Interview with Tomasz Bachorski “Good interior design should not be complicated”

Mr. Bachorski, the first pre-ordered ID.4 will soon be delivered to customers. Have you driven the e-SUV yet? How did it feel?

The driving experience delighted me. It had such a lightness, almost like music. Normally it’s like that: You stand in front of an off-road vehicle, see the huge wheels and already have an idea of how it will drive. But with the ID.4, I was completely surprised. The car drives much easier and more light-footed than I would have guessed. Super performance, very good road holding, small turning circle, simply awesome – especially for such a large car.

As Head of Interior Design, you pay particular attention to the “inner values” of a vehicle. Are you satisfied with your own work?

It’s not just my work, but that of an entire team. About 90 people work on the interior design. With every car, we have to make compromises, of course, because there are legal or technical requirements. But with the ID.4, we found a lot of really creative solutions.

What was the biggest challenge when it came to the interior design?

The platform of our all-electric vehicles allows maximum use to be made of the space offered in the interior. Since the high-voltage battery is located as a flat block under the passenger cell and all other technology components take up little installation space, the ID.4 is as spacious as a conventional SUV in the next segment above. Our main intention for the interior was therefore to emphasize this large space. Space that no combustion vehicle can replicate. It was important for us to convey a homely feeling. On the other hand, we had to consider the issue of safety. People drive SUVs because they have a different sense of safety. We didn’t want to lose that through design metaphors, but on the contrary: show the space and at the same time emphasize the safety aspects, convey a sense of security.

Let’s take a look inside the ID.4: What makes its interior special?

The overall impression is what makes it special, a combination of many details and surfaces. Even from the exterior perspective, the design stands out for its difference. When you then open the door, you are also surprised by the interior. We have created a very modern interior. I deliberately don’t say cockpit, but interior. Very large and airy – we call it Open Space – but also slightly familiar, to take all customers with us.

It’s often said: no combustion engine, no transmission tunnel, no fuel tank. Now interior design suddenly knows no boundaries – or are there still restrictions?

Of course, there are a lot of regulations, especially crash requirements, that have to be met. Often these are space guzzlers. A surface has to be close to the knees or legs in order to meet all the legal crash requirements. At Volkswagen, we exceed these specifications to really ensure maximum safety. On the other hand, we want to show the maximum space. That’s exciting, of course.

The ID.4 is the second production vehicle in the ID. family: What are typical design elements?

First of all, I would like to emphasize the great overall space effect. The high-quality materials, the feel, the closeness: All of this gives the ID.4 a modern and attractive sense of space. A very typical design element in the ID. vehicles is the instrument panel. We designed it like a wing. It integrates all the functions and all the digital devices – whether it’s the large display in the center or the fantastic AR head-up display. The instrument panel in all vehicles in the ID. family is quite slim, so we achieve a very great lightness. It almost looks like a flying sculpture inserted between the doors. We have also focused on the center console. We’ve added a lot more storage options and more functionality without sacrificing the value of the material. We have large shelves with different partitioning options, dividers, cup holders that can be removed. In this context, we took a very close look at the issue of smartphones. There are countries where you’re not allowed to see your phone when it’s in the center console. But there are also countries where customers want exactly that and are allowed to. We have to take into account many specific requirements from various markets, because the ID.4 is a true global car. In the Chinese market, for example, the issue of quality and ambient lighting is very important. And last but not least, one element that I don’t want to forget: the modern seats in the ID.4. They are comfortable on the one hand, but also sporty on the other.

Lots of space, lightness, home feeling: what role does color play in this?

We have discussed this a great deal. At home, most of us have a light-colored wood floor, laminate or carpet. Not so with the car. There, the carpet is dark because you don’t want to see the dirt. We wanted to change that and bring the lightness of the home into the car as well. Less driver’s workspace, more mobile living space.

What distinguishes Volkswagen’s first electric SUV from traditional SUVs?

The cars are relatively large on the outside, but have comparatively little interior space because a lot of technology is clad. The ID.4 also has a lot of technology, but less visible. That’s always a big challenge for us designers: On the one hand, the cars should be full of modern technology, but on the other hand, we have to design the vehicles so that the technology isn’t visible. I always say from a design perspective: The best technology is the kind you can’t see.