Electric car drivers are "getting a better experience" says Volvo chief designer

By creating moments of delight designers have the power to make the experience of driving electric cars better than petrol cars, says Volvo global head of design Jeremy Offer in this interview.

Speaking to Dezeen ahead of the release of the Volvo ES90 earlier this week, Offer argued that by adding "moments of functional delight", the electric car driving experience can surpass that of combustion cars.

"Let me let me put it this way: there is a great quote from Dieter Rams which is 'reduce everything to the essential, but don't remove the poetry'," Offer said.

"How can we find these moments of poetry?"

Offer acknowledged that taking the engine out of cars risks making the driving experience more sterile.

However, he believes it is up to electric car designers to add "moments of poetry" to create an enhanced driving experience for electric car owners.

"When you remove the engine, when you remove the visceral connection to the automotive experience, what do you replace that with?" he asked.

"It becomes a more sterile experience. So when we're working with the design of fully electric cars, we ask, 'where's the poetry?'" he continued.

"How can we find these moments of poetry that we can add back into the narrative to make the user feel like they're not missing something, that actually they're getting a better experience?"

"Creating more space and light and this feeling of security"

According to Offer, removing the engine can create more internal space along with a quieter drive – improving the user experience (UX). This can be enhanced through technology and premium-feeling materials.

"Most people who experience an electric car realise that this is not only better for the planet, but if you do it right, you have a great UX and you have a great driving experience – then you've added back that level of joy," said Offer.

"I think it also ties to, 'what is premium in an electric car?' So for me it's about creating more space and light, and this feeling of security," he continued.

"And, of course, getting from A to B in a smooth and as quiet and as elegant a way as you possibly can. And I think this car [the ES90] absolutely exemplifies that."

Offer gave the example of the ES90's stereo system, which includes 25 separate speakers, as an example of how the user experience can benefit from the lack of engine.

"For example our audio system," he said. "Because we haven't got the thrum of an engine going on, the audio experience that you get inside, as the steel cabin is so quiet, is something else."

"We're giving users more than they expect"

Offer believes that attention to detail within the design of the interior can also contribute to elevating the driving experience.

"One of our other key signifiers is this idea of functional delight, so that we're giving users more than they expect," he explained.

"So when they come across them, there are moments of moments of joy – when you when you realise how much thought has gone into each of those functional elements."

Overall, Offer believes that the combination of technology, safety and comfort means that electric cars can be joyful.

"Just drive the car and you'll really identify what I'm talking about – these moments of functional delight," said Offer.

"The idea of this quiet intelligence at work that all of our technology is giving you this feeling of wellbeing and that you're in the safest car that you could possibly be in."

"It's not just one thing I can point to, but it's collectively the way that we've leveraged the opportunities that being fully electric can give you as something that brings back that joy," he continued.

"It's a different driving experience, but it brings a new perspective to the automotive experience."

Volvo is aiming to be fully electrified by 2030.

The photography is courtesy of Volvo Car Group.

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