I’ve noticed that many car reviewers spend a good amount of time pointing out whether or not they like the texture/feel of materials on the interior of the car. Does the average person actually care about this aspect of their car, or is it just a point of interest for some niche group of car enthusiasts? I’ve driven shitboxes and I’ve driven luxury cars, and I have never cared about or even noticed the feel or quality of the material on the dash and the steering wheel. I guess maybe the steering wheel material could make some people uncomfortable depending on what it’s made of, but come on, the dashboard? Who ever strokes their hand against their dashboard just to feel what the texture is like?
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Its the overall experience. You want to enjoy every bit of your car, that’s what makes you love with it
A ton for me. One of the reasons i picked my gti over a st or wrx. It’s also one of the first things i check when getting into a new car.
My Lexus doesn’t have a single piece of hard plastic in it, not even the A B or C pillars, or even all the way under the dashboard or under the console lid, seriously not a single piece. All soft touch panels.
NOW, would the majority of people notice that? Probably not, but the auto industry has made it seem that cars with materials like that are to be perceived as “fancy” and upscale (I fell for it and agree lol). The people pushing on all that stuff are reviewers and if it’s not up to spec, prepare for “middling interior quality” comments from them.
Yes, people care about how it feels.
I reckon the average person cares much more about this while enthusiasts are likelier to find it in them to forgive a car with an interior having happy meal toy grade plastics if the cars dynamics are decent enough
hahahahaha “happy meal grade plastics” looking at you Toyota Supra
Given the amount of crying this sub does about Dodges, enthusiasts certainly care about how an interior feels too.
I notice immediately when I’m in a car with hard plastics. They reflect more and when I need to touch them they don’t feel nice.
Just want/care about interior quality, aka something not cheaply made/put together that will hold up with adequate maintenance. Like a segment on seat material quality and typical longevity would be nice on these reviews as well.
At least they are better than refrigerators reviews/ratings on Consumer Reports… it’s hilarious as features /gimmicks / customer ease of use can bump an overall score up even if reliability is meh among other things.
Interior quality sells the car for most people. If they get inside and it’s got all the bells and whistles, it’ll feel like a nice car. Most people don’t care how the car drives because they’ll spend most of their time cruising or sitting in traffic on poor roads.
It’s usually over more recent material choices of piano black and alcatera, since neither of them what I’d call the best choice for materials (finger prints and wear respectively).
Honestly I think it’s just a way to justify the ridiculous cost of luxury cars. Like sure you could spend $10k less for similar features, but oh, the textures. Sort of a dogwhistle for the affluent.
I want the contact points for my car to be comfortable. I want this seats to be relatively soft leather, but supportive. I want the steering wheel to have a certain feel, not too wouldn’t have plastic, and I want the Tactical controls to feel solid, plastic-y.
Since we all spend a considerable amount of time inside the car, these are all important things. Would you buy furniture that make you itchy? A carpet that hurt your feet? A mattress that was too stiff or too soft to sleep on?
I really wish they would address orange peel in the paint. Todays cars look like shit.
I think a lot of reviews harp far too much in interior materials and feel. Yes, it’s important, but some go so overboard.
Last time we were car shopping I watched lots of videos. In one the guy was complainig that the kickpanels were hard plastic (scratched fingernails on it to show), and that the narrow strip between the defroster vent and windshield was hard, not soft like the rest of the dash covering. Again, scratched at it to show, and complained that those 2 items were not nice to touch and cheapened the interior. Who the F is running their hands on the kickpanels or within 1 inch of the base of the windshield while using their car?
Perhaps because they have little to talk about. Nobody puts the car through its paces through varying conditions, almost nobody talks about technical aspects (unless it is about infotainment 😄), and nobody is in a position to talk about ownership aspects due to their limited time with the car. So all they have are tidbits like these, to sound thorough.
Am rather linking ‘The Car Care Nut Reviews’ YT channel, however, as there is at least some useful technical content there.
You don’t notice the quality of materials on your steering wheel? Did you leave your hand on the stove as a kid? lol
I’m by no means obsessed with it, but once you go beyond your basic economy cars, I do expect some nicer plastics, panels, and dash materials.
I don’t mind harder plastics on the bottom of door panels or areas that might get more abuse, that makes sense. But at the prices cars go for now, I expect decent materials that are fitted together well