Exploring the user preferences of older drivers for car interior design elements based on the semantic difference method

As the demographic distribution of the population shifts, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of older drivers. Despite decades of research on this user group, current literature remains limited in exploring the emotional and aesthetic preferences of older drivers. The study reported in this paper endeavours to discover the specific preferences and needs of older drivers concerning car interior design by the Semantic Differential Method (SDM). To this end, 75 older drivers (aged 60+) completed a questionnaire, and rated 12 car interior designs according to their personal preferences using 18 Kansei word pairs. The data analysis methods employed included cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The cluster analysis identified the participants who shared similar emotional ratings. The PCA categorised 18 Kansei word pairs into six design factors: Comfort-related, Trendsrelated, Self-expression, Quality-related, Style, and Symmetry. The findings suggest that older drivers tend to emphasize Comfort-related and Trends-related design factors, which exhibit higher levels of positive emotional valence. For instance, the group of mainly women (and aged 70-79-years) expressed greater interest in comfort rather than style. Two other groupings, each emphasized psychological and physical comfort. In summary, this study provides pragmatic insights into the emotional and aesthetic preferences of drivers aged 60+ serving as a guide for age-friendly car interior design.