Although the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf and the first-generation ID.3 were well reviewed as vehicles, their infotainment systems were widely criticized. The brand is now on a mission to redress that, and its CEO Thomas Schäfer has called the next-gen Tiguan (whose interior was recently teased for the first time) a statement of intent from the brand.
Although the interior is still simple and the Tiguan comes with a large infotainment system and few physical controls, the automaker has focused on fixing the areas that got the most complaints. To wit, it has gotten rid of the unlit climate control sliders and the haptic buttons on the steering wheel.
Schäfer admits that the Mk8 Golf and the ID.3 “definitely did a lot of damage” to the brand’s reputation among loyal customers, per Autocar. The new infotainment controls are part of a focused effort to make its vehicles easier to operate.
Read: 2024 VW Tiguan Interior And More Officially Revealed
“We had frustrated customers who shouldn’t be frustrated,” the CEO said. “So we’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.”
To do that, VW had to rank the functions touched by drivers in terms of importance, figure out which need to be permanent buttons and which can go on the screen, how deep into the menus the ones on the screen could go, and how to place them all intuitively.
“We worked through this with a massive team,” said Schäfer. “It took us quite a bit of time. It was an Excel spreadsheet as big as a room, but you have to do that.”
He says that one of VW’s strengths has always been its interiors, and it doesn’t want to lose that reputation. Moving forward, it will work to make controls consistent across different models, to prevent customers from being confused.
“Once you have it, don’t touch it again. Bloody leave it,” said Schäfer. “Don’t confuse our customers every time a new model comes out and something is completely different. Optimize it. Bring into the future. But don’t change buttons from here to there, to there and here.”
While the upcoming Tiguan will be a sign of things to come, Schäfer says that the vehicle that will crystallize the design of its tech moving forward is the all-electric ID.2, which is set to arrive in 2025.
