How important is a cars interior to you?
Discussion
Over the years I've been quick to criticise a cars interior rightly or wrongly. I found the interior in the E90 330d/330i fairly bland to sit it(well screwed together and decent enough materials though/plus a good driving position), and I have criticised the materials/general feeling of quality in the 370Z inside as well.
However I've currently got a 2023 diesel VW Tiguan R-Line as a loan car, and the interior in that is woeful for me with loads of crappy and scratchy plastics, plus it has a cloth interior too which doesn't help I think for me.
So with hindsight and experience now with the Tiguan, I feel that I've been far too over critical of the interior in the BMWs and the Nissan.
So how important is a cars interior to you? Given that the interior is the place that you spend the most time in, or does the quality of the interior make little very difference to you?
However I've currently got a 2023 diesel VW Tiguan R-Line as a loan car, and the interior in that is woeful for me with loads of crappy and scratchy plastics, plus it has a cloth interior too which doesn't help I think for me.
So with hindsight and experience now with the Tiguan, I feel that I've been far too over critical of the interior in the BMWs and the Nissan.
So how important is a cars interior to you? Given that the interior is the place that you spend the most time in, or does the quality of the interior make little very difference to you?
Depends on the price and age of the car.
If I'm buying a cheap car, then I can live with scratchy plastics. I couldn't live with a crap cloth/faux leather interior and a dated dash if I was paying £30k+ for a car.
I've always liked BMW interiors as being sufficiently put together but with fewer chintzy bits as some of it's rivals. Equally I liked the interior on my Audi S1. However, I wouldn't want that interior now if I was paying over £20k (e.g. Audi RSQ3 Mk1).
If the car however is designed to be a drive thrill (i.e. I'm not commuting in it), then the interior is largely irrelevant to me if it's got enough character (e.g. Lotus Elise, Caterham, Mini Cooper S R53).
If I'm buying a cheap car, then I can live with scratchy plastics. I couldn't live with a crap cloth/faux leather interior and a dated dash if I was paying £30k+ for a car.
I've always liked BMW interiors as being sufficiently put together but with fewer chintzy bits as some of it's rivals. Equally I liked the interior on my Audi S1. However, I wouldn't want that interior now if I was paying over £20k (e.g. Audi RSQ3 Mk1).
If the car however is designed to be a drive thrill (i.e. I'm not commuting in it), then the interior is largely irrelevant to me if it's got enough character (e.g. Lotus Elise, Caterham, Mini Cooper S R53).
It's not the most important thing but it is a factor. I had a 2016 M135i from new and the interior was acceptable but nothing else. The sketchy handling and interior were overlooked in favour of the character and that engine. I then went to a 540i xDrive which had a lovely interior. Much better materials, nicer tech and nicer place to sit. The ambient lighting and extra touches made it much more pleasant. I then went to a VW T6 Campervan and as expected, the interior was awful. Mine was a decent spec with heated window, air con, cruise control, etc. but the materials and feel of the thing felt like they were from the 90's.
After selling I wanted to get back into a BMW so got a 340i. Instead of getting an M3 or another 5 series, I decided to get something almost as good but pocket the £10 - £15k cash made from selling the camper to help fund a house move next year. As expected, the interior is better than the 1 but not as nice as the 5. It's more than adequate and not exactly cheap but despite being more fun and darty, I do miss the 5 series sometimes.
After selling I wanted to get back into a BMW so got a 340i. Instead of getting an M3 or another 5 series, I decided to get something almost as good but pocket the £10 - £15k cash made from selling the camper to help fund a house move next year. As expected, the interior is better than the 1 but not as nice as the 5. It's more than adequate and not exactly cheap but despite being more fun and darty, I do miss the 5 series sometimes.
TheOctaneAddict said:
Depends on what i'm using the car for.
If its a weekend/track car it can be made of biscuit tin plastics and held together with gum and I dont care.
I really like your style there, with you going for lightness! If its a weekend/track car it can be made of biscuit tin plastics and held together with gum and I dont care.
By my own admission I can be a bit of a fussy sod in fairness. I remember not getting on massively well with the interior in the Z4M, but that was mainly because it didn't quite feel BMW enough in comparison to other BMWs I'd had. It was far from terrible though don't get me wrong.
toon10 said:
It's not the most important thing but it is a factor. I had a 2016 M135i from new and the interior was acceptable but nothing else. The sketchy handling and interior were overlooked in favour of the character and that engine. I then went to a 540i xDrive which had a lovely interior. Much better materials, nicer tech and nicer place to sit. The ambient lighting and extra touches made it much more pleasant. I then went to a VW T6 Campervan and as expected, the interior was awful. Mine was a decent spec with heated window, air con, cruise control, etc. but the materials and feel of the thing felt like they were from the 90's.
After selling I wanted to get back into a BMW so got a 340i. Instead of getting an M3 or another 5 series, I decided to get something almost as good but pocket the £10 - £15k cash made from selling the camper to help fund a house move next year. As expected, the interior is better than the 1 but not as nice as the 5. It's more than adequate and not exactly cheap but despite being more fun and darty, I do miss the 5 series sometimes.
I've always had a soft spot for the 340i/440i, but there is definitely something very nice about a 5 series interior I reckon as you say. My brother in law had a 2017 530i, and I always enjoyed sitting in and driving that. After selling I wanted to get back into a BMW so got a 340i. Instead of getting an M3 or another 5 series, I decided to get something almost as good but pocket the £10 - £15k cash made from selling the camper to help fund a house move next year. As expected, the interior is better than the 1 but not as nice as the 5. It's more than adequate and not exactly cheap but despite being more fun and darty, I do miss the 5 series sometimes.
My Guilia is a bit hit and miss, love the actual design but some cheap plastics lower down which the Germans do also now.
Audi late 80’s early 90’s are the perfect mix of real quality and design.
Edit to add, I thought my E91 interior was horrendous build quality,bought as a stop gap so didn’t mind too much..
Audi late 80’s early 90’s are the perfect mix of real quality and design.
Edit to add, I thought my E91 interior was horrendous build quality,bought as a stop gap so didn’t mind too much..
If I can get comfortable, and it doesn't rattle, I'm generally pretty happy when it comes to interiors.
I sold an M140i for a Hyundai i30N, and everyone said I'd notice the downgrade in interior "quality", but I genuinely didn't care. Both were good enough, and I could drive either car all day without any aches or pains, and both were equally well screwed together and rattle free during the time I had with them.
My biggest moan when it comes to modern stuff is the migration of important controls onto touch screens which I still think is fundamentally unsafe, not to mention a bit of a double standard when you consider that most countries have laws that punish you heavily for interacting with a mobile device when on the move.
Touch screens work great when the car is stationary (and are amazing for phones and tablets), but once on the move in a car, physical buttons and switches can be used (given familiarity) without taking your eyes off the road because you can feel for them. Impossible with a touch screen icon or menu, which also is a moving target when a car is in motion.
One of the silly little things I really loved in the BMW was the row of numbered buttons under the iDrive screen which I initially presumed were just radio presets, but in fact could be assigned as shortcuts to all manner of iDrive functions. If you ran your finger across them lightly, it would give a "preview" of the function on the screen as well - a harder press would select it.
I sold an M140i for a Hyundai i30N, and everyone said I'd notice the downgrade in interior "quality", but I genuinely didn't care. Both were good enough, and I could drive either car all day without any aches or pains, and both were equally well screwed together and rattle free during the time I had with them.
My biggest moan when it comes to modern stuff is the migration of important controls onto touch screens which I still think is fundamentally unsafe, not to mention a bit of a double standard when you consider that most countries have laws that punish you heavily for interacting with a mobile device when on the move.
Touch screens work great when the car is stationary (and are amazing for phones and tablets), but once on the move in a car, physical buttons and switches can be used (given familiarity) without taking your eyes off the road because you can feel for them. Impossible with a touch screen icon or menu, which also is a moving target when a car is in motion.
One of the silly little things I really loved in the BMW was the row of numbered buttons under the iDrive screen which I initially presumed were just radio presets, but in fact could be assigned as shortcuts to all manner of iDrive functions. If you ran your finger across them lightly, it would give a "preview" of the function on the screen as well - a harder press would select it.
LeveledUp said:
Whilst my current cars interior isn't special and is quite dull.
Interiors enough to put me off a Ford for example, not a fan of their interior design.
I've been very disappointed with this VW for sure, however it is my first experience of one though. I think in my head I was expecting a much better quality interior because it is a german car. How wrong was I though? Interiors enough to put me off a Ford for example, not a fan of their interior design.
In my head I've always put VW above both Ford and Peugeot(because that was how it was years ago for me), however now I've experienced a modern VW, I definitely wouldn't put VW above either of those now though.
I could never buy a car that I didn't like the interior of, but I disagree with many people online what counts as a nice interior. What I really dislike is when there are too many different "design elements" and stuff in a interior. Example of this is the previous generation Mercedes interiors. I then much prefer the "minimalistic style" of some current cars.
I also naturally dislike cheap- and hard-feeling materials.
I also naturally dislike cheap- and hard-feeling materials.
We had a 15/65 Tiguan for a couple of years and I liked it, tbf.
It was replaced with a Disco Sport HSE though and that was a nice step up - heated leather etc.
We're now in a 16/66 Civic Tourer and I feared it would be too much of a comedown for me. But, other than perhaps the lack of heated seats on a day like today, it's been fine. In fact, I think I've decided it's one of the best seating positions I've had over the years.
Maybe it helps that I have my 986S these days. So that's got the fancier interior, albeit one that's almost a quarter of a century old. And the heated leather is negated by the fact that it's got a tent for a roof and a plastic rear window.
It was replaced with a Disco Sport HSE though and that was a nice step up - heated leather etc.
We're now in a 16/66 Civic Tourer and I feared it would be too much of a comedown for me. But, other than perhaps the lack of heated seats on a day like today, it's been fine. In fact, I think I've decided it's one of the best seating positions I've had over the years.
Maybe it helps that I have my 986S these days. So that's got the fancier interior, albeit one that's almost a quarter of a century old. And the heated leather is negated by the fact that it's got a tent for a roof and a plastic rear window.
PistonBroker said:
We had a 15/65 Tiguan for a couple of years and I liked it, tbf.
A chap I know is on his third Tiguan now(he has just picked a 2023 model up), and he really likes them too. I generally like driving loan cars because I'm car mad, and I like to get as much experience with different brands as I can. However I definitely wasn't expecting to be as disappointed with this Tiguan inside though. Although the engine is a bit rough, it does drive well enough I think though.
cerb4.5lee said:
Over the years I've been quick to criticise a cars interior rightly or wrongly. I found the interior in the E90 330d/330i fairly bland to sit it(well screwed together and decent enough materials though/plus a good driving position),
One thing which really bugged me about the E90 was the Seats. I had leather, but the model was only SE, but even the MSport seats weren't anything to write home about. Never ever felt like I sat in the seats of both, but rather on it. With the Exception of the 5 Series or "Posher" or the True M cars, I always found the BMW Seats were a bit meh from 2005 onwards.The Leather seats I have in my Scirocco however, I absolutely love. And also loved the baseball interior of my old Mk1 TT. Is that something which VW Group do particularly well? I'm yet to sit in an uncomfortable VW Group seat.
Other than the seats, not much else bugs me about interiors providing the controls are ergonomically acceptable. I get what you say about you're in the car all the time so want it to be nice, but I'm barely going around touching all the plastics all the time and looking at stuff all the time. I'm looking out the windscreen.
So for me, Seats need to be comfortable and preferably heated leather, a comfy steering wheel and I'm set.
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