volvo thinks like me (they've got two of my mantras covered)

Created by Lester Martin
Jun 17, 2014

I finally traded in my old 2002 Volvo S80 to get the family a new 2014 Volvo XC90. It is not for me; I'm the "dad", so I get the hand-me-down 2012 Honda CR-V from my wife.  (wink)  I thought I'd share how Volvo's "don't fix it if it ain't broke" mindset aligns with a couple of my core beliefs:

  • Better is the Enemy of Done
  • Consistency is King

Like anything, a picture is worth a 1000 words.  Here's an interior shot from the 14 year old S80 sedan.

And here's an interior shot of a 2014 XC90.

It may not be painfully obvious, but almost every single control (windows, locks, mirrors, heating/cooling, seat warmers, hazards, sound system, defrosters, and even how you turn off the vents) is almost identical.  This is not just location and operation, but the little things like the fonts and icons.  Other than a few concepts in the new car that were not available in the old one (primarily XM Radio and Bluetooth), I instinctively knew how to control this new car.

Some might not think this this lack of change (maybe even innovation) is a good idea, but as a person who travels a bit, rents a ton of different car models, and gets frustrated trying to learn how to do the simplest things when just trying to get to the hotel or my client site, I would sure appreciate not having to waste valuable time on things like this.  As a side note, I would also like to rent a car whose dash doesn't have a logo that ends with "powered by Microsoft".  This doesn't mean I'm against change, but it brings up another one of my mantras:

 Don't Make a Change Without a Compelling Reason

To that, Volvo is actually changing up (and dramatically!) the interior of the 2015 XC90 as seen here.  I can't say I actually like the interior, but the Compelling Reasons are the massive improvements (over last 15 years) in touch screens and consumer-oriented GPS technologies as well as the upcoming regulations regarding back-up cameras.  While I actually wish they'd take the lead in the improvements they've made to the XC60's interior (a great compromise of old & new), I'm optimistic they'll make a solid push for keeping Consistency as King as they transition to a new approach.  

I guess I'm only confused why the new XC60 and XC90 seems to look very different – Volvo, don't let me down; remember, Better is the Enemy of Done!!