Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess

Quote:

Since being revived back in 2001, the MINI brand has been nothing short of a design icon. But, as is the case with many slaves to fashion, it turns out that the brand's latest models may have a serious case of function following form, at least according to a set of "User Experience Specialists" from the folks over at User Centric.

The team's gripes center around the Cooper's interior design, which famously places its gigantic speedometer front and center in the dashboard. That central gauge holds many of the user interface controls, and the entire cluster gets low marks on their usability scale for its slew of tiny poorly-labeled buttons and counter-intuitive audio controls. A second set of controls exists directly in front of the driver on the tachometer, and it, too, gets low marks for its poorly labeled controls which are mounted on a stalk to the left of the steering wheel.

For a few more takes on the current car's ergonomic shortcomings, be sure to check out of past reviews of the 2007 MINI Cooper S and its slightly larger stablemate, the 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman, or check out our captioned gallery below. No matter, the MINI still manages to win friends thanks to its amusingly tossable nature, its impeccable driving dynamics, and its irrepressible cuteness.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/22/haptic-hazards-mini-comprehensively-slated-for-poor-ergonomics/

I always though it was weird

Author	Message
JackyGor Senior Advisor Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:17 pm Posts: 1145 Location: Richmond	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:45 am Post subject: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	Quote: Since being revived back in 2001, the MINI brand has been nothing short of a design icon. But, as is the case with many slaves to fashion, it turns out that the brand's latest models may have a serious case of function following form, at least according to a set of "User Experience Specialists" from the folks over at User Centric. The team's gripes center around the Cooper's interior design, which famously places its gigantic speedometer front and center in the dashboard. That central gauge holds many of the user interface controls, and the entire cluster gets low marks on their usability scale for its slew of tiny poorly-labeled buttons and counter-intuitive audio controls. A second set of controls exists directly in front of the driver on the tachometer, and it, too, gets low marks for its poorly labeled controls which are mounted on a stalk to the left of the steering wheel. For a few more takes on the current car's ergonomic shortcomings, be sure to check out of past reviews of the 2007 MINI Cooper S and its slightly larger stablemate, the 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman, or check out our captioned gallery below. No matter, the MINI still manages to win friends thanks to its amusingly tossable nature, its impeccable driving dynamics, and its irrepressible cuteness. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/22/haptic-hazards-mini-comprehensively-slated-for-poor-ergonomics/ I always though it was weird _________________
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RabidRat Supreme Advisor Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:14 pm Posts: 1825 Location: Vancouver, BC	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:49 am Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	haha vanessa and vincent are NOT going to be happy _________________ Sonca Teng, SFASC
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Buzz Killington New Member Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:45 am Posts: 5 Location: Manchester	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:37 am Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	JackyGor wrote: I always though it was weird _________________ Now here's a fellow attempting to ride a bicycle. But he's having some trouble, isn't he? And do you know why? Because he's a Scot! Now, who here likes a good story about a bridge?
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gtr06 Senior Advisor Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:36 pm Posts: 814 Location: Vancouver	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	Hmm... The newspaper says a 6 speed mini is $26,000 with a $1000 enviro rebate. That isn't a bad price for a base mini, too bad other small cars like Yaris, Fit and Versa are $10,000 cheaper. _________________
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SlyMonkey VP Internal Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:42 pm Posts: 926 Location: Not here.	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:23 pm Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	Is that Versa R or something? Looks somehow nicer... Oh, and you can't really compare Mini with Versas and Fits...although the similar size, the displacement and price would put the Mini on the Mazda3 / Civic Si / Imprezza range...I think...
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gtr06 Senior Advisor Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:36 pm Posts: 814 Location: Vancouver	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	Versa hijack! http://paultan.org/archives/2005/09/29/ ... san-versa/ _________________
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SlyMonkey VP Internal Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:42 pm Posts: 926 Location: Not here.	Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:21 pm Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	Pfft...CG Graphics ftl..
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VikS2000 Active Member Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:22 pm Posts: 983	Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:37 am Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	it deserves this http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/28/vide ... nvertible/ _________________
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zhaov819 General Executive Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:16 am Posts: 39	Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: Re: Why the MINI Cooper's interior is a cute ergonomic mess
	steering wheel is the only thing i really need,and it is a well made one for sure. So the "Ergonomic" issue is not my concern at all.
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