Let's talk about interiors

Jonnycoupe · 23 Jul 2025 at 23:01

Armageus said:
It's one of the reasons I've not seriously considered an EV yet despite probably having an ideal use case for one.
I can't stand huge square distracting screens, and find touch controls to be genuinely dangerous.

I want a car, not an overblown tablet with a motor attached.

An EV…

Not an EV

jpaul · 24 Jul 2025 at 07:38

Nasher said:
Just jammed on top of the dash looks tacky and a sloppy design.

part of that problem is trade-off of having it vertical/high to avoid sun reflections off lower angled ones - which buttons never had ..
would be interested to see if mercedes oled screens are a solution

and did I mention not beeing able to use my polarised glasses (for hud either)

Nasher · 24 Jul 2025 at 09:22

jpaul said:
part of that problem is trade-off of having it vertical/high to avoid sun reflections off lower angled ones - which buttons never had ..
would be interested to see if mercedes oled screens are a solution

and did I mention not beeing able to use my polarised glasses (for hud either)

Yea it's odd they don't even use an anti-reflective coating, like on monitors. An angled, high gloss screen in a car is just dumb.

Shadowness · 24 Jul 2025 at 09:29

Yup. Quite happy to say current cars are worse than even 5 years or so ago.

Really happy with my 19 plate 1 series. Has all of the 'modern tech' I need (and would use!) and has buttons! I can change menus without having to take my eyes off the road, and perform a lot of other tasks without looking too.

Every modern car I've driven I've hated. Test drove a new 2 series and didn't get on with it. Having to look at the screen to change the heating/cooling etc. Our company Skoda is a nightmare to change anything, ie from map screen to entertainment, or going into menus. You have to hover you finger over the screen, and it takes ages, and I'm not looking at the road while I'm doing it!

I don't need to change cars at all, but I would not even remotely consider doing so until manufacturers design cars people want.

Haggisman · 24 Jul 2025 at 09:47

I don't mind big touch screens, as long as:

a) They look like part of the dash, and not a tablet stuck to the top of it as an afterthought (e.g. all of the examples in the OP)
b) There are still physical controls for important functions such as volume and climate (and no, capacitive "buttons" are not physical controls)

GravyMonster · 24 Jul 2025 at 09:59

Jonnycoupe said:
An EV…

The one time being years behind the curve pays off for Jag

Rroff · 24 Jul 2025 at 10:00

Jonnycoupe said:
An EV…

EVs have kind of lead the charge though unfortunately it is a direction the industry has been leaning towards in general.

Sinbad2000 · 24 Jul 2025 at 10:23

SonicSW20 said:
Honda are the only ones who've done the screens thing right IMO, because it looks like it was designed to be that way vs looking like they've slapped some iPads on it:

And they were sensible enough to keep physical buttons and rotaries for HVAC etc.

wtf are you supposed to ask your passenger to press the settings button for you?

Shadowness · 24 Jul 2025 at 10:35

Tbf at least it has dials for HVAC controls. But yes that is a joke even if the wide angle lens is probably making it look worse than it actually is.

lordrobs · 24 Jul 2025 at 11:24

Rilot said:
I also point my ire at the use of bloody piano-black everywhere and flipping capacitive buttons. I don't want capacitive buttons. I want actual, physical switches.

Am I alone in this opinion? Are we doomed to having touchscreens for everything?

Nope, I'm not a fan either. To me the issue with the screens in what appears to be their most common configuration these days is that it is so generic.

The implementation and design of the analogue clocks on a dash said something about the car and the driver it was meant to appeal to. Two random examples at either end of the scale;

K11 Micra - massive speedo front and centre, big fuel gauge to the left, big temperature gauge to the right. Perfect because that's all the Micra driver needs.

996 Porsche - Massive rev counter front and centre which an analogue and digital speedo to the left. Nothing says "I'm here to be driven hard" than a whacking great rev counter directly in your line of sight. Again, perfect for its intended audience.

They also added an aesthetic element as did the switch gear which could convey a sense of quality, reliability or "twist me too many times and I'll fall off" all of which added to the dynamic of the car in some way.

All that said, I get it. We spend our lives with a generic slab of shiny screen glued to our hand and the car is just an extension of that. It gives a degree of customisation that isn't otherwise possible and allows an endless supply of controls without the cockpit looking like it would be better suited to a Boeing than a Beemer.

I spend 25000 miles a year sat behind a gloss black two screen setup, which is fine. It just means that when I sit in the MX-5 it feels that bit more analogue, a bit more... like I'm going for a drive rather than simply driving somewhere.

Jonnycoupe · 24 Jul 2025 at 11:39

Sinbad2000 said:
wtf are you supposed to ask your passenger to press the settings button for you?

Not they just feed the fish in the aquarium.

Armageus · 24 Jul 2025 at 11:50

SonicSW20 said:
Honda are the only ones who've done the screens thing right IMO, because it looks like it was designed to be that way vs looking like they've slapped some iPads on it:

And they were sensible enough to keep physical buttons and rotaries for HVAC etc.

Since when did cars ~~have~~ need HDMI ports? :confused:

Penfold101 · 24 Jul 2025 at 11:53

Armageus said:
Since when did cars ~~have~~ need HDMI ports?

Gives the passenger a way to watch movies on the screen

I also love the 3 pin socket - I paid £70 when I ordered my Insignia to have one of them in the centre console. Came in surprisingly handy!

That said, I wonder if you could use it to charge another car!

throwaway4372 · 24 Jul 2025 at 12:04

Wonder if anything will come of this:

European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

In 2026, Euro NCAP points will be deducted if some controls aren’t physical.

arstechnica.com

Rilot · 24 Jul 2025 at 12:31

I hope so.

GravyMonster · 24 Jul 2025 at 12:37

throwaway4372 said:
Wonder if anything will come of this:

European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

In 2026, Euro NCAP points will be deducted if some controls aren’t physical.

arstechnica.com

Unlikely. From that article:

Euro NCAP is not a government regulator, so it has no power to mandate carmakers use physical controls for those functions

The only way we'll go back is if the EU actually mandate it, which is possible but will take at least 5+ years for anything to be debated, ratified and then implemented in the next generation of cars. Or alternatively if people vote with their wallets, which seems unlikely given that everyone seems to just be sucking it up.

lordrobs · 24 Jul 2025 at 12:55

GravyMonster said:
Unlikely. From that article:

The only way we'll go back is if the EU actually mandate it, which is possible but will take at least 5+ years for anything to be debated, ratified and then implemented in the next generation of cars. Or alternatively if people vote with their wallets, which seems unlikely given that everyone seems to just be sucking it up.

EURO NCAP is the reason we have lane assist etc. that is on by default every time the car is started. They have a lot of sway with their 5 little stars, unfortunately the outcome is less than ideal as manufacturers chase the top ranking.

GravyMonster · 24 Jul 2025 at 13:06

That has nothing to do with NCAP. They may have suggested it, as I said above re. the physical buttons, it's the EU that specifies the regulations and makes it law that manufaurers who want to sell cars here have to abide by.

Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019R2144 (Thanks ChatGPT)

Specifically, Article 7.3 and 7.4

3. Vehicles of categories M1 and N1 shall also be equipped with an emergency lane-keeping system.

4. Advanced emergency braking systems and emergency lane-keeping systems shall meet the following requirements in particular:
(a) it shall only be possible to switch off such systems one at a time by a sequence of actions to be carried out by the driver;
(b) the systems shall be in normal operation mode upon each activation of the vehicle master control switch;
(c) it shall be possible to easily suppress audible warnings, but such action shall not at the same time suppress system functions other than audible warnings;
(d) it shall be possible for the driver to override such systems

Nasher · 24 Jul 2025 at 13:24

Penfold101 said:
Gives the passenger a way to watch movies on the screen

I also love the 3 pin socket - I paid £70 when I ordered my Insignia to have one of them in the centre console. Came in surprisingly handy!

That said, I wonder if you could use it to charge another car!

Adapters for that have been around forever. But not much using a 3 pin socket is is going to run at 12v.

Shadowness · 24 Jul 2025 at 13:24

In response to post 38*

^oh yeh! Forgot about that crap on our company car too. I swear it's more dangerous than not having it! Hate the wheel fighting back when you safely cross a line, or cut a corner a bit. Luckily that isn't a faff to turn off each time.