Death of the handbrake: Hardly any new cars have them - but are parking buttons better?

If you buy a new car from a showroom today, there's a very high chance it won't have a manual handbrake lever in the middle of the cabin. It was another car sold with a manual handbrake Kia discontinued the Rio supermini last year, taking with it another of the few vehicles left in showrooms that had a manual handbrake and not an electronic parking brake NEW MODELS WITH A HANDBRAKE Abarth: 595, 695 Audi: A1 Sportback Citroen: C3, C3 Aircross, Ami Dacia: Duster, Sandero Fiat: 500, 500C, Tipo Cross, Panda, Panda Cross Ford: Puma, New Puma ST, Mustang, Tourneo Custom Hyundai: i10, i20, i20N, i30N, Bayon, i20N line Jeep: Wrangler Kia: Picanto, Stonic Mazda: Mazda2, MX-5, MX5-RF Mini: Convertible MG: MG3 Renault: Traffic Passenger Seat: Ibiza, Arona Skoda: Fabia, Scala, Kamiq SsangYong: Tivoli, Musso Suzuki: Ignis, Swift, Swift Sport, S-Cross, Vitara Toyota: Aygo, Toyota GR Yaris, Hilux, GR86 Volkswagen: Up, Polo, Polo GTI, T-Cross, Taigo Vauxhall: Crossland Volkswagen: Polo, Polo GTI, T-Cross, Taigo Source: CarGurus Revised versions of the Renault Clio, Renault Captur, Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Yaris in 2023 also switched from the traditional handbrake to electronic parking brakes. Electronic parking brakes are considered by the industry and some drivers to be more convenient because they automatically disengage when you drive away and should - if you follow the correct procedure - activate when you park up However, plenty of traditionalists much prefer the tactile and mechanical feel of a conventional handbrake, which is also far less expensive to fix when things go wrong The price drivers pay for electronic parking brakes While there are those who believe electronic parking brakes are more convenient thanks to their automatic engagement and hill-hold activation, plenty of traditionalists still prefer a manual handbrake for their simplicity and mechanical feel. According to data held by the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors, the average bill to fix a manual handbrake fault last year was £220.37, while resolving an issue with an electronic parking brake was £665.98. The warranty provider told us the average repair cost for a fault with a manual handbrake is around £250, whereas for an electronic parking brake it is more than three times higher at £820.