ward's best interiors - 2010

[asahai69]

Originally Posted by JiggaZed

LOL, he's all proud cause he's got a Chrysler....

last time i checked. chrysler isnt on the list. why should i be proud you dummy

[Amaru]

Originally Posted by Leopold Stotch

i agree, the the outback and the equinox have nice interiors. although i'm not too fond of the seats in the equinox.

I agree about the Equinox seats, but the pic shows one without leather, which isn't a fair comparison. Equinox with leather is better:



For its price range, it's a nice interior.

Also, still in a reasonable price range, most Ford interiors have come a looonnnggg way:





Not fair to say the Volvo and Mazda lack compared to the Lexus, Porsche, M-B, etc... at least not in materials/quality.

Design-wise, I think the keys are to be simple and minimalist, but still modern-looking. I also agree with the poster who said it's important to feel as though the car "wraps around you". I hate center consoles that sink away from the driver at the bottom (think G3 Integras, e9X BMW's, etc).

For that reason, although many disagree, I happen to prefer the e46 interior to the new BMW interiors...



The ergonomics are exceptional. My only complaint is the number of buttons associated with the climate control system.

[Eff-1]

While BMW interiors have always been clean looking, professional and amazing quality, they will always have one fatal flaw in my books: user friendliness and simple intuition.

Never have I ever had to refer to the owner's manual so much as in the E90. I swear every week my parents will ask me "what does that light mean, what does that sound mean, what does that symbol mean? The technology may be impressive, but it's certainly not simple enough for the average person. Something simple as adjusting the brighness of the instrument panel requires several buttons to navigate several menus that aren't easy to figure out if you were a new user. What's wrong with the litle manual dial hidden in the corner of the cluster? Secondly, all the buttons are often the same size and shape. It's a challenge to even find the button and turn on the rear defroster without a high probability of having to take your eyes off the road.

With Honda, Acura, Toyota, Mazda or any Japanese brand, never ever ever was that the case. Even GM, once you play around with it for a minute or two, it's easy as pie to operate all the features and systems. Can't say I have any experience with Ford.

[hk20000]

2010 awards as in MY 2010 then I assume. BMW systems are designed too much like the interface of a cellphone.... Which is really thumbs down. You aren't supposed to operate a cellphone when driving coz it's distracting, using the same logic I'm not supposed to even touch the controls of a BMW then.

[Amaru]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

While BMW interiors have always been clean looking, professional and amazing quality, they will always have one fatal flaw in my books: user friendliness and simple intuition.

Never have I ever had to refer to the owner's manual so much as in the E90. I swear every week my parents will ask me "what does that light mean, what does that sound mean, what does that symbol mean? The technology may be impressive, but it's certainly not simple enough for the average person. Something simple as adjusting the brighness of the instrument panel requires several buttons to navigate several menus that aren't easy to figure out if you were a new user. What's wrong with the litle manual dial hidden in the corner of the cluster? Secondly, all the buttons are often the same size and shape. It's a challenge to even find the button and turn on the rear defroster without a high probability of having to take your eyes off the road.

With Honda, Acura, Toyota, Mazda or any Japanese brand, never ever ever was that the case. Even GM, once you play around with it for a minute or two, it's easy as pie to operate all the features and systems. Can't say I have any experience with Ford.

This has been a common complaint with E90/E60/E86/etc... basically everything since the mainstream introduction of iDrive in the early 2000's. What year is your E90? I have not used the system extensively enough to have my own complaints, but I've heard the newest models are significantly better. Obviously the iDrive is only part of the problem but a more-user friendly interface will improve the overall experience of the interior.

Thankfully, the e46 does not have the problem of being overcomplicated (aside from perhaps the climate control system). However your complaint of all the buttons being the same shape/size does definitely ring true... BMW has always shunned the use of knobs - it helps the dash look great, but it's not user-friendly at all. To change the cabin temperature from 30 degrees to 20 degrees, for example, requires pressing the "down" button 20 times in a row!

Luxury car manufacturers are facing serious challenges when it comes to interior design... people like us will complain if there are too many buttons, and then complain if they take away all the buttons and make a single iDrive system to control everything. As the number and complexity of features increases, so too does the amount of buttons or functions required to operate them all. If I were designing an interior, I'd have a simple philosophy in mind: keep all the commonly-used functions in traditional buttons and knobs, and hide away all the other crap in the iDrive or similar system.

Basic climate control and audio functions should be easy to reach and control without taking your eyes off the road. Same goes for other basics like cruise control, lighting, wiper functions, mirrors, etc should all be manual controls... everything else can be digitized, assuming the interface is user-friendly enough. That isn't rocket science, though, and I'm sure all manufacturers are trying to perfect it. BMW is getting closer with each model year. (Looking at the pics in the original post, I'd say the Volvo is probably pretty intuitive for the most part... if they could fix the wood grain and the steering wheel it might be the most functional interior?).

My biggest pet peeve is manufacturers that try to make their interiors look ultra-modern. Honda has been doing this on and off for a while, but especially with their latest generation. The Civic and CSX look like lunar landing units inside (no offense to anyone who owns one)...



Honestly, what the fuck is that? It's so modern and digital that it ends up looking like a cheap and try-hard attempt at being "cool".... even though it's probably very high quality.

Second pet peeve is attempts at "retro"... sorry, no-one gives a damn about whether or not their car's interior "hints at previous models"... just make it pleasant and functional, please. Looking at it again, that Camaro interior is one of the ugliest I've ever seen. Even if I liked the rest of the car (and I definitely do not), the interior would prevent me from buying it.

Last thought: how do people not demand high quality, pleasant, aesthetically pleasing interiors in every single car they buy? I'd rather drive a car with ugly exterior styling and a beautiful interior than the opposite. You have to sit in your car every single day, and if the interior sucks, the driving experience is seriously compromised on a day-to-day basis...

[hk20000]

how come they don't compare anything in the super expensive category??

[nns]

I've always hated BMW's dash layout. I call the style the "park bench", because everything flows from leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeft to riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight - lateral. The new S-class adopted the same ugly look.


S-Class:


I prefer dash layouts that flow from top to bottom. 08 TL, 08 RL, IS250, etc. The M56 posted above is a nice example. 2008 E-Class:

[godwin]

Because most automotive magazines request cars to be submitted and evaluated. Most "super expensive category" manufacturers don't have the cars for simple things automotive test drives, much less pedantic things like best interior.

Not to mention Wards evaluation is for cars that are new for 2010.

Originally Posted by hk20000

how come they don't compare anything in the super expensive category??