Soldato
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- 18 Oct 2012
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Its not just cars, so many things these days are irreperable by design, white goods especially, and its annoying to see cars going the same.
Finally, an automaker puts decent infotainment first
- Thread starter mrk
- Start date
Its not just cars, so many things these days are irreperable by design, white goods especially, and its annoying to see cars going the same.
I suspect "health and safety" is why some household appliances are sealed up and difficult to repair now. I don't think it's true of all cars though, many are intentionally made easy to work on. It's the expensive stuff with lots of toys which turn in to an electrical fault nightmare years down the road.
Soldato
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i don't think health and safety is entirely to blame, why make something attatch with half a dozen screws (which means it can be quickly and easily dissasembled for maintenance) when you can make it with a bunch of plastic moulded in clips that break if you even think of trying to remove them.
yes it's saving pennies that turn to millions in the scale of big industry, and yes there's no motivation to put in that extra bit of quality that will make machines last far longer and thus not need replaced as often, but really it's crazy that for goods that perform basic functions (how many people use more than a couple of the different settings on their washing machine, or care that their fridge can't play skyrim)
same goes for cars, which is even more annoying because they're meant to be servicable, the amount of crappy plastic clips you find on car bodywork/interiors boggles the mind. and don't get me started on the trend of shrinking engines and tiny turbo's which does nothing but give good paper figures for power/economy whilst not performing well at either in the real world.
I think the plastic clips instead of screws thing is because people didn't like seeing screws/screw holes. Which is annoying because the plastic clips often start rattling as the car ages :/
The plastic panels themselves are so flimsy because it all has to be recycled materials now.
I suspect at some point they will notice that turbo engines are worse in the real world than larger, NA engines. But they are still busy with dieselgate atm.
The plastic panels themselves are so flimsy because it all has to be recycled materials now.
I suspect at some point they will notice that turbo engines are worse in the real world than larger, NA engines. But they are still busy with dieselgate atm.
Emissions.
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Yet he obviously has extensive experience of modern cars as he knows that all infotainment systems are rubbish, because you can't play Angry Birds or send beeps on Waze.
Soldato
Plus if he hasn’t throught wow when in one he’s yet to try a Velar?
Soldato
Well the latest Volvo system is pretty suspect in my opinion. Simpy trying to change a radio station not in favourites is about 3 levels deep. The navigation is okay but graphically the 3d view is a mess. Voice control helps a little but I also find it a bit hit and miss, even making calls. Google assistant may alleviate this but really cars with only touch screens are a mistake. My iDrive love in probably doesn't help the transition, for that alone I will miss the BMW when it goes....
It's pretty well known about already...
Some of the 3 cylinder turbo petrol engines are pretty bad for NOX and only diesels use Adblue afaik (so far). E.g. the 1.0 ecoboost engine from 2012 has an EQUA rating of E, which is lower than a 4.7L Merc. Not good. They are almost certainly in the firing line after diesels.
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My Mondeo doesn't use adblue and is Euro6, so it's not needed.
Soldato
Eu6b for homologated vehicles sept 2015 ish is more stringent hence the variance. Also lower lower lighter cars can sometimes manage the requirement. Mazda seem to be doing well on that front.
Associate
Am I the only one who finds all of this a bit stupid/concerning?
We're not allowed to use a phone whilst we drive (understandably) yet we're allowed to essentially use a large tablet with numerous touch screen functions, buttons and interactions while we drive? I've driven a few of these new Volvo's and while it's all well and good to have all these features I personally find it really distracting going through numerous menus on the center dash and the drivers heads up dash, so much time is spent watching what the screens are doing instead of the road.
The new Audis even have touch control sliders for air vents - At least with a physical dial you can touch feel whilst keeping your eyes on the road.
We're not allowed to use a phone whilst we drive (understandably) yet we're allowed to essentially use a large tablet with numerous touch screen functions, buttons and interactions while we drive? I've driven a few of these new Volvo's and while it's all well and good to have all these features I personally find it really distracting going through numerous menus on the center dash and the drivers heads up dash, so much time is spent watching what the screens are doing instead of the road.
The new Audis even have touch control sliders for air vents - At least with a physical dial you can touch feel whilst keeping your eyes on the road.
Caporegime
No. I've recently moved from BMW to Porsche. The BMW had the fantastic iDrive system which was purely physical in terms of input and could be used comfortably whilst keeping your eyes fully on the road. The Porsche is all touchscreen and is a nightmare to use on the fly.
Soldato
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Indeed, needs to be simple controls for the stuff you actually use when driving, and then all the rest can be in menu's that deactivate when your moving.
Associate
I've not driven any of the new BMW's but of some of the other newer models I've driven I actually found the Volvo's to be the most intuitive of the 'touch screen' systems.
Even the main dash with the speed etc on it, there's so much you can change/fiddle with while driving that distracts for too long.
The iDrive system I've always thought looked pretty intuitive to me.
I think it’s partly manufacturers getting ready for the next stage. Level 3 and 4 automation where most people won’t need to actually concentrate on the road much. There isn’t as much requirement for manual knobs and features when you can do it on a touchscreen, making the dash/console nearer and cheaper to make (and potentially maintain).
Perhaps then an infotainment system as deep and diverse as a phones may be a good option, but currently there really isn’t much need. Besides, the actual UI is likely to still be designed by the manufacturer, and most of the current complaints seem to stem from the UI and touch screen (which will largely be hardware).