The employment of the design methods of characters and scenarios in the conceptual design of a gearshift system for future automobiles is presented. The main objective for the project was to provide design suggestions for a gearshift system that people will appreciate in future cars in view of market trends, technology developments and environmental demands. The methods were tested for concept evaluation at a Swedish car component manufacturer. The methods gave rough, but important, indications of possible appreciation and acceptance of design proposals, and assisted consideration of user diversity. This low-cost approach is sufficient for evaluation purposes at early design stages, but may be complemented with more thorough studies if time and money permits.