At Full Chat

There's nothing wrong - indeed there's everything right - about window switches being on door trims and horns in the centre of the steering wheel. It's great that sound systems are as close to eye level as possible, and that heater controls are just below. I'm a big fan of the gearstick popping out of the centre tunnel within easy reach.

But some interior stylists have moved them to places where they're difficult, if not impossible, to find. They've lost sight of the fact that the best designs are very often the simplest. Drivers concentrating hard on driving shouldn't have to think about where buttons are. They should reach for and use those controls instinctively.

Why are some motorists effectively forced to log in to a computer simply to switch radio stations? Do modest cars such as higher-spec Citroen C3s really need Formula One-style paddles behind the steering wheel merely to go up and down the gearbox? Which lunatic invented BMW's ergonomically disastrous, mind-boggling iDrive system?

I'm sure Privilege Insurance had its corporate heart in the right place when it reminded us earlier this month of the potentially lethal dangers of needlessly complicated car interiors distracting busy drivers. But the firm may have made matters worse rather than better by insisting: "Everything from planning a route and selecting the choice and volume of music to setting the right temperature should be done before driving off."

That's nonsense. Switching from one radio station to another, one CD or cassette to another, is to be encouraged to keep drivers from dozing off. And setting the "right temperature" before driving off early in the morning and not adjusting it as the interior and driver warms up - or cooks - during the course of a journey is madness. At this time of year in particular, my advice is to put the heat and fan settings at or near maximum early in the journey and bring them down to a comfortable level when your glass demists, your feet warm up and the temperature inside the cabin reaches about 22 degrees C.

It's ironic that some makers waste hundreds if not thousands of pounds on every car they build fitting fancy on-board features which are either hard to find, hard to operate or hard to justify. But few, if any, spend a fiver per vehicle installing a simple but valuable gauge that shows important safety-related information such as cabin temperature.