Environmentally Friendly and Natural Interiors

November 19, 2024

Environment-Friendly and Natural Interiors

Environmentally friendly and natural materials are a focal point in this month’s edition, with concept cars and production models alike making use of sustainable and unique craftsmanship.

Custard anyone? The yellowness of Cadillac's latest concept car, the Cadillac Sollei Concept, is certainly striking. Almost every inch is clad in the off-white leather material, the colour of which is dubbed 'Manila Cream,' though a beautiful unstained wooden veneer breaks up the monotony by running along the upper door panels, the centre console, and, interestingly, on the back of the seats. The pattern of the wood on the seats and centre console is particularly eye-catching and gives the interior a retro feel, with the natural, open-pore finish providing a unique touch and feel. Each piece is cut and fitted by hand using marquetry techniques.

A bio-based material derived from mushrooms has been developed in partnership with a California-based tech startup MycoWorks and is used in the charging mats and door pockets. Zooming out, the overall cabin appears cohesive and well executed. Horizontal lines on the dash, the grain lines of the wood on the doors, and the chunky centre console with two touchscreens (for front and rear passengers), all provide the interior with a roomy and comfortable quality.

Two models in the Cupra lineup, the Cupra Formentor and Cupra Leon have undergone comprehensive redesigns, with the interior of both getting a major update. New upholstery is used on parts of the dashboard, centre console and doors, while the bucket seats have been wrapped in a microfibre, of which 73% is recycled. Customers can also opt for what Cupra describes as a “environmentally conscious leather”, although details on how the leather is sourced have not been published.

On the VZ3 trim level, bucket seats are standard and the air vents are finished in black chrome in the hope of enhancing the sporty feel. A larger 12.9-inch touchscreen includes a new human machine interface (HMI), designed to be more intuitive. Cupra has also teamed up with the audio equipment specialist Sennheiser and fitted the cars with a new 12 speaker sound system.

The MG HS has had a complete overhaul and now features a far more modern interior. Circular and dated elements of the previous generation have been discarded for crisp rectangular elements and horizontal lines, giving the illusion of spaciousness inside the cabin. A large screen unit now includes the infotainment system and driver cluster, both measuring 12.3-inches but sitting inside the same housing. Updated graphics and software are far sharper and cleaner, while new features like the 360-degree surround view camera provide more help to the driver.

There are also new materials inside the HS, with more soft leather and fabrics cladding the IP and doors in place of hard plastics, while chrome is used for touch-heavy areas like buttons and grab handles. The updated three-spoke steering wheel design is simple and includes a small number of control switches. Finally, an extended wheelbase has allowed MG to increase the boot capacity of the model by 44 litres.