How a car's cabin is organised — the dashboard, seats, controls and comfort features, with differences for ICE cars, hybrids and EVs
The interior is where the driver and passengers actually live with the car. It puts the controls the driver needs within easy reach, holds everyone comfortably and safely in place, and shapes how the car feels — from the dashboard and instruments to the seats, doors, climate vents and trim. Over the last decade the cabin has changed faster than almost any other part of the car: physical buttons and analog dials are giving way to large touchscreens and digital displays, and electric powertrains free up space for a flatter floor and more storage.
Grouped by how the dashboard and controls are organised
Analog dials for speed and revs, plenty of physical buttons and knobs for climate and audio, and a small or no central screen. Everything has a dedicated control you can find by feel — familiar, robust and distraction-free.
Components
A fully digital instrument cluster behind the wheel plus a central touchscreen, while key climate and volume controls often stay physical. The most common layout on new cars, balancing flexible displays with familiar shortcuts.
Components
Almost every function moves onto one large central screen, with very few physical buttons and sometimes no cluster in front of the driver at all. Clean and futuristic, but more of the driver's attention goes to the screen.
Components
The controls are similar, but packaging and space change with the powertrain
A transmission tunnel runs down the middle of the floor and a gear lever sits on the centre console, so cabin space is shaped around the mechanical driveline. Instruments traditionally include a rev counter, and many controls stay physical.
Much like an ICE cabin, but the displays add energy-flow and battery readouts so the driver can see when the car runs on petrol, electricity or both. The gear selector is often a compact e-CVT dial or button.
With no engine or transmission tunnel, the floor is flat and the dashboard can sit further forward, freeing up space and storage (including a front trunk). EV cabins lean toward large screens, column or rotary shifters that clear the console, and a lounge-like feel.
The main parts of the cabin, from the dashboard to the seats and safety equipment
Click a part to see its description in the cards below
The panel across the front of the cabin that houses the instruments, screens, vents and glovebox, and forms the visual centrepiece of the interior.
The display directly in front of the driver showing speed, revs, fuel or charge and warning lights — analog dials, a digital screen, or a mix of both.
Steers the car and carries buttons for audio, phone and cruise control, plus the stalks for indicators and wipers. The column adjusts for reach and height and holds the driver's airbag.
The central touchscreen for navigation, media, phone and increasingly the climate and car settings — the hub that ties the cabin's functions together.
The raised section between the front seats carrying the gear selector, cupholders, an armrest and storage — and often the shortcut buttons and wireless charger.
Support the driver and front passenger, adjusting for reach, height and recline, and often adding heating, ventilation and lumbar support for comfort on long drives.
A bench or individual seats for rear passengers, usually split-folding to expand the boot, with headrests, belts and often ISOFIX anchors for child seats.
The inner trim of each door, carrying the armrest, the window and mirror switches, the speaker and a storage pocket — plus the handle to open the door from inside.
The accelerator and brake (and a clutch on a manual) in the driver's footwell. EVs often need only two, and heavy regenerative braking can allow near one-pedal driving.
Heats, cools and demists the cabin, pushing conditioned air through the dashboard vents. Controlled by knobs, buttons or the touchscreen, often with automatic temperature zones.
Seatbelts hold occupants in place and airbags cushion them in a crash — hidden in the wheel, dashboard, seats and pillars until they are needed.
The trimmed inner surface of the roof, often with a sliding or fixed glass sunroof that brings in light and air; increasingly a single large panoramic glass panel.