The similarities between interiors in cars of the same brand are becoming higher and higher!
Similar Looking Car Interiors
Every car is built uniquely, designed uniquely and is meant for a different market. But nowadays that uniqueness in each vehicle is becoming less pronounced due to the standardisation of design languages that make each product look similar. Think about it, when have you ever seen a Mercedes A-Class and a Mercedes E-class have very similar looking interiors? The point is that this standardisation of designs is both a good and a bad thing. Let’s get into it.
An Overview
This ‘similarity’ I’m talking about mainly pertains to premium brands, like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Tesla, Jaguar-Land Rover, etc. Of course, I am mainly talking about the dashboard of the car and the centre console. The rear parts of the interiors are usually not tinkered with.
It does not take a keen eye to notice that the similarity more obvious than it was because of the infotainment system, gauge-clusters, and switchgear. But the things I just listed above make up the majority of the interior, hence this feeling.
Here we have a good example. Have a look at the door on the left, that particular door design is pretty much what all Mercedes models get with the seat control given higher priority over the door handle. The steering wheel? Most models get that wheel too. The infotainment is understandably standard throughout the updated Mercedes range.
The squared off AC vents and the grab handle like centre console design and the vent-like design surrounding the infotainment system are also shared with the 2020 Mercedes GLE. Remove what I just said and, oh wait! That’s the whole interior! Apart from dimensional differences and material changes, the interior layout of the GLS is the exact same as its small sibling, the GLE.
Mercedes is not the only one here. The BMW X5 and X7 have similar looking interiors, the Audi A8 and A6 also have similar looking interiors, but they do have certain obvious differences fueled by price constraints. The same can be said with the Range Rover SV and the Velar.
The Pros
This standardisation of design and equipment means that companies can share the costs of making an interior among the entire range. This means that customers can benefit from having a lot of high-end equipment and premium designs while spending less on a car. This is especially true in the case of infotainment systems. Different companies share the same infotainment systems (Kia, Hyundai; Jaguar-Land Rover, etc.). This broadens the number of models that use that particular infotainment system and hence it results in lower costs. This also leads to more refined and well thought out designs.
Plus, this standardisation helps people choose what they want based on dimensions, and not features, to some extent. The idea of a design language gets emphasised more because of the standard interiors, as we spend more time in the interiors of a car. It doesn’t matter which interior you see, you know what brand it’s from immediately because of the design.
The Cons
As I just mentioned, the interior is the place you will spend almost all of your time in. So all the character the car expresses through the outside suddenly will disappear because of how plain the interior becomes because you’ve seen it several times in other models. If you don’t like the interior design and layout of a particular model, the chance of it being in the other models too is now very high.
Having similar looking interiors rules change out of the equation to some extent. Having different interiors for different models is less streamlined, but gives more freedom of choice.
Conclusion
Cars of yesteryears also had this phenomenon, and this is not new at all. But now this standardisation is more widespread. While this is positive from a utilitarian perspective, it makes the cars themselves more and more uniform. The car enthusiast in me does not want a loss of uniqueness in cars.
The middle ground, that is standard equipment but a different design is something that would be perfect. This way, costs can be managed and the car can stand out among its own siblings. But then again, time will tell how this will play out.
