Things I Like about my Countryman :: #005 MINI Connected Controls

One of the great things you get with MINI Connected has to be the control joystick, a.k.a Nipple IMHO. It is a well placed, designed, engineered, crafted piece of human-machine interface that also provide a good feedback. With the included center armrest setup, your fingertips are right on the 'Nipple', ready to take control of the in-vehicle infortainment system, all the while your right (or left if you are in some countries) arm is comfortably resting on the 'armrest'. I think ergonomics team at MINI design/engineering should get a star for placing the 'nipple' at an excellent location.


 Motions of control is very intuitive. Nicely weighted ticks through the rotation and weighted up/down, left/right motion provide nice feedback that makes navigating/scrolling a breeze without having to take your eyes off the road. (note.. I am addressing only the physical interface, not GUI of MINI Connected) Its well weighted feedback also provides a great sense of craftsmanship and quality.

The design of the joystick itself is also a definite worthy of mention as it totally resembles the cap of Chartpak Ad markers us designers love to use. I certainly believe the interior designer responsible for the joystick uses Ad markers at the MINI studio and used the cap design as an inspiration for his own creation. Its construction and material used, however, is far beyond the cap of a marker that costs couple bucks. Chrome plated surface is complemented by black rings on the top and bottom of the cut off cone shaped joystick and finished off nicely with a red orange circle on the top.  

[ image source :: robertsdonovan.com ]