I was invited to a LR customer focus group last weekend.
Is was focusing on switchgear and specifically the "feel" of them. They had 6 cars there for us to sample (RRS, X5, Cayenne, XC90, ML, Lexus RX) and the RRS felt the lowest grade of the bunch.
It was actually rather interesting. I wouldn't have believed I could be so aanalytical over a switch, but the difference between the different cars was enormous when you could get straight out of one into another.
We finished off looking at a bunch of different devices with different switches, from phones, to PSP, to Apple Mac etc. The best switchgear was from the new Lexus GS, which felt really high quality and beautifully weighted and damped. The worst by a mile was from the new BMW 5 series. It would appear that they have focused all their attention on the i-Drive control and completely ignored the switch pack for the heating. It was seriously crap. You would be disappointed with it in a 1980's Ford Escort.
I didn't realise before hand, but the RRS minor switches "hinge" from their top edge, which gives them a low-grade feel because their travel isn't linear.

Paul

Interesting... how did you get asked onto that, if you don't mind me asking? I wonder if they are doing several of them? 

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very interesting!

Some guy came and knocked on my front door. He was going around looking for suitable cars parked on driveways.

I even got paid for it

I must admit, I was pretty critical of the RRS interior. I like the layout and the ergonomics, but the low-grade fittings irritate me. Especially the green LCD displays that you can't read when the sun is out or if you wear polarised sunglasses

All round, the new Merc ML had the best interior of the cars there. If the Q7 had been there, I suspect that may have been the best.
The Porsche Cayenne was surprisingly low-rent. It wasn't bad, but not what I expected. The XC90 was very similar in quality to the RRS. No surprise there, given that they are both Ford owned. The seat control switches were the same items on both cars for example.
The X5 was typical good quality BMW, but the switch pack from the new 5 series really was horrendous.
The Lexus was efficient but nasty looking.

Paul

I like it

I'm not a great Audi fan, but i could change my mind about the new R8.

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