I hate this trend
Do people actually like the tablet taped on the dash look? VW released the facelifted Jetta, and it seems like the center infotainment screen is literally the same size as the first model year, but now it’s integrated worse.
Why would VW even do this? Why is any manufacturer going with this awful afterthought look?
by Fifthcell
3 Comments
The big touchscreen interface is cheap and easy and doesn’t have very many parts. The Jetta is an economy car. It also looks blingy and fancy tech to people who are upgrading from very old cars.
Personally, it looks like a holdover that will probably be replaced later. They probably couldn’t get the parts for the new infotainment design they wanted in time and are re-using the old one. It may change next year.
I’m a professional designer, and I like the “tablet” look. It has a lot of benefits in giving the designers more flexibility to design the form of the dash. The dash doesn’t have to be a big monolithic volume to encapsulate the screen. By separating the form of the screen, the dash can be thinner and look lighter, and have a form that isn’t driven by the screen. It also allows you to bring the screen more vertical and closer to the driver, so that a large touch screen remains fully within reach, without needing to make the entire dashboard massive.
There are other factors as well, but it’s certainly not a matter of reusing old parts or doing this as a half-measure, like another commenter mentioned. This is a conscious approach taken for clear benefits in interior packaging and ergonomics.
I’m impatiently waiting for the revolutionary manufacturer to make a car without the centre screen.
It’s not needed now that the gauge clusters are fully customizable displays.
They can’t be touched and that’s a good thing.
The centre can now have physical controls and good vents.