Mercedes design boss voices opinion on Audi’s concept interior and BMW’s Neue Klasse

The design boss at Mercedes-Benz has voiced his opinion on Audi’s concept interior, the Concept C, as well as BMW’s Neue Klasse.

Meet Gorden Wagener, the Chief Design Officer for Mercedes-Benz, who seems to have a lot of opinions on the designs made by some of his fellow Design Officers at other supercar companies.

His first focus was Audi’s Concept C, a stripped-back concept car designed with a minimalist cabin and a retractable (and small) infotainment screen.

His other focus was BMW’s Neue Klasse, which is also known as the iX3, an electric SUV, which has the opposite in terms of cabin tech and infotainment: where Audi has gone minimalist, BMW has gone maximalist.

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The Mercedes design boss has his opinion on Audi’s concept interior

When you’re the Chief Design Officer for a brand like Mercedes-Benz, you’re going to be trusted to give your opinions on other designs from luxury car brands, and it was clear that Gorden Wagener had strong opinions.

When he first looked at Audi’s new Concept C, specifically Audi’s concept interior, he described it as looking ‘like it was designed in 1995’, suggesting that the design is outdated in the modern car design world.

Wagener clearly disagrees with Audi’s stripped-back approach when it comes to the cabin, and that minimalism to the degree of the Concept C doesn’t work commercially for a car that will be mainstream.

While there is a small, retractable infotainment screen, the physical switches aren’t viable according to the Mercedes CDO; modern-day car users expect modern-day car solutions like screens.

Wagener thinks BMW’s Neue Klasse has gone too far the other way

While Wagener is very much a supporter of high-tech and interactive infotainment screen displays and BMW’s Neue Klasse/iX3 has them in spades, he does take issue with the design of the screens themselves.

The pillar-to-pillar display at the base of the windshield design that is found on the dashboard is far away, making what’s shown smaller and harder to read, and due to distance, touch control won’t reliably work.

He described the iX3’s multi-level information layout as ‘distracting’ and ‘not intuitive’ in comparison to Audi’s concept interior, which is stripped back and disappointing.

According to the Mercedes CDO, big digital displays are essential today, even if you love the analogue look of a retro car, you ‘can’t ignore a screen’.

Screens also help with usability when implemented well, but can be distracting if badly placed.

Next time you’re in your car wrestling with the infotainment screen, remember that there’s probably a Gorden Wagener out there who designed it just with you in mind.

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