Why Many EV Design Choices Are a Step Backward for Drivers
By
by John Siracusa
2d ago· 7 min readenOpinion
100/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
Pure flour-power. Hearty enough to carry you through lunch.
Score100TypeopinionSentimentnegative
Summary
This article critiques modern electric vehicle (EV) design choices, arguing that automakers are abandoning well-established, functional automotive features (like physical buttons, door handles, and traditional instrument clusters) in favor of unnecessarily complex, touchscreen-dependent, or gimmicky replacements. The author contends that these changes are not driven by innovation or user benefit but by cost-cutting, marketing trends, and a misguided attempt to appear futuristic, ultimately making EVs less practical and user-friendly than their gasoline counterparts.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledWhen today's automakers decide to make an electric vehicle (EV), they seemingly forget much of what they once knew, creating new versions of features that are objectively, obviously worse than the time-tested designs they replace.
The touchscreen is not a better interface for adjusting climate controls while driving. It is a cheaper one.
Automakers are not designing for the driver anymore; they are designing for the headline.
A door handle should not require a tutorial. It should just open the door.
Automobiles have been around for well over a century. During that time, we’ve gotten pretty good at designing and building their basic components and controls: seats, doors, pedals, steering wheels, mirrors, etc. But when today’s automakers decide to make
