WHAT raises a car above a simple commodity to get you from A to B? Well, there are many things in my book. Does it make you smile? How rewarding is the driving experience? And how does the car look after you?

I was minded of this recently with the Audi A6’s comfort see-you-home lighting – which I’ve been using quite regularly at this time of year.

I hope you can see from my rather inept photography how the Audi’s lights stay on when you get out and there’s a delightful pool of light that shines down from the door mirror – that’s a particularly neat touch, illuminating the ground as you get out of the car.

I know we’ve had see you home lighting before, but the Audi’s ambient lighting when you get in the car at night – the floor wells are illuminated for example – make it a very special place to enter.

The contrast is our 1993 Nissan Micra – the ‘Mighty Micra’ – which still soldiers on providing brilliant around town transport. When we bought it this Micra broke a lineage of hopelessly dreadful and boxy Micra superminis with an advanced ‘bubble’ shape with a bright and airy interior and the first 16-valve 1.0-litre engine. Little wonder it was voted Car of the Year.

But when you get in the Micra, the interior light doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter that much – but it does make getting into the car at night a cold experience and very different from the warmth of the welcome from the Audi.

Now, of course, there’s a gulf of time and pounds shilling and pence between the two cars – but it does emphasise how important this sort of ambient lighting has become in modern car design. In some modern Fords, for example, you can change the colour of the ambient interior lighting depending on your mood – and Citroen has made much of interior lighting too.

Finally, the ‘Mighty Micra’ still fits in with my definition of a car raised above commodity level by the way – it’s great fun to drive. I still marvel at how good it is, despite the years.

Editor’s Blog: Comfort lighting features on the Audi A6