I prefer knobs over buttons for the HVAC and everything else controls. The I-PACE has a couple knobs for the HVAC, but looks to require the touch screens for everything else.
It would seem each side of the car has individual fan speeds. The knob serves both functions of temperatures and fan speed. To adjust the fan speed, you pull up on the knob once and it changes the mode to fan speed from temperature. Personally, I would prefer the traditional icons for the vents and defrost. It would take a little getting used to on what these graphics mean and how to adjust.
A number of I-PACEs were set up with different options to suit different lifestyles. I do like the aero roof cargo carrier. Oh, one thing I like about the I-PACE is the car-like roof height as you can tell by using the spokesperson as a height reference.
For those of you with furry friends with four legs, they have an accessory ramp and water bowl.
The trailer hitch bike rack is more my style. I don’t know if the aero drag is any better compared to the roof rack as the bikes sit sideways and will for sure poke out into the airstream, but at least you don’t have to worry about destroying an expensive bicycle entering a garage or drive-thru.
Okay, finally onto the driving portion. Before allowing anyone to drive, everyone had to blow into a breathalyzer. People around Santa Monica will often take advantage of bottomless mimosas during a Sunday brunch. See those two lit-up Bluetooth speakers? Everyone was given one as a gift. So, I got a speaker and chocolates for swag!
2 comments
There are a couple of problems with these new cars and their array of LCD panels. First, they are really hard to see in bright sunlight. I’m pretty sure it was the Audi E-Tron, that has rearview cameras instead of mirrors, with LCD panels for view screens and the glare from inside the window made it nearly impossible to see the panel clearly. I can imagine, it’s even worse if you have a sunroof.
Secondly, I hope you can disable some of these panels at night, because from some of the reviews I have seen, they are a total distraction for night driving. Personally, I can’t stand to have anything remotely bright in my peripheral vision. Not to mention, that they produce glare off the winshield if not properly shielded.
I was always a big fan of the SAAB ‘night driving mode’.
Yup, I always turn down the brightness on my dash in my cars to avoid messing up my eyes at night. I gave that feedback to my coworkers while doing a user evaluation at my last company. There needs to be a night mode on any big displays.
I’m not quite sure what Byton is thinking with their full dash display. And steering wheel display. Looking at the steering wheel while driving seems like a bad idea.