- Volkswagen says that flush door handles are "terrible to operate."
- The brand pledges to give models "proper" door handles.
- Volkswagen is getting ready for a big electric push that includes the ID. Polo and ID. Cross.
Volkswagen's top brass has come to the same conclusion as just about every single person trying to open a Tesla door for the first time: Flush door handles may look sweet, but they often suck in practice.
At the IAA Mobility show in Munich, Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schäfer told Deutsche Welle that the automaker has received quite a bit of feedback regarding flush-mounted door handles. The verdict? Customers want function over form, and Volkswagen is going to give it to them.
Automakers have been designing EVs to look futuristic. VW itself has said that the industry has been laser-focused on designing battery-powered cars to appease early adopters, and that this would need to change to further market penetration for more average consumers.
That's why VW won't be playing find the button any longer—inside of the car or out. Instead, the brand promises to give the consumers what they want.
"People expect some sort of familiarity with the vehicle, with the brand, that they are buying into," Schäfer told DW, when asked if there's a concerted effort within VW to make its EVs familiar to buyers. "Functions have to be easy, like door handles, for example. It’s all nice to have these flush door handles, but they are terrible to operate. So we definitely have proper door handles on the cars and customers appreciate it. It’s the feedback we’re getting."
The ID. Every1 concept that VW trotted out earlier this year does sport hidden, recessed door handles. But the near-production designs of the ID. Polo and ID. Cross that it showed at IAA had more conventional grab handles. (The ID.4 crossover sold in America never went full-blown hidden, but the handles aren't exactly typical either.)
In the interview, Schäfer recognizes that the Volkswagen brand has made some missteps in recent years. He said he came in as CEO a few years ago with a mission to "make true Volkswagens again." To him, that means adding more buttons and making the infotainment system easier to use.
"It's about design, it's about quality, it's about intuitive operation—buttons on the steering wheel and so on," he told the outlet. (Volkswagen switched to capacitive steering-wheel controls, but has walked that back under his leadership.)
The comments come just as complicated door handles get attention across the globe. Regulators in China are reportedly weighing a ban and safety advocates in the U.S. have flagged cases where emergency crews have run into problems getting into vehicles quickly enough due to complicated or inoperable external door handles.
There's also the practicality aspect to note. Automakers are quick to point out that flush door handles mean a lower overall drag coefficient, something quite important in an EV where range is a key selling point. Fewer protruding features mean a sleeker car that can cut through air with less resistance.
But as ArsTechnica points out, shaving down the door handles to be flush with the body only increases the overall range of EVs by around one mile. And if you're alienating buyers just to save one measly mile, you've lost the plot.
