Others have commented on the reviewer's general ineptitude, and I
won't bother preaching to the choir about that. But the review did
notice one little annoying thing that has bothered many of my
passengers:
sea2rive-@... wrote:
original article:
I couldn't figure out how to open the one sliding door from the
inside.
I remember being "trapped" in the back of my EVC when the dealer took
me for a demo ride. And nearly every new passenger I take in the van
has trouble figuring out how to open that door from the inside. Of
course, once you've figured out where the latch is, it's very easy,
and not the least bit of a problem. It works wonderfully.
The problem is, that latch isn't where we expect to see it.
Latches on every other automotive door I've seen -- sliding or not --
are below the level of the window. Plus, it's beautifully camouflaged
to blend in with the door design; it doesn't look like a latch.
Finally, there's that funny black rubber bumper down low to act as a
"Red Herring" and distract the novice.
There's an excellent book called "The Design of Everyday Things", by
Don Norman, which discusses this kind of problem in detail, giving
lots of examples of designs and analyzing how hard or easy it is to
figure them out at first glance, and why.
I do wish the VW engineers had made that latch more obvious for
new passengers. On the other hand, that's hardly a significant
criticism of the vehicle as a whole.
And if the reviewer was never able to figure it out, that's an
indication of how much effort was put into the review.
--Rich
p.s. The electric windows confuse many novice passengers, as well.
