Cover Image: GM
There is no such thing as a “perfect” car. One thing or another will always prevent a car from being 100% perfect. But giving a great car a bad interior? That is huge. Sometimes the material quality is not there, or the design is flawed, and one very popular brand explicitly proves how minimalism sometimes kills all the vibe.
Ford Fiesta ST
The little Fiesta ST is the sweetheart for the people who love nimble Euro hot-hatches. It was the king of the fast superminis, praised by every other auto journalist, and loved by many who lived with one. A true pocket-rocket, if you will.
Image: Ford USA
The interior? No bueno. While it is not a luxury car, this amount of scratchy plastics is simply unbearable in a relatively modern car. Everything is screwed together in a way that the whole thing feels like it will disassemble when you hit a pothole. And hitting that pothole feels personal with all the rattle it causes.
Chrysler 300
The 300 rightfully left its mark on the automotive world. It was a budget alternative to much higher-end sedans, and boy, it delivered. It was a large sedan with a cool attitude and flashy looks, even with the low-powered V6. It even found its way into pop culture, making countless cameos on hip-hop music videos in the early ‘00s.
Image: Chrysler
The interior, though? It tries to look classy but ends up being nothing more than a plastic playground. Cheapness strikes here again. Panels squeak, controls make no sense, the cabin gets noisy on the highway, and stiff back seats make you wonder if luxury took the day off. Some drivers even report that some interior panels warp in hot climate regions!
Mercedes C-Class W204
The little executive Benz is a great car, a Mercedes-Benz after all. It comes with all the cutting-edge stuff of its time, a handsome exterior with correct proportions, reliable and powerful V6 engines, great standard equipment with a huge options list. The W204 even came with the legendary 6.2L V8 in the C63 AMG guise, which might just be the best-sounding European V8 of all time.
Image: Mercedes-Benz USA
But the interior? Mercedes themselves accepted that they messed up with the initial W204. They facelifted the car, and the updated one came with a complete new interior. Pre-facelift interiors lacked the inspiration and the brand's signature quality. It simply didn’t have the wow factor of a brand-new Benz of its time.
Chevrolet Corvette C5
The C5 ‘Vette has all the great bits – a 400 HP LS V8 that everyone dreams of swapping into their non-Corvettes, sleek body lines, incredibly cool pop-up-and-down headlights, and a soundtrack that wraps up everything nicely…from the outside.
Image: GM
The interior? It surrounds you with cheap plastics. The whole place is full of late ’90s GM crap. Low quality switchgear, poor build quality, and all the rattling you can imagine. Buttons feel like they will fall off, and the center console flexes heavily. Inside a C5, you’re constantly reminded that the magic lives exclusively under the hood, not in the cabin.
All the Teslas
While a controversial brand, Tesla changes the automotive world as we know it, no question. Love it or hate it. It started the EV movement, and from a wider perspective, it is doing pretty well. The hype is still around. And some models are great drivers and incredible performers, as well.
Image: Tesla
The interiors? They lack…everything. Early models had quality issues: Things rattled, panels had uneven gaps, and plastics felt cheap. Plus, the biggest fail is, minimalism gets boring, very fast. The whole interior is dominated by screens, and you almost need a science degree to figure it all out. Cool tech? Sure. Good car interior? No.
