What happened to modern interiors? Why are they mostly dull?

[Wadeski]

The 996/986 interior, for all its 90s aesthetic criticism, wears extremely well. It certainly isnt as plush as the 997 but its so hardwearing it looks far better than the era-equivalent BMW or Audi.

[ORD]

chrispmartha said:

Nah you're wrong ;-)

you think this



is nicer than this?

Yeah. By a mile. 991 has an expanse of dash that looks like something from an SUV, and that transmission tunnel covered in buttons looks like something out of a spaceship or an SUV. What's that? It's the same as the Cayenne? Oh. That explains it!

[pits]

Wadeski said:

The 996/986 interior, for all its 90s aesthetic criticism, wears extremely well. It certainly isnt as plush as the 997 but its so hardwearing it looks far better than the era-equivalent BMW or Audi.

No it really doesn't, for starters it looks like they designed the dashboard, put it into production made 100 of them before someone realised that they hadn't designed clocks, and had nowhere to mount them so just got a hot glue gun out and stuck some on top, honestly it looks like it should have a Subaru badge on the wheel



era equivalent BMW E39, you want to tell me that the Porsche interior above looks far better than this?

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:57

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:58

[Who me ?]

I've never fathomed out why cars quoted to be "FAMILY" cars come with light coloured interiors. I did ask one salesman to get the reply "customers want it". Personally I can't see why. IT'S A FAMILY CAR. So why not design it to cope with a typical family( not one from a house with a nanny etc), where kids get dirty ,the car carries the family pet( not in the rear space outside the crumple zone), and kids will have dirty shoes/hands etc and show no respect for property.

[bearman68]

Chris Type R said:

For me there's a tipping point - if you have to take your eyes off the road to find a button, then there are too many.

Don't talk to me about radios.... Clarkson had it right. 4 buttons. On/Off Volume. Preset Radio 2 and Radio 4. Sorted.

[ORD]

pits said:

No it really doesn't, for starters it looks like they designed the dashboard, put it into production made 100 of them before someone realised that they hadn't designed clocks, and had nowhere to mount them so just got a hot glue gun out and stuck some on top, honestly it looks like it should have a Subaru badge on the wheel



era equivalent BMW E39, you want to tell me that the Porsche interior above looks far better than this?

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:57

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:58

The Porker interiors always look far better in the flesh. The simplicity is very attractive close up, whereas that kind of faux luxury in the BMW grates quite quickly. It also ages badly.
(That E39 looks better than the current 3er, though - the inferior on my wife's car is ergonomically very good but otherwise devoid of any real merit. At best, it's inoffensive.)

[wobert]

Justin Case said:

No doubt the dashes and steering wheels are designed to meet safety requirements, but why is the rest of the interior so often dingy and depressing and does anyone actually choose a black headlining or just have it thrust on them? My car has a black leather interior which I hate, yet I've seen silver BMWs with burgundy upholstery and modern Jaguars in dark metallics with cream interiors and they look stunning. As for white Alfa Romeos with tan upholstery, an unbeatable combination; I lust after one.

When speccing my current company car, I deliberately went for a light interior to avoid sitting in a coal bunker.



14 months on, it's wearing well, I just give a wipe down with leather conditioner every couple of months to remove any dirty spots.

Went for contrast with the exterior too....

[sly fox]

chrispmartha said:

By any standard that is an absolute shocker of a dashboard. An apocalypse in plastic. Designers were obviously into organic shapes at that time.
Looks like someone burned down a Toys R Us and went into the car facia business. The only acceptable thing in that picture is the steering wheel.

[gizlaroc]

[quote=Who me ?]I've never fathomed out why cars quoted to be "FAMILY" cars come with light coloured interiors. I did ask one salesman to get the reply "customers want it". Personally I can't see why. IT'S A FAMILY CAR. So why not design it to cope with a typical family( not one from a house with a nanny etc), where kids get dirty ,the car carries the family pet( not in the rear space outside the crumple zone), and kids will have dirty shoes/hands etc and show no respect for property.
[/quote]


Because lighter interiors are far easier to keep looking good than black interiors, which show every single bit of dirt and dust.

[pits]

ORD said:

pits said:

No it really doesn't, for starters it looks like they designed the dashboard, put it into production made 100 of them before someone realised that they hadn't designed clocks, and had nowhere to mount them so just got a hot glue gun out and stuck some on top, honestly it looks like it should have a Subaru badge on the wheel



era equivalent BMW E39, you want to tell me that the Porsche interior above looks far better than this?

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:57

Edited by pits on Wednesday 26th August 21:58

The Porker interiors always look far better in the flesh. The simplicity is very attractive close up, whereas that kind of faux luxury in the BMW grates quite quickly. It also ages badly.
(That E39 looks better than the current 3er, though - the inferior on my wife's car is ergonomically very good but otherwise devoid of any real merit. At best, it's inoffensive.)

The Porker interiors look just as bad in the flesh as they do in the pictures, they are horrific, seriously that is bordering just past Subaru and onto American interior, simplicity is another word for cheap and nasty.
You have a set of Church Brogues, they are a masterpiece in handcrafted design and comfort, then you stand there and say "I prefer Japanese Geta's the simplicity is very attractive" no, no, that is three blocks of would stuck together and disproportioned, like a Porsche interior.

Sorry but it just doesn't work, the Porsche interior is bleurgh, lol

[poing]

As others, lets compare like with like here.

Cortina vs Mondeo, I know which I prefer but obviously it's personal taste. The new one has a lot more buttons but it has a lot more toys so of course it has more buttons.

[xRIEx]

dbdb said:

lostkiwi said:

berlintaxi said:

Well how about comparing apples with apples for a kick off, the current SL dash, not at all boring in my opinion;



It's typical 300BHP trolling pick 2 extremes to suit your argument.

They must have got a job lot of buttons....

It really is a full-on Christmas tree of a dash. It is so fussy it is hard to look at.

Agreed. For a high end car of a premium brand, that looks really tacky.

[xRIEx]

pits said:

honestly it looks like it should have a Subaru badge on the wheel

As an Impreza owner, I completely agree. "Does the job" is about the best description you can apply to it and the Porsche interior.

[MrBarry123]

Modern interiors boring?

Nah, don't believe that.

My car has blue needles. Blue fking needles!!!!!

[xRIEx]

MrBarry123 said:

Modern interiors boring?

Nah, don't believe that.

My car has blue needles. Blue fking needles!!!!!

Do they change colour as you go faster?

[SuperHangOn]

poing said:

As others, lets compare like with like here.

Cortina vs Mondeo, I know which I prefer but obviously it's personal taste. The new one has a lot more buttons but it has a lot more toys so of course it has more buttons.

Have ford ever managed to design a pleasant interior?

I can't recall one.

The lowest point was surely the mk1 focus, especially in ghia trim with the nasty faux wood centre console. Eugh.

[jhonn]

Audi Mk1 TT and (early) Range Rover L322 had classy interiors; nice places to be.

Sorry, no photos - too lazy/inept.

[Digby]

Because you either want...



Or you like...



You enjoy...



Or prefer...



Modern to me = too clinical & devoid of character.You can look and look away again and not have missed much.

Old = warm and welcoming with a certain charm that will keep your attention as your eyes find new things to admire.

[MrBarry123]

xRIEx said:

Do they change colour as you go faster?

Alas, they do not.

[kambites]

chrispmartha said:

Nah you're wrong ;-)

you think this



is nicer than this?

In those examples, the newer one looks better to me simply because it isn't black. If you put them both in black, they'd both look like similarly ugly seas of black plastic. I'm sure they do the job, but I don't really see how they're any nicer to look at than any other interior which is a sea of monochrome plastic.

I guess Porsche will leather-trim the dashboard for you if you're willing to pay for it?

Edited by kambites on Thursday 27th August 09:00