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http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15722
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15722
GMMediumDutyMQ said:We had a green CTF Solstice at work today down in the labs, and during lunch, I took a chance to check it out it's interior - something I feel is perhaps the biggest 'make it or break it' factor to the car.
And my response is ---- eh.
The doors are very solid, along with their inner panels - and they open and close with a solid feel. There's not a whole lot of accessory trim on the panels (compared to, oh, the trim on an Audi TT), and thus looks somewhat bland.
The dash is something I have some beef with. Yes, it's striking, particuarly the way it curves and wraps around the driver and into the center console. We've all seen this from day one of the concept, and most of us oohed and ahhed that GM could think of such a design.
Well, it comes out so-so. I will attest that the controls - particuarly that of the HVAC and the new-generation Radio - are very nicely done (the radio's particuarly sweet; when off it has an off-set clock display, much like that of some aftermarket stereos or home recievers). The HVAC, in particular, has a very solid feel.
My biggest issue here is some of the arrangements made. The HVAC and the radio are logically placed, but within this curved aperture lie some additional buttons and displays - that in my mind, look to be arranged almost as an afterthought. It really reminded me of the dash arrangement of the prototype Vipers - which was scattered, at best.
For instance, the switch for the foglamps is about middle of the stack, to the left of the gauges. Why, in god's name, isn't this placed somewhere a little more logical - like, oh, I don't know, on the stalk where other light switches or functions are? Or even on the left-hand side of the dashboard, too?
It's also right in this area that the cluster lighting adjustment lies, right underneath the gauges themselves. And while this may appear to be somewhat logical (?), it turns into a pain - for it requires a bit of a reach-around the steering wheel to adjust the scrollwheel.
My other beef is the passenger airbag dislpay - it looks a bit out of place as a rectangular box at the top of the curve. It's no big deal, but I think GM could have integrated it into the tell-tale light area on the cluster, or even in the rear-view mirror - as it does on the 800s, for example.
Texture wise, the material wasn't too bad. It's not the elephant-hide style used in the L-Series, and it's not the geometric 3-D pattern used on the CTS . I'll go back down and re-evaluate how hard the dash plastic feels; I manily was focused on the look and design.
And try as I might, I can't leave the appearance of the car's interior out of this rant. This interior was a grey-on-grey, which is a shame - particuarly as the 2-tone grey/tan interior would look nice on a dark green car like this. As such, the only contrast is between the panels and the black carpeting, and doesn't stimulate the viewers as much as it could have.
This is my subjective review - granted, your ideal control locations could be completely different from mine, or you could love all-grey interiors. But to me, I wasn't entirely impressed with this.