Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Toyota in general has to account for most of the worst interiors in the industry right now.

The LC500 is maybe my favourite interior short of the exotics (and many of those suck).

In terms of piano black in car interiors, these are some of my favourite RS4s (which places them high on the list of best vehicle ever in my books).
https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-ne...e-ar34688.html

[photon]

I hate capacitive buttons but they likely save a lot of $$ so they're probably here to stay.

And I hate the trend to gloss black. Even on exteriors! I saw a review today where the rear diffuser was matte black and the reviewer said it could at least be glossy.

Matte is where it's at.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

The LC500 is maybe my favourite interior short of the exotics (and many of those suck).

Wow, dude. That's so nice.

Spoiler!

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Toyota in general has to account for most of the worst interiors in the industry right now.

What about the 4Runner. Classic interior. I think this looks so nice - and again - great ergonomics.

[81MC]

That Lexus interior is b.u.s.y

[Fuzz]

I like the Bronco. Good balance of physical buttons, and a nice sized touch screen that is well integrated. No idea how well it works, but at least it has buttons and knobs.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by zamler

That's a terrible design. You have a touch screen combined with 50 buttons make up your mind. The steering wheel is especially ridiculous.

Maybe for a rental car, but if you own it, you learn exactly where all the buttons are without looking. That's the point.

In any car I've ever liked driving, I could operate the entire thing without looking down. The idea of going to a touch screen to turn on my windshield wipers is INSANE.

Tesla touchscreen wiper controls land driver with fine after crash

[Erick Estrada]

How Tesla gets away with hiding the windshield wiper controls in the display is something I will never figure out. It's downright dangerous IMO.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I like the Bronco. Good balance of physical buttons, and a nice sized touch screen that is well integrated. No idea how well it works, but at least it has buttons and knobs.

Yep. It's wide open and simple but you still get a big modern screen. Only beef I have with it is that the materials are very low rent and the bar gauge for a tach is ludicrously bad.

[TorqueDog]

Bronco is another good example of properly integrating a touch screen in a cabin while still using physical buttons for things you interact with all the time (so you can do it by feel).

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Only beef I have with it is that the materials are very low rent and the bar gauge for a tach is ludicrously bad.

It's an off-roader designed to get dirty. Hell, you can take the doors off. Low-rent, 'hose-and-go' materials kind of come with the territory of "I'm going to switch into 4LO and put this thing in a bog".

If you want nice materials in a capable off-roader, that's a Land Rover Defender.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Bronco is another good example of properly integrating a touch screen in a cabin while still using physical buttons for things you interact with all the time (so you can do it by feel).

It's an off-roader designed to get dirty. Hell, you can take the doors off. Low-rent, 'hose-and-go' materials kind of come with the territory of "I'm going to switch into 4LO and put this thing in a bog".

If you want nice materials in a capable off-roader, that's a Land Rover Defender.

I have one on order for months. I know what it's all about. Have you sat in one yet? The plastics feel really cheap and the fitment is pretty poor. The grab handle on the console for example is very flimsy and some of the dash plastics bend when you push them. It just doesn't feel put together well or as rugged as you would expect of a vehicle like this especially at $60k. It's not a deal breaker as luxury isn't expected from a vehicle like this but Ford isn't even trying to hide the cost cutting.

[chedder]

We have a black diamond bronco, which is pretty much mid trim level. I must not be that picky because I don’t see much wrong with the fit and finish or the materials. Yes, the grab bars don't seem super firm which i thought strange. Ours has auto climate, heated seats (I actually like the marine grade vinyl) and most of the safety nannies. Pretty much everything we'd need. It is what it is and I think it's going to be a blast in the summer with the top off.

The buttons, dials and switches are great. My mother has an explorer and I hate it's setup. 14 screen presses to change anything.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I have one on order for months. I know what it's all about. Have you sat in one yet? The plastics feel really cheap and the fitment is pretty poor. The grab handle on the console for example is very flimsy and some of the dash plastics bend when you push them. It just doesn't feel put together well or as rugged as you would expect of a vehicle like this especially at $60k. It's not a deal breaker as luxury isn't expected from a vehicle like this but Ford isn't even trying to hide the cost cutting.

That's where you're looking at it wrong, though. You can only expect the materials/fit & finish to be as good as the base model. Broncos start at like $41k (don't know if you could actually get one for that right now, but that's a limited supply issue all automakers are facing except maybe Nissan since nobody wants those even when there is nothing else to buy). Sure you can tart it up to spend probably like $75k if you ticked all the boxes, but that's just adding stuff on top of the base interior, really.

If you want higher-end interior finishings, you have to start with a vehicle with a higher-tier base level. The Bronco's interior quality is what you'd expect for this type of vehicle with this starting price (IMO).

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sliver

If you want higher-end interior finishings, you have to start with a vehicle with a higher-tier base level. The Bronco's interior quality is what you'd expect for this type of vehicle with this starting price (IMO).

I'm not looking at anything wrong. The automotive magazines drive all the vehicles and they know what to expect at price points compared to the competition and all reviews note the interior materials and fit and finish.

https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/bronco

Twin-turbo V-6 could sound better, suffers from some refinement issues, cabin materials look mediocre on priciest models.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022...s-cons-review/

So why didn't it win? The Bronco struggled when it came to engineering excellence. Specifically, it felt underbaked and low in terms of quality. "It's just not ready for mainstream consumers yet," guest judge Gordon Dickie said. Buyer's guide director Zach Gale added dryly, "That's not confidence inspiring," after observing the side-window glass wobbling back and forth when he opened the doors. "Is that built Ford tough?"

The Bronco is also noisier at 75 mph than the Jeep Wrangler. How much of it is poor engineering and how much is the faulty, gonna-be-replaced roof panels? Hard to tell. We do know we didn't like all the additional flaws we observed, such as cheap interior bits and exposed box-frame pieces that will fill with mud, snow, and dirt. Once you factor in value and efficiency—other categories where the Bronco stumbles—it's obvious this Ford isn't yet as good as it can be.

[TorqueDog]

Actually reading that reminded me that $41k used to get you a reasonably nice vehicle on the inside. Just shows how expensive cars have gotten.

[81MC]

60k to project an image of ruggedness in a vehicle that will rattle and leak after a few years...yikes. I used to think $40k Jeep’s were silly.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm not looking at anything wrong. The automotive magazines drive all the vehicles and they know what to expect at price points compared to the competition and all reviews note the interior materials and fit and finish.

https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/bronco

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022...s-cons-review/

Okay, then you're looking at it wrong and so is C&D.

"cabin materials look mediocre on priciest models"

That's my point. If the interior is just adequate on a base model it will be sub-par on a loaded model. I can't think of a cabin where they somehow make the interior fit and finish better just because you added options.

Thinking about it, Ford is actually pretty notorious for this as a brand, anyway. Like, my F-150 is just a Sport. If I get in a Platinum, it's just not that much nicer for almost double the price. Same with a Mustang. And now same with the Bronco. They build interiors to work for their lowest trim and then just add leather and electronics options to tart them up, but it's always just window dressing. The foundation of the cabin doesn't change just by adding more options.

I mean, I get what you're saying that you expect more for $60k, but keep in mind the vehicle is $40k and the options are $20k. A vehicle starting at $60k and going up to - say - $85k will have a nicer interior because it's starting with a nicer foundation nine times out of 10.

[cam_wmh]

Holy ####, it’s NOISIER THAN A JEEP?

Those things are like wind turbines.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Holy ####, it’s NOISIER THAN A JEEP?

Those things are like wind turbines.

You are always going to get more noise with a vehicle of this type with a modular roof. I think most of the magazine tests were done on MIC 1.0 hardtops that are all being replaced. A lot of owners of MIC 2.0 don't seem to have a major issue with noise.

[chedder]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Holy ####, it’s NOISIER THAN A JEEP?

Those things are like wind turbines.

I just read that car and driver comparison and it was comparing noise at full throttle ie. during hard acceleration. It made no mention of highway cruising noise.

Road and track and a few others have noted it's quite a bit quieter than the jeep on the highway with way better driving manners. In fact even the car and driver piece said it's pretty much better than the jeep in just about every way.

Our experience has been that it's certainly not super quiet on the highway but not terrible at all. And it goes down the road pretty effortlessly and comfortably.