In the end, you have to decide for yourself whether and how important chat announcements are.
To my knowledge, you can't be punished for missing an "important" announcement due to an deavtivated chat, can you?
Nevertheless, the reworked system is a disimprovement.
PS:
Turning off player names can reduce visual clutter on the screen, allowing players to focus more on the road and gameplay elements without constant distractions.
Hiding player names can make the game world feel more realistic.
Being able to deactivate chat while still seeing player names allows players to remain aware of other players' presence without being exposed to potentially negative interactions in the chat.