For those proud R55 [and R56] Owners, I am curious to get some feedback on an article from Usercentric.com about the latest ergonomics of the center console design.

http://www.usercentric.com/about/new...&s_id=4&id=210

I was pretty surprised how badly they trashed the design and usability. Although I am one week away from [finally] getting my Clubman , the people I know that have the latest console design have never complained about it? A few said it takes some getting used to, but what new car doesn't?

Share your experience please

 

Meh....they don't drive one every day. The controls are superb. I remember driving my R56 the first few months and becoming totally amazed at how good/clever/handy/useful/solid everything was.

Must have been a slow day in the newsroom....taking shots at an interior that has been out for almost two years??? Um...I think quite a few of us know a wee bit more about the subject then they do.

 

gokartride,

Thanks for the fast reply. I figured that. Since your hand is on the stick shift, it seems to me that the locations of key controls seemed to be in the correct place. Thankfully next week I can find out myself!

By the way, I found it interesting [and funny] that the stats on the "experts" was almost as long as the artilce.....

 

I'm sure I could buy any car and eventually get used to it. That doesn't mean it's a good design. Sorry - but I agree with the article - the interior of the 2nd gen cars is my biggest complaint. I'll keep my old clunker 03, thanks...

(BTW - I've never,ever seen a clubman in Yellow - good luck with your new ride!)

 

It could definitely be done much much better, but you get used to it and it starts to come naturally. It takes some reading to make sense of some of the buttons and your path through some of the menus, but once you've done it it's easy to do again.

In terms of design, it is a bit weak, but it's not an issue once you learn to use it.

 

I agree & disagree with the article - the radio setup is rather odd. But as far as accidentally doing the window while placing your cup? They must have tried really hard to come up with that. And the small buttons on the wheel for cruise control/radio control/telephone? Use them for more than a minute and they become rather intuitive.
People just like to dis that which they don't control/own/are jealous of...

 

My MINI Clubman has the least intuitive and needlessly complicated controls of any car I've ever driven. Also, it's a lot of fun to drive!

 

Well, that's the point...if you drive one every day it grows on you to the point of admiration. I will admit the MFSW is pretty useful w/ the new audio setup, but I use the OBC/audio displays in the speedo constantly and everything I need to control is right at my fingertips, right in the same place, and right where I can see it while driving. I honestly don't think it could be better. Not a few first gen owners complainted about the radio being in the speedo....well, that real estate is much more than the radio and once that sinks in it's all great......imho!!

 

The first time I sat in the Clubman, I thought the UI was certainly different, but I wasn't intimidated. The first time I test drove one, the few controls I bothered with were a little difficult to find, but I knew they were there so I eventually found them. The second time I drove one, I remembered where the ones I found the first time where and I figured out some more. The third time, I used the radio and had no problems with it, even the double buttons; the only thing I couldn't figure out was how to dim the console, but a quick query to the MA sorted that out, and now I'll never forget.

Everything has its quirks...a new cell phone, a new TV, a new version of MS Windows...but we all get used to them (most times begrudgingly, but later wonder how we ever used the old stuff when forced to go back!). Those that are turned off by ANY car's UI will simply go with another make or model, or if they like the car they'll read the manual or ask the dealer, etc. There are lots of cars out there whose controls have been critizied...So not everyone's hot for MINI's UI...BIG DEAL! If you like the MINI overall you'll buy one if you can. If you can't buy one, you'll secretly drool whenever you see one. If you don't like them, you'll buy something else and you'll be happy (but you'll still notice those MINI's most times you pass one).

I can't wait to sit in mine and toggle the switches and push the buttons to get it all the way I want it...and that's all that BMW and their MINI is hoping for...

 

The center stack is one of the most poorly designed I've experienced. Yes, you get used to it eventually but that is no excuse for poor design. The radio controls are a nightmare. In some ways it's downright cartoonish, especially the climate control buttons shaped like the MINI logo, dumb dumb dumb. Accessing the OBC and other non-stack controls are a little more bearable.

Obviously wasn't a deal breaker, though, the pedals and shifter are all in the right place, which is all that ultimately matters

 

I love my clubbie, and I've gotten used to the center console design- I still find myself turning the wrong **** to turn down the radio (this is usually after driving one of my other cars that doesn't have the MFSW, so I forget I have those at my fingertips). I do find that when putting a coffee cup in the holder, I either hit the window toggle or hit the seat heat... honestly, I find that the size of cup holder is more annoying than hitting the toggles...I've had to buy new coffee cups that have tapered bottoms as my straight travel mugs didn't fit, and the tapered bottom ones are a tight fit. I really like having all my OBC controls on the blinker arm... I can access and change what I'm looking at without having to look at something to do it.
All vehicles, heck all things, aren't "perfect" - and there will always be something to love and to hate-

 

+1

 

As an every day R53 and R55 driver, I much prefer the R53 dashboard design over that of the Clubman. To me MINI nailed the R53 interior design a lot better than they did with the second generation cars. The R53 center console is clean, simple, elegant, functional and blends very well with the interior/exterior theme of the car. In the new MINIs it seems to me they tried too hard to be cool and hence their somewhat questionable approach at "Re-inventing the wheel".

Don't get me wrong, I love my Clubbie, has been a solid car and it is a hoot to drive. But I think the dash and center console still need work. I can't wait to see the 2010 "Mid-life" fresh up to see how MINI will address the biggest complaint on the second gen cars.

I think the article is right on the money, too.

 

From a driver's perspective, the layout is fine. As everyone here has said, you get used to it in a very short timeframe and everything works well.

From an engineering perspective (as the article is written) it is poor at best. When designing interfaces, the user should be able to sit down, look at things once and use it without error (or have a very short learning curve at least). This is not the case with the MINI.

I love my Clubbie and am 100% comfortable with the interior, but if someone else is going to drive the car, I feel obligated to give them a 2-3 minute class on how everything works. MINI even gives you a brochure on how to manage all of the quirks! This kind of stuff makes design engineers (and the authors) cringe.

MINIs are not in rental fleets and is a specialty brand, so immediate ease of use is less important than vehicles that are more of an "appliance". This shortfall shouldn't steer poential buyers away, but it is a legitimate critique that may push MINI engineers to keep usability in mind a little more.

 

Thanks everyone!

Very interesting feedback - thanks for those who took time to respond and keep them coming!

It would have been cool to watch the MINI design team workshop the new 2nd generation design. Were they simply trying to change the layout for the sake of a "new" design or did they believe they were improving things? [or both]

Knowing how critical buyers are always expecting "new" things, they may have fallen prey to changing it when they should have followed the old saying, "if it is not broke, don't fix it"!

 

...so I was messing around in the Owners Lounge after checking my monthly statement this morning and found this little gem:

R55/R56 MINI for Dummies

No excuses now

 

That is truly a very helpful link for everyone! Thanks.

 

Thanks DrewN- that's a great resource... Maybe it can help me with some issues I've been having with my ipod and my thumb drive.... things that I'm just too lazy to go look up in a manual or on the appropriate threads here-

Now, if you could just find the link for the genie to clean my kids' rooms

 

I hear that alot...

So a rental car should have better design than a "specialty" car??? Sorry - we paid more for our cars than the typical rental cars - it should be designed better, not worse.

And as for MFSW controls, putting some of the controls on the BACK of the steering wheel on the early cars was pure genius. That's where your fingers are already sitting. It's a damn shame they wiped out that feature in favor of paddle shifters...

 

It was a LITTLE different going from an '03 to '09, but not huge. It is a little less "intuitive," but l think they came more from a compromise position between having a design that's user friendly and having a design with physical features that allow for ease use while driving (so one doesn't wreck while trying to operate their extremely "user friendly" interface).

 

I agree, if one is looking at things from a rental car perspective (and, who knows, the authors of this article probably were taking a more objective view) then yes, the R55/56 interior is a little different...maybe even quirky. However, everything works just fine once you get used to it.

As for as the R55/56 design changes that I personally like, here's several thoughts off the top of my head:

- Revisiting/updating the classic MINI parcel shelf dash arrangement while moving away from the faux roll cage look of the first gen car's center stack/door pulls.

- Rotating AC controls to open up front leg room. Clever.

- Moving away from the center stack look to more of look in which control clusters "float." (I could have gone either way on this but I really like the leg room)

- Adding a new set of toggles (which apparently owners couldn't get enough of).

- Integrating a diplay up in the speedo section for OBC, audio, and other functions. Personally, I love this and totally warrants a bigger speedo.

- Removing the dash pad in favor of merging the speedo cowling into the dash (cripser, imo).

- Cleaning up the glovebox area.

- Didn't expect this, but the secret compartment is handy. Very quirky addition on MINI's part.

- I also like and constantly use the three-click turn signal.

- Push button start....I almost did this mod on my R50. Very tickled to see it on R56.

That said, I do wish we had a temp readout in the OBC....no gauge needed, imo. I also freely admit I have to consult my owner's manual to change setting and the like. I don't use these functions enough to learn them (like I do the OBC stuff).

Not trying to say one interior is better than the other...but if you are getting an R55 I'd say you have plenty of reasons to enjoy your interior and it's functions.

 

I think they are designed better. However, a TV remote used for a hospital room TV probably has an easier UI than one built for an expensive home theater system.

My point is that "fleet" cars need to be swapped and used by a mass of people who don't care to learn anything about them. As a designer, you may sacrifice style and/or complexity to provide an idiot-proof UI for this kind of audience. I think a Ford Taurus cockpit is easier to use for the first time, but I still don't think it is designed better than a 3-series.

 

Germans are techno-freaks and they love change for the sake of change. There are improvements in the second generation cars but overall, most of the changes were just "re-inventing" the wheel for the sake of doing so.

 

but we still bought a clubbie as a replacement for an aged MDX. While I agree pretty much with the article, it's not so bad that I wouldn't buy the car.

And for those that don't ever let anyone else drive thier car, the rather steep adjustment curve to getting used to what should be intuitive is fine. But for those of us that have no problem loaning a car out, I've got to say it's a royal PITA for occational users. And it could have been distinctive and intuitive... But it's not, and there's no arguing that fact.

Matt

 

It's like a secret handshake....at least I don't have passengers tryin' to mess w/ the controls any more!!!