Recently many cars have been trying to design around the handles and making them subtle to not disrupt the body lines and overall design. This may help the design but for the owner, and especially for other people who have not used the car before, might have a hard timing figuring out how to get in the vehicle.
“These days drivers might use buttons, levers, pull tabs, touch-activated pads, proximity sensors, or even facial recognition to open a door. Aerodynamic and drag-reducing requirements have brought the automotive world to a point where the door handle—the first place we interact with a car—has become high-tech and, occasionally, highly confusing. Sure, there are wind-cheating and weight considerations in handle design; flush handles reduce drag compared to your old-fashioned grab bar. But much of the driving force behind the new looks is just that—looks. Designers believe consumers want sleeker, techy ingress, particularly for EVs, with their focus on being new and different.” (Bassett 2023)
“The new handle tucks itself inside the door when locked and pops out for access. .” (Bassett 2023)
“Touch-sensitive door handles sound futuristic, but if you’ve ever stood in a public bathroom pathetically waving your wet hands under a paper-towel dispenser, you know that touch and motion sensors often fail at recognition. Perhaps because of complaints about frozen or unresponsive sensors on the Tesla Model S, the Model Y gets flush-lever releases.” (Bassett 2023)
These kinds of unlocking mechanisms are extremely annoying and time consuming. Through my experience working in valet, the key cards that owners use to unlock their car almost never works the first time when going over the sensor, I’ve even had to help other valets to figure it out. On top of that when its cold out and cars have a layer of ice on them they’re is almost no chance of getting the reader to scan the key and even if it did the handle would be frozen in place.
“To keep a smooth side, many designers have turned to a single lever that pops out with a push (or remotely). The ’90s Fiat Barchetta featured this design, and Aston Martin, Lexus, Nissan, Tesla, Kia, and Hyundai use variations. It looks elegant while locked but can be hard to operate with one hand, especially if you’re a lefty.” (Bassett 2023)
These are better and still sleek options but also have the possibility of being frozen over on top of the inconvenience that the designs were not made for lefties and especially people with disabilities. Some of them seem almost too close to hidden handles that lead to a secret rooms and are too much of an inconvenience, but the sleek and subtle handles are a great idea for stopping the disruptions of the designs, they just need some adjustments to tackle these problems and then they will be used on many cars.
References:
Abigail Bassett. June 11, 2023. Modern Cars’ Door Designs Can Be Hard to Handle. Press, lift, pop out, pull, twist, push—automotive entry is getting complicated. Car and Driver. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a44040564/modern-car-door-designs-amalyzed/
