Hyundai has taken a mainstay of the passenger car through a redesign: the unassuming glove compartment.
The South Korean automaker says the updated design offers more space and avoids the common knee-knocking awkwardness of the traditional glove compartment by borrowing features of the airplane overhead bin.
The design, produced from an internal company contest, is intended for the larger interior space in electric vehicles and will be featured in a large electric sports-utility vehicle of Hyundai affiliate Kia, the EV9, which debuts this year.
The compartment is several liters larger than a conventionally designed one in a gas-powered vehicle, since there’s no engine in front of it. Hyundai says the new design avoids the familiar knock of an opening compartment door onto the front passenger’s knees.
