The 2022 car colour and design trends you need to know about

Aside from personality, colour and design choices can be made based on the hot and happening trends in the world around you, and when you're spending up big on your new investment, you want to make sure that it looks the part.

While the classic white coloured car remains a favourite with Aussie car owners, colour and other design elements can bring a whole different flavour to the perceived white goods on wheels so why not treat yourself and tick the options box on one of these colour and design trends.

The two-tone car colour is back and more iconic than ever. This trend has been on the roads for a few years now but in 2022 it is really hitting its strides.

It's usually executed with a bright pop of colour on the body of the car with either a black or white roof. With brands including it as part of their top-spec models which have a sportier look and feel.

As with most trends, you've got to look back to look forward. The two-tone palette can be traced back to the 1920s and '30s when luxury carmakers such as Rolls-Royces and Bugatti were the best way for owners to announce their wealth and taste levels.

In 1955 almost all cars were offered with two-tone looks in an attempt to impress the newly booming female driver market as well as trying to attract the male driver with their sleek and fast look. The dark coloured roof gives an illusion of a lower and sleek roof.

By the ‘60s the two-tone paint was traded for a vinyl combination which often included the colour brown. This trend also carried over into the 1970s, but the fuel crisis brought two-toning to a stop as the choice of materials and style of cars available due to changing fuel consumption appetites started to take shape. Even the choice in car colours by consumers changed, with more opting for earthy tones over the bright and vibrant pastels of earlier decades.

In the modern era, the new MINI re-introduced two-tone colours with its white roof from the original Alec Issigonis design. As well as being a design statement, a white roof can reduce interior temperatures as well as reduce the visual bulk of an SUV.

More recently, BMW took the covers off their new 7 Series and i7 models which have a very pricey option of a dual colour scheme exterior where the colour line sits right on the doorline, similar to the Mercedes-Benz Maybach. You may see this colourway option on mainstream Hyundai, Mazda and VW models in the near future.

Here are a few cars which you can find in 2022's hottest colour double acts:

BMW 7 Series and i7
MINI Hatch

Every year, there is a colour of the season that not only finds its way onto the runways of Paris, Milan and New York but to a dealership near you. Last year, shades of grey were in. A real reflection of the times we've been living in, but in 2022 it seems that green is the new grey.

Is it to do with the world's further push to EVs, renewables, and climate action? Or is it simply the next logical colour step in fashion. Over the last few years or so, greens have made their way into the trends predictions from major paint brands as consumers look to get back to nature and find more calming and soothing colours.

Here are a few cars which you can find in 2022's hottest colour:

As the saying goes, there are only so many ways to skin a cat, or in the case of leather material seats, ways to skin a cow. Leather seats have been the epitome of luxury car interior design for decades with their sleek look, feel, iconic scent and durability. While smoothly covered seats have remained the norm, the quilted look is slowly filtering its way from high-end luxury brands such as Bentley to the mainstream. Even the use of traditional leather is on its way out with plant-based alternatives making their way in.

Modern era quilted seats first hit the road back in 2014 when luxury cars from Audi and Mercedes-Benz Maybach rolled out full interiors of quilted leather luxury. Today, you can plant your bum firmly on a quilted seat on anything from a Genesis to a Mitsubishi. Another benefit to a quilted leather seat over the standard flush surface is the added padding and support. Fashionable and functional, what’s not to love?

Here are a few cars which you can find in 2022's hottest interior look:

Genesis GV70
Mitsubishi Outlander
Nissan Qashqai
Audi e-tron

Big 4WDs and pimped out Utes have added aftermarket lightbars for years, but now the biggest car brands in the world are incorporating long light bars into vehicle design. And it's not only bright light at the front that is gaining traction but full-width rear lightbars have made their way into the mainstream too.

Giving futuristic spaceship elegance with some night driving practicality, the LED lightbars which have found their way onto cars such as the new Volkswagen Golf R and Hyundai Staria sure make a statement.

Daytime running lights or DRLs have been commonplace on new cars, part of road rules in some countries, and with every new generation, the way they have been incorporated has evolved and grown. In 2022, they've been integrated in a big way and now sit in the middle of the car's nose connecting both headlights.

Head to the rear and the red tail lights also sit proudly, corner to corner with some car brands like Polestar even utilising the vast LED space to create a startup sequence. As we hit the EV future, we are expecting to see more of this creativity and the use of LED lights.

Here are a few cars which you can find in 2022's hottest exterior look:

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