When was the peak of automotive interior design, function, and quality ?
Posted by Specialist_Heron_986@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 69 comments
IMO, it's the "small screen" error of the mid-to-late 2010's when infotainment screens averaged 5 to 8 inches; large enough for phone mirroring and a bit of tech while gauges and controls were still mostly analogue. Also, interior quality and storage options were no worse than decent for most models.
SemperBavaria@reddit
Definitely the 90s
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
2015 plus or minus a couple years. All cars had screens and CarPlay. They were well integrated into the dash and didn’t look like an iPad tacked on at the end. Nearly all buttons were still physical. Memory and heated cooled seats. Nearly all cars had a backup camera. Almost every feature you want in a modern car was included but all the buttons and gauges were still physical
crypticcamelion@reddit
Exept that I prefer a few years before were the phone could connect for music and handsfree but was not needed.
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
I don’t know of a single car where a phone is “needed” even today
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
It's not needed in any way, shape, or form but damn if folks don't flip the hell out if a vehicle doesn't have some stupid "feature" like CarPlay or whatever now.
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
Yeah I hate it when I don’t have to pull out a paper map! Also everyone loved using a navigation system that hasn’t been updated in 10 years.
What about power steering? Stupid ass “feature” that isn’t actually 100% necessary. Just more shit to break!
Go yell at clouds old man
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
Piss off young punk.
I literally don't use navigation, bluetooth, and don't use my phone for playing music either. Why? Don't use it because I don't care. It provides nothing useful for me. I'm busy actually driving or in most cases riding my motorcycle. Don't have time for shit like that. I'm paying attention so I don't get hit by all the waterheads paying more attention to the inside of their vehicle instead the outside of it.
And honestly I could give a fuck less if a vehicle has power steering or not. It's literally not needed if you know how to drive a vehicle that doesn't have it. If it does have it, great I suppose, but it's certainly not "needed".
endlessnamelesskat@reddit
While you’re at it, why not get rid of the AC and heating in your car? It’s not like you need it. If you’re hot just roll down the windows. If you’re cold just bring a jacket. Fuck it, get rid of the upholstery on your seats. Either put a blanket over the bare skeleton of your seat or quit being a pansy and raw dog it. Go on ahead and knock the mirrors off your motorcycle and just turn your head.
Fuck having anything that makes life easier or more enjoyable when you could brag about how tough you are
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
Doesn't have anything to do with being "tough".
A/C... I don't use it in my vehicle even though it has it. Heat, well, I ride year round as my motorcycle is my main source of transportation. I do wear a jacket, YEAR ROUND because it offers protection against road rash. You may not be aware of this but pavement and skin don't tend to mix well together.
As far as mirrors, sure I use them but I ALSO turn my head. It's more effective actually. But if you don't ride, I wouldn't expect you understand.
As far as riding, it is enjoyable... but you have all the people out there who don't ride and don't pay attention as is and pay even less attention to riders. It's also a convenient, easier, and cheaper way to get from point A to point B.
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
You couldn’t give a fuck less is what you meant to say. Saying you could give a fuck less means that you do care otherwise you couldn’t care less. Anyway, I’ve gotten off track, the real message is no one gives a fuck about what you think
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
I couldn't give a fuck more or give a fuck less one way or the other because I don't give a fuck period if it has it or doesn't.
And no one is really giving a rat's ass about your opinion, views, or thoughts either.
Franndly@reddit
All other subreddits have posts like this ”what’s the best phone mount?”
Lumpy_Secretary_6128@reddit
Not exactly true in 2015. Most cars offered some type of screen but carplay was one year old at that point and many vehicles, including my CRV EX (which has the touch screen) are not able to support it let alone come with it. Also the UI on a lot of this period's cars sucked.
mxracer888@reddit
My wife's 2016 4runner has a screen and does not have any carplay/Android Auto.
My dad's 2019 Mercedes AMG has no carplay/android auto and also has, without a doubt, the worst fucking infotainment system UX on planet earth. Every time I get into that POS it takes like 30 mins for me to figure out how to get BT working on it.
The best car is definitely mid90s to mid 00s and if you really need Carplay/Android you just get a nice pioneer deck and slap it on in the vehicle
Firm_Mycologist9319@reddit
I have two cars, built 21 years apart. One is full digital dash, the other is pure analog. I love them both. Anything in the middle just feels more like a compromised mashup than a best of both.
SteveHofmeyr@reddit
Golf 7.5
Lordofpineapples@reddit
Mid late 90s to early 2000s
marcbrtn4@reddit
Yep! After ODB II, before ADAS
2878sailnumber4889@reddit
Preferably still with din or double din radios so it's easy to upgrade
jckipps@reddit
Personally I would go with 1990s. The controls were still thoroughly analog, and as such had been fine-tuned over the previous forty years.
By the early 2000s, we were seeing a lot more electronic control of dashboard functions, so the manufacturers were changing things up just to see if certain button and knob configurations would work better. Most of those changes were a net negative.
I've seldom driven older Toyotas myself, but others have told me that 1990s Toyota pickups had the dash controls dialed in to perfection.
IKnewThisYearsAgo@reddit
I agree with you, except for the way cruise control was implemented, Coast-Resume on the stalk was awkward to use, compared to incrementing speed up and down with steering wheel buttons, like we have now.
2878sailnumber4889@reddit
How so? I've got a 90s car with cruise control on a stall and it's pull towards you to set/ reset, pull and hold to coast, and the push up to accelerate and push down to deceleratate and if you hold on those functions it will keep doing it.
Aggravating-Rush9029@reddit
Did they not have speed up slow down by tilting the cruise control stalk? I find that better than buttons and early 00's I drove had it like that.
Thuraash@reddit
Yes. That was how Toyota did it.
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
My '88 GMC S15 Jimmy has the resume function on the stalk. A slide switch to turn on, to set you slid a little farther and held until you felt the pedal lower from under your foot, then you'd release the slide. To increase speed while in cruise you'd just slide and release the switch. It'd increase by 1 or 2 MPH with each slide and release. To resume there's a button on the end of the stalk. As long as the slide switch was in the on position, if you touched the brakes it would deactivate the cruise, to resume you just pushed and held the button on end until the system took back over.
IKnewThisYearsAgo@reddit
That does sound good, but the cars I am familiar had a slide switch on the turn signal stalk. VW products.
Aggravating-Rush9029@reddit
I think that was just a weird VW thing, I had a 03 golf and remember it being weird then too.
agingcausescancer@reddit
Once activated those two buttons were the speed up and down buttons
JSTootell@reddit
Ford always had CC on the steering wheel.
It doesn't work on my van...but it's there 😂
CaptainHubble@reddit
Citroen in the 90s blew my mind
mr_lockwork@reddit
Yeah the 90s had just the right amount of analog. I will say the cars that I found are the most comfortable to ride in as a passenger are the 70s boats/land yachts imo.
theJayonnaise@reddit
80s and 90s Saab's Dimming the dash to just the speed and fuel with the entire cab dark was sublime. Flying along at night felt just so right
Askada@reddit
automotive in general peaked in 90s and interiors are no exception
VegaGT-VZ@reddit
Answers to this question are kind of tough because Id wager a lot of people are gonna point to times they either weren't alive or driving
And nobody on Reddit has been alive and driving for the entirety of the existence of the automobile
For cars Ive driven/experienced (I have been driving since 2000) I honestly like current cars. Big screens make phone mirroring better; the tacked on tablet puts the screen in easy reach and line of sight of the road; turbos/hybrids/EVs are more relaxing to drive than NA engines you have to wind up to get going. Only place I like to rev out is the race track.
Quality wise its tough to say.... its always changing brand to brand. I think mainstream cars have improved; 2 generations ago the Civic was a cost cut tin can, now its damn near a luxury car by comparison with more reliability. A lot of cars/engines havent changed much mechanically over the last decade or so so it's dubious to say they'll be significantly less reliable. I just think theres way too much doom and gloom about modern cars in the enthusiast space, enthusiasts have damn near become nihilistic.
VW-MB-AMC@reddit
In my opinion Mercedes found a perfect recipe here.
ActuaryFew6884@reddit
About 1992
bflave@reddit
The 80’s velvety bench seats were pretty hard to beat.
lunchbox651@reddit
1970s.
Everything existed for a purpose. There wasn't superfluous switches and buttons. No "infotainment".
The best part is, if you get a car from that era now, you can add in anything you want so it's only what you need.
husbandoftheyear2028@reddit
Small screen era is best for me. As long as the HVAC controls are physical and there's a volume knob, it's all good. One of my favorite parts about the Porsche 718. They kept that interior layout til 2025!
July_is_cool@reddit
Volkswagens up until about 1968 had metal dashboards with the same paint as the exterior. That was pretty cool, but then the safety standards came along and required padded dashes, and plastic took over.
Leather-Hotel-7310@reddit
80’s for domestic and 90’s for Japanese.
Those 80’s Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks with the super plush seats and power everything before it was common in other cars were great. My dad had a beat up old 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham that he bought in the early 2000’s and it was like a Rolls Royce inside, it had a way more luxurious interior than even all the modern luxury cars of the time.
My all time favourite is 90’s Japanese luxury cars though. An LS400 with a bunch of woodgrain, buttons everywhere and nice plush beige leather seats was peak interior design.
OpinionofanAH@reddit
The ball chiller vent in the 90s Chevy trucks was pretty great.
dead_dw4rf@reddit
My 2021 silverado still has all physical button / knob controls for non infotainment purposes.
thatvhstapeguy@reddit
1986-1995 Ford Taurus. One of the few cars where the manufacturer actually thought about the interior function and form
Ok_Today_475@reddit
My heart wants to say 90s cars, but honestly I love my ‘16 f150s interior with the console. It has just enough to be modern doesn’t have a giant screen that’s distracting me as I drive. Yeah it has a lot of computerized shit but everything does.
mds818@reddit
Mid-late 2000s, anything else is just wrong
Recent_Permit2653@reddit
90s.
Uncluttered. Smooth lines. And lots of visibility.
By 2010 I’d say there were actually more hard plastics, and lots of cheesy piano black or plastic “metal” inserts, etc. It feels like they tried to make interiors look a certain way, but the cost was that the interiors actually are made more cheaply.
RickySlayer9@reddit
The late 90s to early 2000s
jrileyy229@reddit
Phone mirroring???? No
Reejerey1@reddit
He means CarPlay, which is huge. My 2017 Chevy truck is so much easier to use Apple Music with than my 2010 Chevy truck was.
jrileyy229@reddit
I guess... Not very clear on what his point is... There still wasn't anything analog about a 2017 era truck. Gauge Clusters were still digital... But I suppose if you just mean it's a physical needle that moves over a static backdrop... instead of a digital needle on a screen.. that maybe you call that analog if you don't know the difference? I don't really see how that matters to anyone... It's a needle that gives you information that you don't touch or interact with, I don't see how the medium matters.
On physical buttons (which are still digital and not analog) instead of everything in screen menus, sure, I guess that's fair... That's a common complaint, but it begs the question... Why did you buy the bloody car in the first place? Some cars are worse than others... For the vast majority of people, you chose your car that you bought... So why did you not choose something different?
Of course, car play didn't even exist in 2010... And it wasn't until around 16/17 when it hit mass adoption... So I'm sure in your 2010 rig you were using basic Bluetooth or aux.
Reejerey1@reddit
I was on Bluetooth for calls, but had to aux for music and control from my phone. Gauges for the most part haven’t been analog since the 90’s, if you define digital as being controlled by the ecu and not direct input from the sensor. My 17 still has physical knobs for hvac, and for radio, but those haven’t been analog since the 90’s/early 00’s either, just a signal input to a computer somewhere.
As far as why buy it if you don’t like the lack of “insert option/feature here”
If you need a modern truck, and all 3 manufacturers don’t offer physical buttons/knobs, then you don’t get physical buttons/knobs.
jrileyy229@reddit
Correct, that's my point... Gauges on a screen you can set them however you want... That's not a bad thing... That's not a downgrade over a needle that moves and gives you no options to change it... You don't have tactile interact with gauges... It should be all computer screen.
And yes, physical knobs but they're still digital... And I understand some brands have gone too far, so don't buy that car. If you bought it on your own free will, then don't complain about it with pitchforks.
And you're telling me all 3 brands are screen only? Because my 21 f150 has a big ass all screen gauge cluster that is zero issues .. and a big ass center screen.. with a load of knobs and buttons under the screen, and more buttons on the steering wheel... And the 2026s do as well... And a 2026 civic has the same stuff... All screen gauge, big center screen, bunch of buttons and knobs for HVAC, bunch of buttons on the steering wheel for multimedia and nav.. as does a 2025 VW Jetta.
I guess I'm just missing something, what cars are these people buying that truly requires the screen for EVERYTHING... Other than a Tesla?
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
Sorry but I'll take a set of ACTUAL needles for my gauge cluster any day of the week and twice on Sunday over some ugly ass screen representation of them.
It's fine that they're moved by little stepper motors, but at least they're real needles. And I don't mean the kind that sweep when you turn the ignition on. That's rather irritating and putting uneeded wear on the motors.
Not a fan of big screens in dash period. Not for radio, HVAC, anything. All the radio needs to display is the time and the station. I don't need a screen to tell me my heat or A/C is exactly at 70 degrees and that the fan is moving exactly 'X' amount of CFMs or some digital representation of OFF, Lo, 2, 3, Hi. A simple, tactile detent for each spot is fine. Want it hotter or cooler, slide or turn a button/knob. No need to complicate stuff.
jrileyy229@reddit
But you have to understand that everyone is different... A screen allows everyone to have what they want, how they want it.
There no downside to a needle on a screen other than being stubborn. If you have a legitimate reason, I'm all ears.
You're taking it way off the deep end and wanting to go back to the 90s.
My point is simply that the mob has their pitchforks out that "everything is in a dumb screen buried in 7 menus"... Hasn't been my experience in some of the most popular consumer cars out there. They all have basic HVAC functions under the screen in actual buttons and rotary knobs. They all have radio and infotainment and nav buttons right on the steering wheel.
I fail to see what you have to do to "constantly be trying to navigate the screen menus while driving"
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
A screen a can bite my shiny metal a. I don't like them. Plain and simple.
Digital representation of gauges bothers my eyes. Is that enough of a legit reason for you? They are literally harder on my vision compared to an actual, physical needle. My wife had a 2014 Sonota with actual needles but I hated that thing at night because of the blue back lighting they used. The white that's used and the colors used in basically everything now are actually too sharp for me.
Absolutely I'd love to go back to the mid '90s/early '00s as far as interior gauges and dash control layouts. Way simplier and intuitive to use without having to look at anything.
I don't use navigation or infotainment in stuff that has it. I don't link my phone up either as I don't use it for music or GPS. I'm busy driving or in most cases on my motorcycle and don't need to be fiddling with other stuff so I'm not sure what you mean about "having to navigate a bunch of menus while driving" since I literally don't do that.
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
CarPlay is the second best convenience feature to ever by put in a car besides keyless entry with push start
jrileyy229@reddit
I agree, those are all great... That isn't phone mirroring... No brand I'm aware of offers that.. it's illegal I believe... But you can get some third party hacking modules and do it
Fickle_Finger2974@reddit
Everyone else here understood phone mirroring to be CarPlay.
jrileyy229@reddit
I'm an android guy, perhaps thats Apple verbiage... I/we would never say mirroring when talking android auto
pcny54@reddit
I'd combine today's Genesis GV70 interior minus the orange seat belts with the interior quality of the 2011 Lexus LS 460. That does not entirely answer your question. But there is peak for quality and peak for innovation. Each one's perfect in thier own way. Combined.. the perfect car for me.
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
I dunno about quality exactly but as far as design and functionality... but mid '90s to early '00s.
lucidexium@reddit
90s. Very simple and mostly predictable across brands. If you wanted to do something fancy throw in a head unit.
Working_Strength419@reddit
Prob right before covid hit in 2019-2020
rhb4n8@reddit
Early 90s Mercedes
earlgray79@reddit
BMWs from the 1999-2005 era were the peak of auto-dom form and function.
unpolire@reddit
With cars from most of the generations in my collection, the cars from the 1980s combined solid ergonomics and comfort with analog instrumentation and quality materials. Real wood, fine leather, and wool carpets.
Ok-Ad8998@reddit
Late 90s to early 2000s were the peak of car design, as far as trouble-free operation without excessive electronic crap. But that didn't extend to interiors, which were bland shades of gray plastic (or weird fuzzy stuff) with very little trim. Style is back with a lot of cool interiors, but I hate the cars they are in.
slicebucket@reddit
I still feel like we are near the peak of interior quality & design. However, many manufacturers are still trying to figure out how to integrate "screen-tech" in a pleasing yet functional way. Slapping an IPad on the dash and removing physical controls is just a small valley in an otherwise upward trend.