I recently rented a Ford Focus on a business trip and was struck by two things:
1. The level a “starter” car brings these days. I remember fondly my days of driving my first car, a 1976 Dodge Dart. The only power was power steering. Today’s “entry cars” come jam packed with options.
2. The horrendous usability of the interior cabin. From the funky gauges (shown) or the console that had a radio and temp. controls that looked exactly alike, this car was over-engineered to the point of mass confusion. These design elements might have looked great on a computer screen, but at 65 mph, they’re just flat confusing.
Sounds like my experience with Vista, honestly. Robust, solid, and confusing for the sake of adding “new design”.
