While sitting back there taking notes I noticed another inconceivable design flaw. The headliner, tacked on with plastic grommets, isn't finished at its rearmost edge. I started laughing when this came to my attention, not having seen such poor interior execution since pre-Volkswagen owned Skoda left our country more than a decade ago. While not particularly pleasing to the eye, due to the edge already starting to fray and the pressed cardboard type underlying material exposed, it's possible to stick fingers, hands and probably entire arms inside (or who knows what else), something no doubt bored kids will attempt just before pulling it down. I also noticed that the C-pillar interior plastic, while nicely textured to mirror the headliner, was loose at its bottom, not a cause for alarm now but a potential rattle in the making.
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| Contrasting the uncomfortable rear seats, the front seats are quite good, with terrific support. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
As for the A and B-pillars, they are held fast into their respective positions. The headliner up front also seems to be finished off with aesthetics and durability in mind. The front seats are quite comfortable too, with terrific support in all the places the rear ones aren't. It's almost as if a different set of standards were assigned for front occupants than those in the rear, strange. The only negative was that my 5'10" photographer complained his head brushed the roofliner in the driver seat's lowest position, which could make getting comfortable a challenge for taller motorists.
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| The redesigned instrument panel is attractive with all buttons and switchgear close at hand, and a very intuitively designed layout. Only the audio and HVAC interfaces mar the look. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
In general the redesigned instrument panel is quite attractive, with all controls from the center stack canted to face the driver, cockpit style. It's similar in context to how the gauge package, dash and center console of the first Grand Prix was designed in the early '70s. The car creates a personal driver's space, with all buttons and switchgear close at hand, and a very intuitively designed layout. I've never before seen better dash ventilation, with nothing less than seven main vents for cooling driver and passengers. The three-dial heating, ventilation and air conditioning system interface is extra easy to sort out, with a variety of settings stopping short only of premium automatic HVAC systems.
