America’s Affordable Auto Brands Lagging Behind in Interior Design

Luxury automaker Lincoln is currently working very hard to make its new Continental a headlining premium vehicle, all while the company prepares for the next generation of the massive Navigator to arrive.

While most luxury vehicle manufacturers are focusing on sportiness, Lincoln is giving more thought to product design. Above all else, their efforts are centred on creating refined interiors.

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Cadillac is also going to great lengths to produce pleasant cabins, even though they’re also hoping to beat BMW for dynamism—and doing a pretty good job of it, too.

While American luxury brands are getting their design game on, the country’s more affordable automakers are still lagging behind on interior design.

Take Ford, for example. Their current models feature plastic panels laid out simply, with a node in the middle for the screen that looks like a last-minute add-on. There are tons of buttons and controls that would look much better reorganized in a more harmonious unit.

Compare that with Volkswagen, where the passenger compartments are very refined, balancing form and function much like IKEA furniture. Hyundai applies the same logic and organization, especially in the Elantra.

In an era when cars are increasingly like computers, they’ve got to come with flawless interfaces. Long gone are the days when drivers connected with vehicles through the steering wheel and pedals only. Today, drivers interact with their car via the dashboard, meaning that, much like telephones, their design is more important than ever.