Which cars have the nicest interiors?

Car interiors have changed a lot over the years, with even the more affordable brands now offering high-quality styling previously only found in luxury vehicles.

In the early days of the automotive industry, function was valued over form, with only basic equipment and materials used – no dials, centre consoles, screens, all of the things we consider must-haves today.

It wasn’t until the 1950s and '60s that cars began to incorporate brighter colours and fabrics and play around with different surface textures and finishes.

It was at this time, according to accessories manufacturer Redline Goods, that we started to see the introduction of features such as adjustable seats, radios, and air conditioning.

During the 1970s and '80s, safety became more of a focus and that too changed interior design, with the emergence of seatbelts, new dashboard layouts – also incorporating airbags – and cabins started to appear more of a finished product.

Nowadays, not only are TV-like screens the norm in our cars, but they’re getting bigger, brighter and more technologically advanced than ever (think the latest Genesis GV70’s 27-inch unit that blends the infotainment and driver’s display into one enormous, seamless OLED surface).

In 2025, then, which cars have the nicest interiors?

While the obvious answer might still be the vehicles at the luxury end of the scale, there might also be some that surprise you.

According to the UK’s Auto Trader, the best car interior can be found in the Bentley Flying Spur Odyssean Edition.

This special-edition Flying Spur has an environmentally-friendly interior, which comes, in part, from being finished with liberal amounts of open-pore Koa wood. 

As well as using 90 per cent less lacquer than high-gloss alternatives, the model also has tweed panels made from all-British wool and a centre console crafted from piano linen.

Following closely behind the Bentley is the Rolls-Royce Spectre which, of course, is a bit special – even for a Roller.

The electric coupe features what Rolls-Royce calls ‘Starlight Doors’, which integrate 4796 illuminated dots or ‘stars' in the headlining and doors, while the dashboard can also be had with an illuminated panel comprised of a Spectre badge and more than 5500 illuminated stars.

While Auto Trader also ranks the likes of the Land Rover Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Maserati Grecale highly, it also gives credit to some vehicles not normally considered high-end, such as the Honda E, Peugeot E-3008 and Mini Hatchback.

Honda’s little electric E makes the list for being, in Auto Trader’s words, a “car [that] just makes you smile”.

“You can turn one of the screens into a huge clock, or a blue sunny day, or the aforementioned fish tank, so that the tropical little nippers swim across your car towards the wheel,” it noted.

U.S News and World Report’s list of best car interiors is topped by Buick, giving it an average score of 8.0 out of 10 and saying, “the brand is known for cabin quality that punches above its weight”.

Joint first place was given to Honda, another mainstream manufacturer – showing that traditional views of who makes the best interiors is being challenged.

Second place, according to the US auto site, is Audi with 7.9 out of 10 for its model range, followed by BMW, Jeep, Kia and Mercedes-Benz all on 7.8.

According to Joe Public, though, you just can’t go wrong with a Porsche.

On the popular Reddit thread r/Autos on which car manufacturer makes the best interiors, user FroyoOk3159 said, “Porsche is really a notch above everyone else. Fit, finish and function.

“Their [sic] price point is also a notch above everyone else but some models are attainable for the average person. I also like Audi for interiors alone.”

“I love the look of the interiors in a Porsche,” said another.

Other answers, however, varied from Lexus and Volvo to Pagani and Bentley, while user om_is_bean said Mazdas are “heavily underrated in this department”.

Interestingly, Audi has recently acknowledged that its interiors were better in the past than they are in the present day.

"Of course, we have been better in terms of quality in the past, but we will catch up again,” said Audi’s Head of Product and Technology Communication, reports the Local Telegraph, particularly the likes of the A6 E-Tron and Q5.

Speaking to Drive, Swedish brand Polestar’s Head of Colour and Material, Maria Uggla, said she couldn’t reveal what exactly is coming next from the electric car brand, which is quickly becoming synonymous with sustainability.

“I think we’ve come a long way and are now working with some really, really interesting materials, and I think that what will be in our future, I don't think we have even seen yet,” she told us.

“There is so much development going on now to find this 'Holy Grail' material that could be kept in a loop that could be recycled over and over again instead of all the time extracting new. There is so much research and innovation going on now in the materials field.”

According to Uggla, creating a high-quality car interior is about keeping a close eye on trends, but that doesn’t necessarily mean hopping on the latest Tik Tok craze.

“We look a lot into fashion. We look a lot into streetwear. But especially in fashion, they can move much quicker than in auto," she said.

"I don't think you can ever jump on small, quick trends because then they would always be out of date.

“I would say [the inspiration] it's very performance-driven and very tech-driven on the sportswear side because there it needs to fit the purpose, and the whole sustainability aspect has come in quite a lot.

“I don't think to be successful around sustainability you could have sustainability like a separate thing, it needs to be throughout and you cannot do it as an add-on like a cosmetic that you put on top in the end.

"It needs to be like when we work with safety, it’s there from the beginning. We work with sustainability; it needs to be incorporated in the complete company, and we are lucky enough to have it as one of our core values and to have it top-down incorporated in.”

Sustainable materials can be found throughout the interior of Polestar’s model range, with optional yarn upholstery in the Polestar 4 made from 100 per cent PET waste, while reconstructed wood deco is made from reused birch wood in the Polestar 2.

The carpets in both the 3 and 4 are also made from 100 per cent Econyl polyamide, which is derived from discarded fishing nets and other plastic waste.

Using these types of materials, said Uggla, isn’t just about ticking a sustainability box.

“I think it's a balance between design, sustainability and function. If it's not functional and is only good looking, then it doesn't make sense, and if it's not sustainable, then you would have to scrap it after a short while.”

A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

Read more about Kathryn Fisk