What Are The Best & Worst Smelling Car Interiors?

"Mailbox Cancer" (mailboxcancer) 11/21/2013 at 12:00 • Filed to: show me, branding, smell, touch points

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In branding, you have these things called "touchpoints", mainly little experiential details believed to help part you from your money; textures, colors, sounds, light, temperature, and even smell. Why is smell particularly so important? Because that touchpoint is worth billions to auto manufacturers.

Everyone knows the drill ... that "new car smell" is invigoratingly heavenly, yet you know to be cautious because inhaling too much of it can lead to a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Benzene and Cyclohex' Special is a deliciously intoxicating experience and all, but all manufacturers expertly craft that experience differently. Yes, like beer.

And naturally, the results are decidedly mixed between heavenly aroma of slaughtered/skinned animals and something that reminds you of accidentally walking past an Abercrombie & Fitch store at the mall. Some are unforgettable, and there are others that you go out of your way to avoid.

Sure – leather interiors will naturally smell much more enticing than trim levels that use a lowly weave of fabric, but there are some leathers that leave you with much to be desired (the smell of Ford leather interiors come to mind, smells vinyl-y) while some fabric interiors can't help but make you feel pleasant and cheery (VW for me, eyes closed). That's the power of smell ... it's a sensory experience that stays with you.

The Kandied Koreans

Who makes some fabric interiors that make me go "BLEGH" when I open my nostrils? Kia Motors. There's nothing outwardly off-putting about them when you climb in, but you notice after a while that the car smells * sweet*. Like, candy sweet , as if someone was chewing a couple hundred packs of Juicy Fruit to spit out and use as the adhesives, or spilled sweet tea in the carpets on the assembly line. And it's not an isolated incident for me either ... every Kia rental I've ever had smells like this, including my sister's Soul daily driver. I just can't take that after a while, which is why on a 10-point scale I would continuously rate them a 3 or 4. Boo, said the crowd.

Domestic Disturbance

On the flip side, both FoMoCo and GM use a particular fabric in their standard-trim cars that smells a-m-a-z-i-n-g when new. It penetrates everything, including the clothes you're wearing. Interestingly that smell changes after a few years of use, but only with most Ford products I've driven ... it lingers, but is noticeably stale . GM, by comparison, just tapers off into the sunset without a trace. Which is why I would give GM's fabric interiors a solid 8 while Ford will sag from a 7 to a 5 over time.

All experiences will be different, but it's an important thing to document. How would you rate your favorite and most despised experiences with the smell of a car interior?

Anon > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:01

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The 2011 Honda Civic. My parents leased me a new one during high school and lord did that thing have the worse new car smell ever!

dogisbadob > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:03

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Chris Harris's RS4 wagon?

Mailbox Cancer > Anon 11/21/2013 at 12:03

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So, it'd be somewhere around a 2? What did it smell like?

Jagvar > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:04

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Ugh, where is that smell coming from?

Anon > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:05

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I'm not too sure, just like plastics I guess. There's not really a reference smell for it.

RickyD > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:09

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As long I can stay away from that "vintage" Mercedes Benz smell. The leather and plastic must have an expiration date. Volvo also, but to a lesser extent. Another massive offender would be VW, which can stink like hell in a few short years.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:09

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I spend my work day in new BMW's, they smell very... I don't even know. I would describe the smell like being in medical lab or something else "Sterile".

Big Bubba Ray > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:09

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My 2009 Corolla rental car. The interior smells like piss/shit/vomit. The only reasoning drove to work today instead of riding my bike is because of the rain. I want my car back.

Mailbox Cancer > E30Joe drives a Subaru 11/21/2013 at 12:11

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I know what you mean. It's not the rich waft of leather baseball gloves like you'd expect. Very clinical.

Mailbox Cancer > E30Joe drives a Subaru 11/21/2013 at 12:11

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I know what you mean. It's not the rich waft of leather baseball gloves like you'd expect. Very clinical.

Mailbox Cancer > Big Bubba Ray 11/21/2013 at 12:12

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Just don't touch that crusty pool on the floor right there.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:13

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You can pay extra through BMW Individual for your car to smell like the rich waft of a leather baseball glove for a small fee of 5000 dollars.

Your boy, BJR > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:13

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Every single Oldsmobile I've ever been in, including the 2 I owned, have smelled the same, along with 1990's era Cadillacs. I guess it was the leather GM was using. Also, after mercedes benzes are like 2 or 3 years old, they all smell like the inside of the big tin of crayons I used to have at my grandma's house. Older Saabs all have a similar waxy smell, but it's sweeter than M-Benzes crayola scent.

Mailbox Cancer > E30Joe drives a Subaru 11/21/2013 at 12:14

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Yeah, but even then, its .... hmm.

Ghost Dog - For the kittens > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:18

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Best: AMC Concord

Worst: Ford Pinto

oldirtybootz > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:18

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Chrysler 200s, Dodge Avengers, Nitros, and Journeys, last gen Grand Cherokees and Libertys all had a really awful, cheap plastic smell.

Nibbles > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:18

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Saab classic 900 3-doors (only) with leather interiors (only) have a smell that is a classy type of pungent. Kinda like your grandpa's car after having smoked a pipe in it for years. It's likely a mix of the Scottish Leather by Bridge of Weir and the wood they used for the parcel shelf.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Anon 11/21/2013 at 12:19

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As an owner of a 2013 Civic, it doesn't smell great... like plastic

EL_ULY > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:21

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Volvo (1999-2006) S80 and (2001-2009) S60 interiors always reminded me of a fresh box of Crayola Crayons for some reason, but I like it lol :] 6/10

Out of cars I've owned, my C5 Avant is my fav. Just smells classy unlike the newer douche magnet cars of today. My C5 gets a 8.5/10

Best that I can think of at the moment is the Rapides. Love driving these things. That initial smell is great :] 9.5/10

Mailbox Cancer > Ghost Dog - For the kittens 11/21/2013 at 12:21

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What about the Concord did it for you?

Ghost Dog - For the kittens > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:26

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AMC smelled of leather in a way, although it had vinyl.

A new Pinto smelled of rotting glue.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 12:52

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I'd say the old cloth interiors for GM are fairly stale. All the J-bodys in the shop bring back the memories for the cloth from my mother's old Pontiac Montana.

N/A POWAAAHH > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 13:14

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Audi/ VWs smell really chemical-ish to me, absolutely hate it. BMW is similar but not as bad. Domestics seem to have pretty good smell, and Asian cars smell the best

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 13:15

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My old Jaaag smells bloody brilliant. Proper weathered leather smell. Gorgeous.

anonsagainstanonymous > Mailbox Cancer 11/21/2013 at 13:43

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Old Volvo fabric interiours. 10/10. As cozy as a fireplace on christmas eve.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Mailbox Cancer 11/25/2013 at 20:58

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I really like the smell of new VWs for some reason

GreenN_Gold > oldirtybootz 11/26/2013 at 14:01

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Ah yes, that's the awful, cheap plastic that you are smelling.

GreenN_Gold > Mailbox Cancer 11/26/2013 at 14:03

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My WRX didn't have much of a new car smell. It was there, but it was faint. I guess it's supposedly greener and healthier that way, so that's good. A couple people even asked when I got it though, "Where's the new car smell?"