Cars have padded dashboards for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is to protect the driver and passengers from injury in the event of a collision. In a head-on collision, an unbelted driver or passenger can be thrown forward into the dashboard, causing serious injuries. Padding helps to absorb some of the impact and reduce the risk of injury.
Another reason for padding is to reduce noise levels inside the car. Unpadded dashboards can create a lot of rattling and vibrations, which can be very distracting and uncomfortable for drivers and passengers. Padding helps to dampen these noises and make for a more pleasant ride.
Padded dashboards also help to keep things from sliding around inside the car while it's in motion. This can be important for both safety and comfort reasons; loose objects can become flying projectiles in an accident, and they can also be quite annoying if they're constantly jostling around every time you hit a bump in the road. Keeping things secured withpadding helps to prevent this from happening.