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Modern Jeep cars are packed full of extra features to make driving one of them more enjoyable, more comfortable, and even a little bit safer.

The humble Jeep is something of an unlikely vehicle to have become a cultural phenomenon – and yet eighty years after the vehicle was first developed during WWII, the company which now bears its name is still producing innovative, intriguing and stylish jeeps and SUVs today. The original Jeep has even inspired other auto manufacturers, who have then gone on to produce their own version of the classic vehicle, such as the Suzuki Jimny, while without the original Jeep, modern SUVs might not even exist.

Updated: For the 2020 model year, Jeep has included numerous new and exciting Easter eggs in their models for owners to find. We've updated the article to include all the hidden animals and clever references that come standard with every new Jeep!

Jeep, the company, was founded in 1943 but didn’t build its first civilian vehicle until 1945. Now owned by motoring giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Jeep models they produce are still some of the best available if you really like exploring off the beaten track and off-road. And modern Jeep cars are packed full of extra features to make driving one of them more enjoyable, more comfortable and even a little bit safer.

Not that these extra features are always obvious at first glance. Often you have to go hunting to find them, like the Easter eggs which are hidden away in video games and movies; but it is well worth the effort to take advantage of innovative work done by the designers at Jeep, as the list below illustrates.

Too many drivers make the mistake of looking at the interior of a Jeep vehicle and assuming that they can see all their storage space. Not so; as we have already seen, Jeep designers like to use every last square inch of space when it comes to storage in their vehicles, and there are always some secret places where items which you might not need to have on hand can be stowed during the journey.

There are storage spaces underneath the floor in the back of several Jeep models – the perfect space perhaps for items that you hope you might not need at all, like a first aid kit. There's also a hidden lockbox under the front seat of many new Jeep models!

As an innovative automaker Jeep doesn't just offer great floor mats; they make sure their floor mats have drains in them. And in case you're wondering about the odd shape on the mat itself, it's actually the map of the Moab desert - one of Jeep's first actual Easter eggs!

Another hidden feature that is commonly available on many Jeep vehicles is automatic unlocking – which is actually nowhere near as insecure as it sounds and can actually come in very useful if you have a lot of kits to carry.

Rather than having to insert a key into the lock, or press a button on a key fob, automatic unlocking simply detects when the key is close to the door, and promptly unlocks when you pull on the handle. While there have been cases where such systems have been hacked, the scare stories are a few and far between, and automatic unlocking cars are generally popular with drivers.

Is there any part of the vehicle that the boffins at Jeep haven’t added some heat too? As if heated side windows weren’t useful enough, and heated seats weren’t luxurious enough, you can even get yourself a vehicle with a heated steering wheel – for those really cold winter mornings.

This might seem like an indulgent luxury until you consider the danger that could be posed by someone driving a car when their hands are cold and wet, and unable to make the minor adjustments sometimes needed to keep a car under control, especially when driving on uneven or wet road surfaces.

Hill starts can be one of the trickiest maneuvers to master when learning to drive, so it really is kind of motor engineers to come with a gadget to help motorists get moving when they’re parked on a slope – another extra that probably comes in handy when outdoor enthusiasts take their Jeep into the mountains!

Hill-start assist works by giving you some extra time to get moving, by stopping the car from rolling forwards or backward for about 2.5 seconds after the car is started. That may not sound like long, but it does buy you enough time to get the vehicle safely under control and underway.

related: 10 Sad Photos Of Jeeps People Left To Rot

Notice anything unusual about these headlights? In fact, the same exact feature decorates almost every set of recent Jeep headlights and is a massive Easter egg many people are missing. By now, you've probably realized we're talking about the tiny version of Jeep's front end that hides in the middle of the headlight.

It's hard to miss the legendary seven-bar grill design with circular headlights, and Jeep is actually hiding the same design in many different places in their more recent vehicles.

For any driver, tire pressure is important to ensure that their vehicle is performing properly, but this becomes even more important when you are taking it off-road, as the uneven and uncertain conditions under the tires make it vital that the pressure is at the right level.

Rather than having to get out and keep checking the pressure in your tires, the Jeep Wrangler has sensors fitted in its tires which constantly monitor their performance, and if the pressure starts to fall, the system alerts the driver that action needs to be taken, ensuring a ride that is as smooth as it can be when off-roading!

One of the first animal Easter Eggs people noticed in newer Jeeps was the adorable Italian spider that appears to be hiding under the fuel door. This is a cute and subtle way to indicate Jeep's connection with nature and its ruggedness as well as that it has connections with the country of Italy - since the automaker is now part of the Fiat-Chrysler group.

related: Jeep Hid These Easter Eggs In Their Cars And People Are Finding Them

From an Easter egg that would be more use at Christmas to one that is all about summer driving. The original Jeeps, after all, rarely came with roofs or even side windows, and windshields were considered something of a luxury. In that same spirit, on many modern Jeep models, you can fold the windshield down, and drive with the wind blowing through your hair.

It may take a few minutes, and a couple of tools to get the windshield away from the frame – and the same to put it back again – but it is well worth the effort for a sunny day’s driving off-road.

Jeeps are great for towing, and while that initially may have come in handier when they were pulling other vehicles out of tough spots, there is nothing to say that drivers cannot use their vehicle to tow camping gear, bikes or boats when they take their Jeep away for the weekend.

Driving while towing takes some getting used to, as the slightest gust of wind can move your trailer and affect the handling of the vehicle. Luckily, many Jeeps have trailer sway control installed, which detects and responds to these movements and helps keep you on the straight and narrow.

Blind-spot monitoring isn’t an extra feature peculiar to Jeep vehicles; in fact, many new cars, SUVs, and trucks are coming with this technology either as standard or as an optional extra. Every driver knows the difficulties of trying to keep an eye on your blind spot while also focusing on the road ahead, but blind-spot monitoring does this job for you, using radar housed in the rear headlights to detect other vehicles and sound a warning if anyone gets too close.

Although as we have seen with so-called driverless cars, there is no replacement sometimes for good old human eyesight and reactions!

Some fresh Jeep owners have also reported a Willys Jeep that appears to be driving over the edge of the windshield. This neat details is another Easter egg and is a nod to older Jeep models that were used in the military and helped win WWII.

There are also variants to this easter egg, including what appears to be a Yeti and a T-Rex chasing the Willys Jeep on the windshield. And if you opt for the Compass, you're likely to find a Loch Ness monster crawling over the windshield somewhere, given that the vehicle is able to drive in up to 19 inches of water.

Seeing as everyone is glued to their smartphones these days anyway, it seems that many car manufacturers have decided to develop apps that help motorists to manage and monitor their vehicles remotely. We are not quite yet at the point where we can use our cell phone to summon our car to drive to us by itself, but Jeep’s remote connection system does have some pretty nifty features.

Called the SiriusXM Guardian, it allows you to lock and unlock your vehicle, summon roadside assistance remotely, and even set off the horn and lights when you get an alert that all might not be well with your vehicle.

A Reddit user caught this Easter egg recently, and it's one of the most well-hidden ones. While this may appear to be a regular dead pedal, if you look closely there's Morse code on it. Read from left to right, the pedal allegedly spells "sand, snow, rivers, rocks."

We just love the fact that Jeep would go through all this trouble just to be able to reward the few buyers who ever find these Easter eggs. But judging from the hype that's been rising regarding them, it might just be an insanely clever marketing tactic.

The bespoke remote connection system is far from the only proprietary technology and design which Jeep employs in their vehicles. As well as the mechanical features under the hood, there are also a few hidden surprises throughout the vehicle which are designed to make it easier to use, wherever you take it.

The Trail Rail system, for example, which is housed in the Jeep Wrangler’s cargo space is ideal for drivers who need to carry larger items, as it can help to hold objects safely in position, no matter how bumpy the road gets, and is optional on several Wrangler models.

Similarly to the spider, there's another animal hiding in new Jeeps' nooks and crannies - a black lizard. You're most likely to find this little guy if you peek at the area that separates the windshield from the front hood, where the windshield wipers are.

Jeeps are not always known for being the roomiest of vehicles, so it is important that no space is wasted when it comes to using the interior for storage. The Jeep Utility Grid helps drivers to use some unconventional parts of the vehicle for storage, by creating areas where tough, weatherproof bags can be affixed throughout the interior, particularly on the backs of seats.

A great place to stash things you might need to get your hands on in a hurry, these bags can be detached and carried with you during the day if necessary, before slotting back into place when you return to the car.

Sources - Jeep, Car Buzz, Buy A Car, Top Speed, NICB

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