Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer has acknowledged the criticism of the touch-sensitive controls in his brand’s cars and has pledged to introduce simpler and more functional interiors in all future cars. The new Volkswagen Tiguan is the first in the line-up to feature an overhauled interior, with a revamped cabin that is a near-total departure from that of the Volkswagen ID 3 and Volkswagen Golf. The Tiguan now comes with the choice of two much larger infotainment touchscreens and is still light on physical controls. However, the most vocally critiqued elements of recent VW control suites have been removed, and a new rotary controller has been installed on the centre console for quick access to drive mode and volume settings.

Simplifying the Interior

Schäfer’s commitment to establishing certain consistencies across the Volkswagen line-up extends to ensuring replacements for each model don’t introduce yet another bold rethink in cabin layout, once the desired formula is achieved. He believes that once you have it, you should not touch it again. The company should optimize it and bring it into the future, but not change buttons from here to there, to there and here. At Volkswagen, they were always great for sitting in the car, and you know where everything is immediately, intuitively. And that’s what they’ve done now, and they will see that coming through, specifically on the ID 2 onwards. Those cars will be top-notch again.

Addressing Customer Criticism

Schäfer says that the unconventional interior arrangements introduced under his predecessor Herbert Diess had threatened Volkswagen’s standing among loyal customers. They had frustrated customers who shouldn’t be frustrated. So they’ve spent a lot of time now – working through really systematically – on what all the functions are that a customer usually touches when using a vehicle. They rank them and determine which ones need to go on buttons and which ones need to go on the screen. After this process is complete, the discussion becomes more granular: should it be a button or a switch? And then they can work on the aesthetics of it. When they do buttons, it’s better to do few buttons, but really nice buttons – like an aeroplane: what are the haptics of it? They worked through this with a massive team. It took them quite a bit of time. It was an Excel spreadsheet as big as a room, but they had to do that.

Future Plans

Following the Tiguan, the next Volkswagens to benefit from this initiative will be the new-generation Passat and updated Golf, due to be revealed later this year. It remains to be seen how extensively the company will overhaul the minimalist cabin design of its ID electric cars, but the production version of the ID 2All concept, due in 2025, is set to mark a radical departure from the existing ID 3, ID 4, ID 5, ID 7 and ID Buzz.

Conclusion

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer has pledged to usher in simpler, more functional interiors in all future cars. The new Volkswagen Tiguan is the first in the line-up to feature an overhauled interior, with a revamped cabin that is a near-total departure from that of the Volkswagen ID 3 and Volkswagen Golf. Schäfer’s commitment to establishing certain consistencies across the Volkswagen line-up extends to ensuring replacements for each model don’t introduce yet another bold rethink in cabin layout. The company should optimize it and bring it into the future but not change buttons from here to there, to there and here. At Volkswagen, they were always great for sitting in the car, and you know where everything is immediately, intuitively. And that’s what they’ve done now, and they will see that coming through, specifically on the ID 2 onwards. Those cars will be top-notch again.