By Kamil Kaluski
We focus a lot on the exterior design of cars, but the truth is that we spend most of our time with cars, inside our cars (hopefully, right?). I therefore rate interior design to be vastly more important than exterior design. Be it comfort or ergonomics, a good interior is not easy to design. Further adding to design challenges is the money factor; doing something well and cheaply is not easy.
Further to this, modern vehicle interior designs are undergoing many changes. Automakers are adding screens and removing buttons and knobs. But some are retaining some button and some knobs. Some still use analog gauges, some use screen exclusively. Many cars have optional head-up displays. Some are trying to integrate gesture or voice controls with various levels of success.
Another key factor in vehicle design is smartphone integration. Apple CarPlay is a thing, but automakers are very nervous about giving any vehicle control to a device that they have no control over.
So, today I ask – what makes a great interior? Is it the materials? The ergonomics? The design? The seats? The space? Is it all of the above?
Here are some design details of a Genesis G80. I thought that this design was truly excellent from all perspectives. But it does come at a price.
Jeff Glucker
to me it’s the materials. every new car has a substantially better “feel” than cars as recent as 15-20 years ago – the interiors are just plain better, even if i don’t like where the electronics have gone. nothing rattles, nothing squeaks, road noise is well damped. so a great interior these days has really nice materials everywhere, to match the vibes. good leather on the seats, none of that chintzy silver painted or piano black plastic, cast aluminum touch points, real wood grain trim, these are the things that stand out to me as what a high-quality car should have in 2025. and a lot of them do! i recently rented a 2012-ish Nissan Versa from turo, and i was amazed at how much cheaper it feels than today’s rental car drivel.
and of course, less touchscreen is more better. but we all know that, and it seems like carmakers are catching on. i recently gave a ride to my friend and his fiancee, neither a car enthusiast by any means, in my 1998 BMW. she commented that the button-slathered dashboard is “how cars should be”. when the normies are on board with putting the buttons back, the writing is on the wall. i believe the next generation of interiors will be a step in the right direction.