Some automakers’ design choices are never imitated, while others become so fashionable that all other brands immediately follow suit.
Be it huge touchscreens, capacitive “switching devices” or designs that come straight from the company Me, robotthere is always something “new” that feels like we’ve seen it before.
Here are some of the automotive trends Daily Sparkz The team wants to leave in 2025.
Daily Sparkz: Stop putting the Tesla-like car display in the instrument cluster
I want car manufacturers to stop integrating the Tesla-like assistance display into the instrument cluster.
I don’t need a computer to tell me what cars are around me, I have eyes. Please use this central location to display the damn speed, because in Australia exceeding the speed limit by 5km/h is a crime against humanity.
Daily Sparkz: Trim in piano black
I think I say this every year – but Piano Black.
It needs to die inside cars, but it also needs to die outside cars (I can’t believe I’m saying this).
The material inside a cabin that scratches and stains easily without even being touched is now being applied to the outside of cars – it’s truly incredible.
James Wong: Touchscreen-based car controls
Last year I said I was tired of the aversion to change – but this year I want one of the current industry trends to be pushed straight to the background.
The banishment of controls that were once physical buttons on the steering wheel or dashboard must stop yesterday.
A vivid memory from this year was that I was in a rush after picking up a Jaecoo J7 and making a full 20 minute drive back to the office when I realized that you had to dig through multiple menus to find the mirror adjustment controls – WHY?!
Quick access controls such as seat heating/cooling and air recirculation should never be left out of sight, as should the distance setting for the adaptive cruise control (cough, BMW).
It’s just unnecessarily distracting and annoying – and these are just a few examples. Please stop.
William Stopford: Switchgear Minimalism
I’m not demanding that car interiors go back to looking like, say, 2010s Opels with a sea of buttons.
But putting everything on a touchscreen is a recipe for distraction and potentially disaster, and it just doesn’t feel natural to use a voice assistant for something that would normally require a simple turn of a button – especially when voice assistants can often be stupid.
The Chinese brands are the worst offenders. They seem to have collectively looked to Tesla as a role model and have enthusiastically made their screens larger and the number of buttons in their interiors smaller.
Brands that strive for this level of minimalism often reduce their interiors to a level of strict anonymity. You can’t imagine Rolls-Royce getting rid of all its beautiful knurled metal switchgear, can you?
I have seen some acceptable alternatives to traditional climate control knobs. Kia’s rocker switches, for example, are clear and intuitive. MG allows you to program a button on the steering wheel to control the air conditioning. And an anchored bar at the bottom of the touchscreen, à la Ford, is better than some brands’ approaches.
Oh, and as for brands moving vent controls to the touchscreen: what the hell were you thinking?
Max Davies: Copy and paste interiors
We’ve seen so many new cars this year that don’t have buttons, have an iPad on the dash, and have an awkward rectangular instrument screen…for heaven’s sake, stop it.
Of course, there are the typical complaints about there not being enough real buttons in new cars, and rest assured I fully share that opinion. But for the sake of variety, my complaint is more about the design.
Arguably a trend started by Tesla, virtually every single new Chinese car – electric or not – looks exactly the same inside. What happened to originality? What happened when you put in the effort to give your car a unique feel?
It just screams laziness and I can’t understand why so many brands are content to blindly copy each other. Seriously, look at Deepal, Geely, Leapmotor, BYD, Tesla, Zeekr, GAC etc – how can anyone hope to establish such an identity?
What’s arguably worse is that many Western brands seem to be following suit. The new Mazda CX-5 is a prime example, and that’s not even a Chinese reskin like the 6e.
Bring back unique, recognizable interiors and manufacturers: stop copying each other to fulfill a “trend”!
Damion Smy: The ridiculous explosion of spin-off/sister brands
Stop it.
They’ll just confuse customers, cost you more money, and – please – at least light up one brand before launching another. Eat dinner before treating yourself to dessert.
Marton Pettendy: Where’s my list…
At the risk of sounding like Eeyore, I have a long list of them.
At the top is the incessant roar of various “advanced driver assistance systems,” including lane departure warnings, speed limit warnings, and driver distraction monitors that actually distract you from the main task of driving.
Then there’s the proliferation of new luxury brands from predominantly Chinese automakers and the misguided enthusiasm for blanket-applying glossy, piano-black finishes to interior surfaces that look distinctly second-hand as soon as they leave the showroom.
But even worse than the counterintuitive trend of using touchscreens for all vehicle functions, which Tesla is pushing primarily for cost reasons, are the ever-shrinking fonts displayed on these touchscreens and digital instrument clusters.
My eyes aren’t what they used to be, but it seems that even though the screens in the car are getting bigger, the words in them are getting smaller and smaller. Or is it just me?
Ben Zachariah: Unkept car manufacturer websites
I’m sure enough people will complain about the lack of buttons in new cars, so I’ll complain about the car manufacturers’ websites instead.
I’m not sure who started the trend, but it shouldn’t be that hard to find even the most basic details like pricing, specs, and features about a particular model.
Nobody cares about your web development skills – please just make your website user-friendly.
Josh Nevett: Generic model names
I feel for Australian new car buyers.
Our market is not only one of the most diverse, but also one of the most confusing to navigate. And this is not least due to the confusing nomenclature.
There was once a time when vehicles were clearly distinguished by their unique nameplates. You simply can’t confuse a Falcon with a Commodore or even a Magna. Such naming conventions also gave the cars their own, distinctive character.
Let’s take a look at the year 2025 and the names seem to come from a bowl of alphabet soup. Honestly, who can blame you for not knowing the difference between B10, C5, EX5, E5, G6 and 7X?
Yes, the models mentioned above all come from China, but the Germans are not immune to such silliness either.
For example, the numbers that BMW and Mercedes-Benz chose to designate model variants and indicate engine size make sense, right? You certainly won’t find a 4.3-liter lump under the hood of a C43 these days, nor a 3.0-liter inline-six in the 330i.
Some brands still get it – kudos to Ford and its self-explanatory range of vehicles. However, there is still a lot to do elsewhere.
At Daily Sparkz We’re committed to making buying the right new car quicker and easier. That’s why it’s only fair that we ask car manufacturers to do the same.
Sean Lander: Infotainment screen controls for physical adjustments, particularly HVAC systems
Operating a touchscreen to adjust the temperature, fan speed, or airflow direction is not only annoying, but far more distracting than it should be.
This also applies to security systems. If you don’t have a keyboard shortcut or keyboard shortcut for quick adjustments to intrusive “security aids,” don’t use it at all.
Are there any annoying car trends you’d like to make a thing of the past? Sound off in the comments!
