Of the cars you've owned, which interior did you like the best?

[VisualEcho]

A lot is made of a cars sound, power, and exterior looks, but I think the driving environment is also very important. What you see, feel, and how it makes you feel can really add-to, or take-away from the driving experience IMO.

For me it's the Exige. Everything from the seating position, to how ultra low I am in the car, the materials I'm surrounded by (mostly), the smell, and the feel of the wheel/shift knob, it's all just fantastic.

What has been your favorite?

Bonus points for pix .

[Alfisti]

Damn that looks perfect. Ferrari could learn a thing or two.

[VisualEcho]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Damn that looks perfect. Ferrari could learn a thing or two.

Oh gosh, my interior has nothing on a Ferrari (except the seats), especially stock. I've done quite a bit to it over the years.

[Alfisti]

No it shits all over a Ferrari. It's minimalist but welcoming, Ferrari is a garish mess of gaudy dials and gauges and screens ... disaster.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

Definitely the C class. Other than a centre console that scratches easily it feels luxurious. Like a baby S class.

Agree, wife has a GLC and the interior is excellent in design and materials, a lot more interesting/expensive looking and feeling design compared to the X3 and Q5 we looked at.

Of my own cars, I'd rank my E46 and CLS at the top. I loved the clean lines of the E46 interior and the ergonomics were very good, not to mention I had the caramel brown two tone interior which was less common back in the day and looked awesome with the contrasting colors.

For my CLS I love that it has a lot of curves and flowing lines and the waterfall like center stack, just looks really luxurious and feels special every time I get in, especially the ambient lights.

[DanG]

I am voting for my E46 M3. The biggest difference was an oil temperature and water temperature gages. Feels strange that my M2 doesn’t have them.

[Firaxis]

The Maza 3 / 6 MPS (known as a Mazdaspeed in the US) had a nice / very solid interior. Far better than many we get today.

Jaguar interiors are generally nice, slightly torn about the Alfa Giulia it looks nice at least.

[Lucky1]

Porsche 991 for sure. Clean interior, spartan, accessible, fantastic seating position, one versatile digital instrument, all controls available to your "shifter" hand when its resting on the console next to the shifter. Screen is just large enough, touch enabled and completely out of the way of driver's forward visibility (hate this iPad mounted on the dash trend; its in my way!!!).

128i and Acura RSX are runner ups. Both are spartan and driver focused (all console/controls tilted to the driver). All business which means all about driving. 1 series some of the most comfortable seats I've experienced.

I like simplicity and function over form. Sorry Benz is a rolling arcade designed by a sci fi set designer. Hate bubbly, round, overstated "look at me!" interiors that seem to be popular these days.

[Alfisti]

My issue with 991's is too many are not sporty enough. You need to go to the GTS trim and up to get something actually sporty, they are too polished, too much leather, not enough carbon or suede.

[VisualEcho]

Surprised no one has mentioned their Audi, which classically have the best interiors.

[9M71]

Honestly the F80 - imo its the perfect mix between digital and your classic analog displays... not overdone at all.

Sure, its a bit "dated" compared to the newer interiors especially those from the Audi or G series BMW's, but i'm really not a fan of an entirely digital cluster. Kind of just ruins the drive and feels more like a videogame. R8/hurcan uses an entirely digital cluster, which is meh, but gt3rs is still your traditional analog tach

P.S. I'd trade my F80 for an exige in a heartbeat if the 4 doors werent necessary.

[GenXer]

The Alfa Giulia

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by VisualEcho

Surprised no one has mentioned their Audi, which classically have the best interiors.

I would say they have had the best overall interiors for the last 20 years but their newer ones don't seem to be as special. I think MB has overtaken them recently with BMW lagging behind both (Live cockpit is one of the worst displays in the industry IMO).

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by VisualEcho

Surprised no one has mentioned their Audi, which classically have the best interiors.

My S5 Sportback interior was probably my favorite, however I do agree that others have caught up. My M340i interior may not look as striking, but it feels better built and so far has had less squeaks and rattles.

Here are both my S5 and M340i interiors for reference.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

My S5 Sportback interior was probably my favorite, however I do agree that others have caught up. My M340i interior may not look as striking, but it feels better built and so far has had less squeaks and rattles.

Here are both my S5 and M340i interiors for reference.

I gotta say, Audi nailed that B9 interior, especially in S/RS models which had nicer materials. Not a fan of the new infotainment system with no scroll wheel though, but I wish every car had a Climate Control system like the B9, easy to use and super tactile in its feel.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by jstein55

I gotta say, Audi nailed that B9 interior, especially in S/RS models which had nicer materials. Not a fan of the new infotainment system with no scroll wheel though, but I wish every car had a Climate Control system like the B9, easy to use and super tactile in its feel.

I hate the B9.5 interior without the scroll wheel...completely ruined the interior. I love the design of the B9 interior but I was a little let down by the amount of odd squeaks (from the plastics as the temperatures changed, and the seat backs) and rattles (speaker covers and b-pillar were an issue in all three B9 S4/S5's that I had).

I also love the climate control. One of the nicest implementations I have ever used. I can't believe they are moving away from it on all models in place of all touch screens.

[Humdizzle]

my 458 probably had the best interior I've been in. turn signals on the steering wheel rather than a stalk, once you get used to it its better than having the stalk. interior smells of rich leather (first thing people usually comment on). seating position and seats are a 10/10. LED steering wheel to let you know your revs is a nice tough although I never use that or the HUD on the M3 to check my revs, I still look at the tach.

there are some drawbacks:
- infotainment system is trash to navigate. the scroll wheel has too much resistance. scrolling through music you only see like 5-6 songs at a time.
- door unlock/lock on the roof by the map light makes no sense
- glove box release button is on the center console near the little storage area.
- if you don't put your seatbelt on and have the windows down... the metal buckle taps the carbon shell on the seat.
- cup holder location is odd, way far forward under the dash. I like how Porsche has it hidden away within the dash.
- stitching on the glovebox isn't in line with the dash (google photo above, but I had the same thing on mine)

[Alfisti]

That's pretty good. A lot of modern Ferrari's have brutal interiors, a gaudy mess.

[Efthreeoh]

Of the cars I've owned... My 2008 E86 Z4 3.0si. it has the M-sports seats and extended leather package. That said, my E30 is the most ergonomic interior of any car ever manufactured. IMO of course.

[Addbuyer]

Porsche Panamera by miles

[Josh-PA]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Porsche 991 for sure. Clean interior, spartan, accessible, fantastic seating position, one versatile digital instrument, all controls available to your "shifter" hand when its resting on the console next to the shifter. Screen is just large enough, touch enabled and completely out of the way of driver's forward visibility (hate this iPad mounted on the dash trend; its in my way!!!).

The usability / ergnomics of the 991 (mine is a .2) interior controls are no match for BMWs. I love the natural leather of my Cab, but PCM sucks and the manual gear shift lever is too high.

For me, the best interior I've ever owned was my e39 M5. It felt luxurious, incredibly well laid out, just the right amount of sporty for the car... perfect.

Compared to my Espresso 991.2 interior.

[chassis]

1. Tie between my wife’s G01 with Vernasca leather, and my M-B GLE 350 with excellent carpet and very good wood trim.

2. 1982 Jaguar XJ-6 with biscuit Connolly leather and glowing wood trim. Carpet was nice also.

3. 2011 VW Touareg, functionality in the extreme.