
Eventually I just had to give up on sleep and look into this a bit more. I got up, rubbed a bit of rash lotion on my genitals because it feels so damn good, grabbed the leftover Misophonian clam noodles from the fridge and heated them up, and set off to find out what other cars have this unique cupholderizing configuration.
I don’t believe for a moment that this is a complete list, but I think some of the more common cars to use the driver-specific cupholder arrangement include, aside from the Honda Fit, the Ford Transit, BMW Z4, Nissan Cube, Toyota Yaris, the 2011-ish Mitsubishi Outlander, the Mitsubishi i-Miev, the 2001 Chevy Malibu, Lexus RX350, Jaguar XF, and the Mercedes-Benz W163 ML.
That’s kind of an odd collection of vehicles to share such a specific feature! The Transit seems to make sense, as a commercial/cargo vehicle seems a likely home for a cupholder specifically for driver-only use. The Fit and Yaris and even Cube are all practical, entry-level Japanese commuter-type cars, and a driver-focused feature makes good sense there, too. Sure, the Cube is a bit bonkers, design-wise, but still. The Mercedes-Benz is a premium SUV, and the BMW Z4, well, that’s a sporty roadster. If anything, the breadth of this selection of cars should prove that driver’s-side cupholders can be an asset to pretty much any vehicle, no matter what.
What I do not understand is why this remains a relatively uncommon setup? We’ve established for quite some time that cupholders are expected features in cars; that battle is long over. People drink liquids while they drive, and they’re not going to stop anytime soon. Just like how cars once were expected to come with ashtrays and lighters to meet the demands of the default, expected vice of the people inside, so cupholders have become expected as well.
Generally, cupholders can be expected near the centerline of the car, between the seats, both front and rear. In the front, they tend to be set fairly low, on the central tunnel, and if you’re driving and actually interested in seeing what’s going on in that big window in front of you, the position isn’t always great, as it can take a glance and attention to find and get ahold of your drink.
The left-side (right for RHD vehicles, of course) cupholder very neatly avoids all this, placing the bracing beverage in an ideal spot for grabbing and quaffing, without needing to take eyes off the road. I’ve driven cars with this setup, and it’s genuinely a treat! The positioning is good, it feels good to use it, it’s overall a fantastic solution to the holding of and accessing cups while driving.
Why is this not more popular? Why isn’t it standard practice, even? It’s not like it’s any more expensive to design a dashboard with a driver’s side cupholder setup, really, especially in this age when carmakers seem willing to cram in as many cupholders as possible.
And, of course, you don’t have to use it for a beverage; many of these driver’s side cupholders can be used to hold pens or small sausages or Pocky or chili or a small, well-trained hamster or whatever you’d like. That spot, between the steering wheel and the door is generally a dead zone with, what, an HVAC vent and that’s it. Why not stick a cupholder there?
And, the HVAC vent could enhance the cupholding experience! Positioned properly, a driver’s side cupholder could be cooled or heated thanks to its proximity to the HVAC vent!
Yes, I get that this is a minor thing, but life is made up of minor things, and people care about these sorts of minor things. I care about minor things. And this minor thing, a cupholder placed just for the driver’s use and access, is a minor thing that is good and right and worth celebrating, in hopes that it may become more and more common, increasing the number of good, minor things in this world.
So there. Oh, I may have lied about the guy from the UN calling me, so please don’t sue me, UN. Otherwise I’ll have to seek asylum at the Misophonian embassy.
First Gen Lexus RX450H has a lefty cupholder. My wife just keeps her sunglasses in it.
Best part of my ’12 fit–allows me to set my drink down before getting in the car.
“… a small, well-trained hamster …”
Boo?
A lot of Class A RVs have this luxury for both passenger and driver, cup holders on both sides. Truly thrones of kings.
My Toyota Hilux has a cupholder like this and it does also have the vent pointed at it which I like. The only downside is that I bang it with my knee when getting in and out of the car.
The one in my E86 Z4 is of limited usefulness, as I bang my knee into it operating the clutch. It’s strictly for highway use; otherwise I use the one on the passenger side (or the one in my daughter’s car seat when she still used one).
I really hate it when automakers place the cupholders directly adjacent to buttons. My Grand Marquis and Volt are like this, and it makes me very nervous. If you have anything without a lid in the cupholder, there is a non-zero chance that that bad boy is gonna spill and get into those buttons. It’s especially nerve wracking because the buttons are quite often mission critical.
This reminds me that we need a Damn Good (Bad?) Design article on the Cube
I would love to consult on this haha. I had a Cube and it was really a great little car, in a country (US) where we don’t often get those.
Sure we have plenty of tiny commuters and such, but don’t they tend to be… low effort? Like the designers just kinda phoned it in? “We’ll put an anemic 1.5L-4 in it, some seat-shaped objects, a bit of metal around the sides and call it good. Ok fine a radio conspicuously lacking an AUX port with 1.5 tin can speakers. Would you like A/C that does nothing? 1.5 is my favorite number.” — designer person
This has been my experience with the sub/compacts. Generally hostile to occupants. But small cars don’t have to suck! My Cube was by far the most comfortable car I’ve ever owned and I’ve had like 20-25. Seats handcrafted by the Gods I tell you!! I’m 6’1” with back, hip, and knee issues and let me tell ya, 14 hour roadtrips in that thing were STILL a breeze!! The steering was light and tight. Rode and handled dreamily. A/C was up to the task. TSC worked well in the snow and I happily trudged past many big trucks slipping and sliding about. Cup holders for days, and not the dinky drinkers of the 80s and 90s, I’m talking Mega Gulp-spec. The sound system was phenomenal, another all-time best. The rear seats folded, leaving enough room to haul way more than I ever could have imagined. And still got 28 MPG combined to boot. One of my favorite little things about the Cube was the headliner—shaped to look like the ripples of a skip rock.
Loved that thing. But the CVT had a lot of serious issues, and the engine was narcoleptic—quit on me on the highway once without even a CEL to explain.
Still… looking back, the Cube taught me that economical things don’t have to suck—that’s just another design decision.
Technically the 986 Boxster has one. I say technically because the 986 cup holder doesn’t really take either word in its description very seriously.
Am I the only one who sees something to bang my leg on getting into the car?
I recently took a trip driving a Transit RV and used that cup holder a few times. It was really convienient and liked the option. I mostly use the center cup holder but when the sun was shinging directly on the lid of my cup, I moved it over to the left and it was in the shade, saved from the ice cube melting rays of the sun.
I do really like this about our Honda fit. The drivers side cupholder is up right near a dash vent. So in the winter with the heat on your hot drink stays nice and warm and in the summer with a/c your water stays cool.
As I posted elsewhere, it’s also great for a cell phone holder.
my poor cube- out of production for a decade and still being picked on ( a bit bonkers, design-wise) Been driving one as my daily since 2010 and being left handed I do appreciate the left side cup holder. Funny how I never thought it was so special before.
They aren’t on the dash, but door mounted ones– I have one in my NC Miata, but it’s quite small and nearly useless. My 2024 Honda Odyssey has two areas in the door that can be used as driver’s cupholders as well.
The door cupholders in our 2024 Odyssey are surprisingly good. Pretty level and stable, unlike a lot of other cup/bottle holders in car doors.
I hate the ones in the center console though.
As a card carrying member of the left handed minority, I’d LOVE a driver-side cup holder. I’m actually seriously considering installing a folding one on the door panel of my 80s land yacht.
I don’t think I’d use it over a center-located one. I’m right handed and drive mostly LHD cars, so using my right hand to pick up the bottle/cup/etc is easier. Having it in a more visible location doesn’t really have a benefit to me either, since I know relatively where my cupholders are, and can pick up and put back the beverage without looking 98% of the time.
It’s interesting that they exist though, I’m not sure if I’ve actually seen one in person.
They’re super-handy – as others have mentioned, it’s nice to have the A/C on a drink (or in the winter, for coffee, heat) and they’re useful for holding a phone (or a memo pad, or whatever) in your line of sight. My dash cupholders get more use than my extra gloveboxen. (Granted, there’s only one other cupholder, behind the armrest, for the rear passengers.)
Sometimes I use mine as a Shupholder: https://i.imgur.com/J5byYYx.jpeg
I haven’t used one but would like to see how it would be..here are my thoughts of why it’s not mainstream:
-Throws off the symmetry of the dash design; looks better design wise without it (in my opinion)
-Better to keep the dash area around the driver less cluttered when it can easily be put between seats
-Preventative in case drinks spill it’s between seats and not going all into gauges, under/into dash crevices
-Normally, drinks are either bought together and put in a shared space and/or shared together anyway
-Discourage drinking and driving?
(Yeah, that’s a stretch)
Ummmmm, it’s because most folks are right handed……………
So how come driver-side cupholders aren’t common in the UK, Japan, Austrailia, and the other assbackwards countries? (Appologies to Adrian, Lewin, and Lawrence and any other Assbackwardian I may have forgotten).
Are you sooooo right handed that you can’t drink with your left hand? I’m right handed yet I keep my coffee on the left side of the keyboard so I can drink-and-mouse. For the 17 of us who still drive a manual, having a driver-side cup holder would be great for chugging a LaCroix during the 1->2 shift.
and for larger containers, 2nd & 4th bang into the bottle/cup in my car primary cupholder anyway.
there are fore and aft cupholders on the tunnel, but the second is even worse: a typical water bottle or 16-oz coffee cup block the armrest console lid from closing.
Most of the cars you named are from countries that drive on the left side of the road. I would bet that those cars have a cup holder on the end of the dash in front of the passenger in their native land. My BMW has a cup holder at the far right end, is it a driver’s side cup holder in England and Japan? The drivers cup holder (both can hold a big gulp, but neither can hold any of the most common insulated cups) is up high on the dash.
Erm nope. They’re on the driver’s side in RHD countries too.
I guess I was imprecise in my wording. The drivers cup holder in thebLHD countries is high on the right of center of the dash, nought on the left side of the wheel. Is the cup holder on the far right of the dash present as a drivers cup holder in RHD cars?
Which BMW do you have?
This is the Honda Fit:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Honda_FIT_HYBRID%E3%83%BBF_Comfort_Edition_%28DAA-GP5%29_interior.jpg
Mine is the ‘12 E93 335is. (Convertible).
OK I get what you mean now.
RHD is simply the inverse of LHD.
https://www.4tuning.ro/images/interior-complet-bmw-e93-2012-coupe-lci-2-0/interior-complet-bmw-e93-2012-coupe-lci-2-0-595a81000aa4701142b-1100-615-2-85-1.jpg
So, apparently, BMW being a bit on the pricier side, they tooled up a completely different dashboard, mirroring the LHD layout for the RHD version.
I think that’s how it is for most cars actually.