How car interiors changed since 1928

Autocar has been putting cars through detailed roadtests since 1928.

It’s fair to say car interiors have changed a lot in the past 100 years – almost as much as their exteriors.

Let’s take a look at the journey so far:

1920s

Leather seats, speedometer, a manual control for ignition advance – and not much more.

1930s

More instruments of more uniform design, the first signs of plastics, an attempt at styling, an opening windscreen, wind-up windows.

1940s

More cabin width up front, less legroom in the back, a dashboard in painted steel, Rexine upholstery.

1950s

A heater (optional), a radio (optional and rare), vinyl trim, a few more plastic mouldings, electric windows in luxury cars which are still swathed in leather and wood.

1960s

Heater now likely to be standard with air-conditioning in some luxury cars, through-flow ventilation and facia vents start to appear, more-supportive seats, heated rear window (optional), safety features such as seatbelts (optional), more padding, fewer sharp edges

1970s

Plastic mouldings become more sophisticated, radio starts to be standard, trim colours become more vibrant with checks, stripes and more, reclining seats are widely available

1980s

Radio incorporates cassette player, loudspeaker grille in centre of dashboard disappears, central locking and electric windows become mainstream, steering-column stalks cover more functions, steering-wheel rims become softer and thicker, hard mouldings gain soft-touch surfaces, glass sunroofs are popular, first digital instruments, trip computers appear as, briefly, do voice warnings.

1990s

Dashboards are formed from large 'slush mouldings', airbags appear, centre consoles become almost universal, air-conditioning takes off in mainstream cars as sunroofs lose favour, CD players displace cassettes, stereo systems become car-bespoke rather than generic, first sat-navs initially without map displays

2000s

Built-in sat-navs become widely available, BMW iDrive and similar systems integrate sat-nav, stereo, trip computer and more, greater use of textured hard plastics in place of skinned or padded surfaces, keyless entry gains ground, electric parking brakes and audible parking sensors become popular, folding rear seats no longer do the 'double tumble' forward because safety legislation demands stronger fixings, Bluetooth arrives bringing hassle-free hands-free phone usage

2010s

Mobile phones are integrated with multimedia systems, cars become wi-fi hotspots, instrument screens are configurable in myriad ways, knobs and switches are reduced in favour of touchscreen control, reversing cameras and many other driver-assistance systems are commonplace