AUTOS

Jaguar design guru gets touchy about big screens

Gabrielle Coppola
Bloomberg News

When people ask Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar, if he’s going to put a big 12-inch iPad-like screen in his cars, he says, “Not if I can help it.”

The 20-year Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC veteran who transformed the lineup with models such as the XJ and new F-Type was presenting the refreshed XE sports sedan at a newly remodeled dealership on Manhattan’s west side Tuesday night.

He launched into a minor screed against giant touch screens — the kind Tesla Inc. pioneered in the Model S, which is now popping up across the industry in vehicles including Toyota Motor Corp.’s new Highlander SUV and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Ram pickups.

“If you’re driving 80-90 miles an hour — and you can in some countries, legally — you don’t want to be flipping around an iPad looking to move your door mirrors or your seat controls,” Callum said. “You need to be able to feel your way through the car without looking at it for more than a millisecond.”

The Jaguar XE has a dual-screen system, with major information at the top and minor things, such as climate control, below. It also has tactile controls, Callum said — to give drivers a sense that they’re part of something mechanical.