Why do car reviewers care so much about soft touch dashboards?

[TW]Fox · 14 Oct 2017 at 23:39

Clarkey said:
That's a problem with you, not the Spark. Honestly an A6 isn't anything to write home about.

An A6 is a considerably nicer thing to drive about in than a Spark.

Clarkey · 14 Oct 2017 at 23:58

Yes but he's still being snobby about it, car puts you in a mood because of the materials? Please...... talk about first world problems.

adolf hamster · 15 Oct 2017 at 00:11

Clarkey said:
Yes but he's still being snobby about it, car puts you in a mood because of the materials? Please...... talk about first world problems.

not saying there isn't some snobbery, but i'm guessing when he's referencing his experience driving it he's probably including other factors, like handling, wind noise, engine noise, power delivery etc etc. folk tend to notice things being worse than better.

i do get your point of view though, cheap cars/brands definately have their charms, very few cars are truly dire (like the nissan micra for example, terrifying car to drive)

Haggisman · 15 Oct 2017 at 10:44

adolf hamster said:
as the ower/driver you're realistically going to be spending 90% of your time looking at the interior

Given the shocking standards of driving I see every day, this explains a lot to be honest. However I'd much rather people actually pay attention to the road ahead rather than their car interior!

Nasher · 15 Oct 2017 at 10:47

I'd rather the money went into making a car which is solid mechanically than a posh dash. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the way many German cars have gone :/

Housey · 15 Oct 2017 at 12:15

The most important aspect of any interior design is it doesn’t rattle!

muon · 15 Oct 2017 at 16:21

Soft touch plastic ages far better imo. Also looks a lot better.

Probably also gives a subconscious feeling of comfort.

BananaDunka · 15 Oct 2017 at 16:59

EliotG said:
I recently watched a review of the VW T-Roc on YouTube. In this video the reviewer tapped his ring on the dash to show that it was a hard plastic. This got me thinking...

What is the benefit of having a soft touch dash? I never touch my dashboard. I look at it. So long as it looks nice why should it feel nice?

For sure soft touch on the tops of the doors, arm rests, steering wheel etc is important because you touch them. If a manufacturer spends money on a soft touch dash, but doesn’t carpet the door pockets or give me a squishy arm rest then what’s the point?

What do you feel is important when deciding the quality of a cars interior?

Other than the what some others have said, over time hard plastic dashes will shift shape slightly from age and heat from the sun, and will naturally start to creak and rattle. This isn't an issue if you're buying a new car then moving on a few years later, but used car buyers will probably find this annoying.

chroniclard · 15 Oct 2017 at 17:10

Not fussed with hard or soft plastics so long as it looks ok and doesnt rattle.

ecksmen · 15 Oct 2017 at 18:34

If its something you would touch or use then it should feel solid, door handles, buttons etc.. The dash as long as its not ugly I couldn't give two hoots about what its made out just need to like the look of it.

Jumper118 · 16 Oct 2017 at 21:43

if your subs/exhaust is loud enuff then you dont have to worry about hearing rattles.

Conscript · 17 Oct 2017 at 09:40

PiKe said:
Soft plastics = less creaking init?

Housey said:
The most important aspect of any interior design is it doesn’t rattle!

mrk said:
Other than the what some others have said, over time hard plastic dashes will shift shape slightly from age and heat from the sun, and will naturally start to creak and rattle. This isn't an issue if you're buying a new car then moving on a few years later, but used car buyers will probably find this annoying.

I'm not always sure there's always a direct correlation between how hard the plastics are and how much they rattle. Our dear departed X-Trail, which was on 150K miles and 12 years old when we got rid of it, had an interior that you'd think was made out of recycled bin liners. However it still felt solidly built and I never heard a single peep out of it. Similarly, my sister's 52 plate Yaris has dash plastics that would make some people on here weep, yet whenever I drove it, I never noticed any creaking or rattling at all. Japanese interiors seems very utilitarian, but at least well screwed together in my experience.

The same can't be said of the French cars I've had experience of, where the quality of the dash plastics are awful, but it doesn't matter, because they soon fall off anyway. Remember in particular the time my dad came through the door holding the gearstick for his Citroen Picasso which had literally fallen off in his hand.

MikeTheNative · 17 Oct 2017 at 09:51

While driving his 206 my friend's accelerator pedal face fell off.

Jumper118 · 17 Oct 2017 at 10:30

MikeTheNative said:
While driving his 206 my friend's accelerator pedal face fell off.

So has the one on my 1997 audi a4 and that is built like a tank

wingman · 17 Oct 2017 at 10:49

Clarkey said:
Yes but he's still being snobby about it, car puts you in a mood because of the materials? Please...... talk about first world problems.

He never mentioned it's because of the materials, he quoted a post suggesting the problem was the interior noise and comfort, problems evident in a Spark and less so in an A6.

mjt · 17 Oct 2017 at 11:12

wingman said:
He never mentioned it's because of the materials, he quoted a post suggesting the problem was the interior noise and comfort, problems evident in a Spark and less so in an A6.

This. The materials in the Spark are surprisingly good! It's surprisingly well put together and there are no rattles (other than the exhaust that has rusted off its mount and the numberplate holder)
It's completely about the noise and comfort, which is indeed what I quoted.

MooMoo444 · 17 Oct 2017 at 11:13

Soft materials are less likely to make noise. Would prefer it!

flibbage0 · 17 Oct 2017 at 12:05

I find the hard plastic annoying, have to rest my knee on hard plastic whilst driving, would be nice to have soft touch plastic, also I believe soft touch plastics are better at absorbing sounds, less rattly etc

Can't wait to upgrade to something comfortable

Glanza · 17 Oct 2017 at 12:17

flibbage0 said:
I find the hard plastic annoying, have to rest my knee on hard plastic whilst driving, would be nice to have soft touch plastic, also I believe soft touch plastics are better at absorbing sounds, less rattly etc

Can't wait to upgrade to something comfortable

Subaru of all companies worked round that in the 90's by fitting a pad to rest your leg against on the side of the dash. Surprised other manufactures haven't done something similar.

mjt · 18 Oct 2017 at 09:37

wingman said:
He never mentioned it's because of the materials, he quoted a post suggesting the problem was the interior noise and comfort, problems evident in a Spark and less so in an A6.

The total lack of respect from other drivers when driving a crap car is also worth mentioning. This morning I had some woman in a Polo try to overtake me on the inside and cut in front, when I was already leaving an unsafe distance to the car in front on the motorway. I also had some bell drive at me when overtaking parked cars and middle-aged mummy in her Q5 not give way at a junction. All of this, coupled with a slow car with crazy long gear ratios and poor NVH levels just makes the morning commute unnecessarily unpleasant.