Carmakers have never shied away from efforts to make their products seem as high-tech as possible, sometimes at the expense of real usability. Instruments and secondary controls are especially susceptible to the video-game treatment. What's the weirdest, most awkward, most Tokyo-at-night automotive control setup?
It may be among the most sophisticated cars on the road in its own way, but no one has ever accused the Toyota Prius of being set up to provide a direct driving experience. This is as true of the driver's control arrangement as any takes on handling or braking. Nothing else on the market displays its PC-influenced, car-as-unexciting-motion-appliance intentions as clearly as the arrangement of the displays and controls in the ur-hybrid. I'm sure there's lots of ergonomic research behind everything seen here, but somehow I am completely distracted.
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Photo Credit: Toyota