First of all, don't get me wrong. I love this car. I'll most likely own one. The exterior could not possibly be more incredible. It's the car I always hoped GM would build.
I have concerns about the interior though. The car is supposed to have mass market appeal. But in my opinion, they went too far with the interior, trying to make it so different. I think the interior will appeal well to younger buyers. But for 40-something professionals like myself, the interior has some shortcomings. I would have liked to have seen a little more class in the interior. Maybe I'll feel better when I see it in person.
In some respects, I think they did well. I like the guage pods, though I'd like to see a brushed aluminum trim option instead of carbon. Seats look great, particularly with the stitching. Steering wheel is attractive. But below is a few places where I think they went wrong:
1.
Door handles.
Why the clunky loop door handles ? They look bulky, clumsy and a little out of place. A nice, small, L-Shaped handle would be much more appealing. Note G8 handles below.
2. Large area of
Shiny plastic on the doors.
I like the idea of color options. But if shiny plastic is the only option for every color, I think it comes off a little cheesy looking. Something wrapped in leather/pleather would have much better mass appeal. Maybe the pics from Indy don't represent the final material ?
3.
Radio/HVAC center stack.
In my opinion, this is the least attractive part of the interior. I'll admit that the looks have grown on me somewhat since I first saw the spy shots but I still can't say I like it much. The design seems to have been driven by the desire to keep the center stack separate from the console to allow for those retro gauges. But wrapping it under the dash looks odd. The playstation looking HVAC controls look gimmicky and the radio itself doesn't easily lend itself to adding an option for Navigation or any aftermarket replacement.
I'm generally happy when a manufacturer doesn't take everything from a general parts bin. But this is one case where I think they should have. The center stack and radio/navigation/HVAC controls in the G8, Malibu and Corvette are perfectly fine and have mass market appeal. It's what people have come to expect.... a typical double-dinn size head unit that can easily offer Navigation and reverse cameras as options. Why custom make a head unit that is less attractive than a standard double dinn type unit in other GM cars ?
By contrast, look at the interiors of the Malibu and G8. I think they hit the nail on the head with these interiors. Lots of mass market appeal IMO, particularly with the center stack radio/HVAC area:
