What do br'ers like or dislike about car interior design. I've been looking at new cars lately and I often find myself disappointed by interiors. It would be nice to be inspired. So many interiors are just so average. Seems that a bit of creativity is lacking. Some observations;
1. Black interiors. Why do so many cars have black dashboard / interiors / seats? What is it about black? Do car designers think that everyone is happy to live in a black interior? Or is it that they just cant be bothered. Wasn't it Henry Ford that said "you can have any colour you like as long as its black". Henry must be alive and well. You would never paint your sitting room at home matt black. I'm not suggesting that fluorescent yellow would be any better. Is it just cheaper to make black plastic ? More expensive cars sometimes have light / tan / beige interiors and these seem far more pleasant imho. Its been suggested to me that black is easier to keep clean, but I don't buy that given some of the black interiors that I've seen. Or that light colours reflect in the windscreen which I don't buy either.
2. Enormous dashboards, bigger than they have to be. On some cars the dashboards are an enormous hunk of plastic (usually black too, which absorbs loads of sun and fries you or makes your air con work harder / longer / more often). Takes up space too. Current VW beetle for example. Its seems to be about a foot and a half from the windscreen to the front lip of the dash.
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I think the black dashboard top is down to practicality, it doesnt reflect in the screen and the engine set back to protect any pedestrians you may mow down accounts for the enormous dashboard.
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At last another soul that finds this expanse of black gloom just too much, i thought i was the only one here.
Of course you must have the obligatory imitation plastic aluminium carbon fibre section in the middle surrounding those buttons and displays, and for sporty pretentions a solid aluminium gearknob thats as cold as hell on a winter morn, and darkened windows to complete the funereal theme.;)
Not a lot to be done about the distance to the bottom of the screen i suppose though, apart from moving the whole dash fowards, trouble is that fashion dictates you will have a very shallow sloped screen unless you buy an MPV type of thingy, and some of them are just as bad.
Some have tried to move away from the current norm with good results, Fiats 500 being a refreshing example.
I still prefer proper wood sections even if its only a veneer (not that dreadful formica type muck found on RangeRovers etc) and lighter colours for upholstery.
Still people must like them as they are, they buy cloned cars by the thousands.
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I personally love the wood and leather interior, even better if it isnt in black, grey or cream as so many are. I do rather like alcantara too.
When they first launched the Rover 75, it had several colour options for the interior other than the usual - green, blue and a sort of maroon colour. The green especially was a lovely shade which contrasted so well with the wood and chrome.
I do deeply adore the R75 interior, before BMW left and they started using cheap stuff in them.
One of my current favorites is the Lexus IS200 which looks so very lovely to my eye, even with that polished piano black trim and chrome flourishes rather than wood.
I also rather like the dashboard and trim in the Saab 9-3 as far as cooking models go and the Merc C-Class is is rather lovely too.
I personally cant stand this alu trim as it always looks like something bought in Halfords.
It is perhaps telling that I am a fan of coachbuilt cars of the 30's which had some extraordinarily beautiful and ornate designs both inside and out.
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I believe Clarkson designed his own car interior on an episode of Top Gear because he too wondered why interiors of cars weren't more like our houses. I don't recall the vehicle, but I do recall it had some kind of wing-back chair and a standard lamp. It looked all rather 'gentelman's club'.
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We currently have a Yaris courtesy car - give me back a speedo with a dial and needle directly in front of me! I've decided I never want a car with only a digital speedo.
Black is good for seat coverings as it's doesn't show the dirt, but I do find Audi s-lines which have black roof and pillar fabric very depressing. I prefer the lighter grey used on other models.
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I don't recall the vehicle <<
Merc S280, mid 90's agewise.
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For aesthetic appeal, I still rate the mkIV Golf's interior. It's probably the car's finest feature. No crazy angles or gimmicks - just a simple, high quality moulding with a centre console angled nicely toward the driver. Directly ahead are four big, clear, expensive looking instruments with night time illumination that is the most striking and yet soothing I have ever experienced, a beautifully sized three spoke wheel that feels small enough to be sporty, but is large enough not to obscure the instruments, and lovely hip hugging sports seats in GT trim.
The black dash top contrasts beautifully with the cream coloured A pillar and roof trim, and various chrome detailing dotted at strategic points around the interior. Real chrome too, not painted plastic.
It's by no means perfect - the location of the climate / air con controls is plain daft, and the assembly quality is nowhere near as good as VW would have you believe, but it's a classic, simple, expensive looking (at least) interior that still looks great more than a decade after launch, and will probably still look great more than a decade from now.
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For pity's sake, it's a tool!
You'll want a choice of colour on hammer handles next.
I do drive a Kia Pride.
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It may be a tool, but if you spend many thousands on one, you can rightly have the expectation to feel its a bit special compared to cheaper alternatives.
My Charade has a very functional interior that works well as a work tool, but I appreciate the fine detailing in the interior of a 1974 Rolls Corniche that I used to sit in to eat my lunch ( it was stored in our valeting bay for a year ). I never tired looking at the work that went into making it feel and smell so special - even the pedals were special looking.
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My dash is about one of the most depressing things I have ever seen
tinyurl.com/dc54vw
Why does their have to be so much black? It was a maximum of 17c today and I had to drive with the window right down as the black dash had absorbed so much heat.
The dash is functional and I can see all the instrunments perfectly, it also has some nice touches such as a dimmer but some different shades of gray would be nice!
When I am driving I don't really care though, I am too bothered looking at the road to be bothered about what the dashboard looks like :)
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wait till the yellow light flashes at you as it will
then black is nice
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I have a Mk1 Seat Alhambra with a soft touch dark blue dash. The velour seats are bluey/grey patterned and other bits are also colour coordinated in dark blue inc dark blue carpets. Lots of velour on doors and other large areas. Its a very pleasant cabin. If it were black or light grey, I would have got rid years ago.
Black interiors with lots of back plastic depress me.
Many modern designs also have ridiculously high waistlines and claustrophobic coffin type features.
Modern cars depress me.
Leather belongs on cows.
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Leather belongs on cows.
....... and shoes.
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1. Black interiors.
I prefer black dashboards because I like dark, restrained, colours. I prefer dark upholstery (the darker the better) because it doesn't show dirt and stains as much.
2. Enormous dashboards bigger than they have to be.
I prefer my face to be as far from the windscreen as possible. I like to think that in the event of an accident there'll be less chance of my face contacting the windscreen.
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I had a Volvo S40 - "R" reg - and I have to say that, although the car itself was awful, the dash was one of the best. I had a light coloured interior which never showed the dirt. the dash was a lightish two-tone brown and didn't reflect in the windscreen. And there were not that many buttons on the dash - clean and simple.
Now we have the metal look - yuch! And so many buttons that you can't remember what each one does. And that great plateau of a black dashboard.
Rememebr the mini - a speedo, three switches and a choke control, and you could wipe the windscreen without stretching. Try doing that in a VW Beetle! (Mind you, the Beetle does have a lovely flower vase............)
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