Maybe if the sound were more accurate, like in the linked simulation, fewer people would disable it?

But then what is the point of having a higher end car with sound isolation for relaxed Highway driving only to add the engine noise again? I would indeed notice/mind it less if the sound were accurate.

I get that some people like to hear engine sounds selectively but what gets me is why would the car manufacturers spend time and money to make a bad emulation when they could mic up the engine block/exhaust, add some EQ to beef it up if necessary and play it in the cabin? ..on second thought it's probably because adding extra wires and brackets being work/cost added to each car in assembly vs digital gimmick shipped as part of the head unit that requires no additional work per unit since it already has access to CAN bus for RPM etc. imo they should realize the old adage still holds, if it's worth doing it's worth doing well.