it's time to bring buttons back for controlling your car

[SAC1]

VW says it's time to bring buttons back for controlling your car.....


One of the interesting things about the current car and EV market is the battle over in-car interfaces. Apple and Google would really like cars to have CarPlay or Android Auto, but car makers aren't necessarily so keen: in the war of words between GM and tech firms over its decision to drop their in-car operating systems, GM suggested that in-car, phone-based interfaces were not necessarily the best for control or for safety.

GM has a point: safety organisations are constantly warning us not to mess around with our phones while driving, and yet many in-car interfaces are effectively giant phones that are often less intuitive to use than good old-fashioned buttons. So it's good to see that VW for one intends to bring at least some of the buttons back.
Posting on X, Auto Express's Steve Fowler shared an image of the interior of VW's ID2.all concept: "The future of Volkswagen interiors revealed. Here’s the ID.2 - on sale in 2025. Classy and not everything on the touchscreen."

So what's VW doing that others aren't?

Why VW is bringing some buttons back.
Speaking to Autocar earlier this year, VW boss Thomas Schäfer admitted that there had been customer pushback on what many saw as over-use of touch controls, even saying that the touch-first approach had done some damage to customer loyalty. The new interior design, which is currently a concept but which is destined for use across the VW range, still has a touchscreen but also has buttons below it, as well as the familiar steering wheel controls.

With tech there's often a rush to go for what's new rather than what's best, and that was illustrated quite dramatically this year by Swedish car magazine Vi Bilägare. They compared 11 modern cars including the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ionic 5 and others against a nearly 20-year-old Volvo V70 to see which controls were easier and safer to use.

The tests involved a bunch of everyday tasks such as finding a radio station, turning on heated seats, adjusting the AC and so on; the winner, by a "large margin", was the old Volvo. A task that took 10 seconds with the Volvo's buttons took 44.6 seconds on an MG's touchscreen; the BMW iX was 30.4 seconds and the Hyundai 26.7. With a Volvo, you'd potentially take your eyes off the road for 300 metres. In some cars, you'd travel 1,400 metres.

That doesn't mean touchscreens are necessarily bad, or that we shouldn't have digital displays in our cars. But if VW is any indication, the initial enthusiasm for touch-everything is waning in favour of a more sensible approach that delivers the best of both worlds.



https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/sho ... =shoreline

[ScotMac]

I am fine with touchscreens for main settings etc. but for heater and radio etc we should have buttons and knobs.

Touchscreens can be very distracting especially in a strange car.

"Not legal" to use your very familiar phone when stopped in traffic but totally fine to be scrolling through a touchscreen at 70mph in heavy traffic

[MooseMiller]

The issue for me is that touchscreens usually require looking to see where you are touching and therefore your eyes off the road. Physical buttons may allow you to find and press a button by feel to negate or minimise this

[wab172uk]

Another area for concern with all these touchscreens in the future. Is how long will a manufacturer support the software?

15 years down the line and you buy a car with very old touchscreen technology, and there's a problem, will it be an easy fix? Or will it be a case of "Sorry sir, but there is no software available now" rendering the car useless?

After all, the more complicated they make them, the more can be expected to go wrong. Yet an analogue car with dials and buttons will probably still be going strong.

Plus, given you are not allowed to even touch your phone while driving. Why did manufacturers think it was perfectly safe to make people take their eyes off the road to fiddle about with sub-menu's for basic functions? Dangerous.

[Madelvic]

Great write-up and totally agree with the comments. We recently bought one of the last Mk 7 Golfs and could have had a Mk 8 for the same money purely to avoid the laggy, slow to start touchscreen in the Mk 8

[SAC1]

Great write-up and totally agree with the comments. We recently bought one of the last Mk 7 Golfs and could have had a Mk 8 for the same money purely to avoid the laggy, slow to start touchscreen in the Mk 8

Likewise. We test drove various VAG new models including Golf, Polo, Leon and Fabia and ended up buying a Renault!

This is because it still had buttons for the key [eyes off road] changes for / to air con controls, heated - rear window, front seats, steering wheeel - and radio volume etc. It has buttons, inc. voice control, on the steering wheel and a large central touch screen. All straightforward and safe to operate with minimal eyes off the road.

[Wolands Advocate]

I loathe touchscreens. Thankfully the Pro Nav in our Mini, although it does have touch screen functionality, still uses the iDrive system with central rotary controller that my old 4-series had.

It's much better than the system in the Macan. It just is. I have now had my Macan for nearly a year and I doubt I will ever be convinced that the Macan's system isn't noticeably inferior (save for having sharper and prettier graphics) and harder to use than what I had in a BMW built seven years earlier.

As for buttons, my father ordered his Macan around the time Gen 2 was making way for Gen 3 and the dealer actually asked him if he preferred buttons, which being nearly 80 he did, so he managed to bag himself one of the last Gen 2s (yes, it was a factory order).

[Woodhouse]

I loathe touchscreens. Thankfully the Pro Nav in our Mini, although it does have touch screen functionality, still uses the iDrive system with central rotary controller that my old 4-series had.

It's much better than the system in the Macan. It just is. I have now had my Macan for nearly a year and I doubt I will ever be convinced that the Macan's system isn't noticeably inferior (save for having sharper and prettier graphics) and harder to use than what I had in a BMW built seven years earlier.

As for buttons, my father ordered his Macan around the time Gen 2 was making way for Gen 3 and the dealer actually asked him if he preferred buttons, which being nearly 80 he did, so he managed to bag himself one of the last Gen 2s (yes, it was a factory order).

Have a Gen 3 and also drive Mrs W mini. iDrive system ok but honestly prefer Macan with the haptics. Each to their own. But agree a single big touchscreen for aircon, heated seats etc not for me. Too far.

[Col Lamb]

I loath touchscreens for everything.

They are inherently dangerous in that you have to have your eyes off the road longer than necessary to enable the desired control to be operated. Physical switches are IMO far safer.

Additionally a fully integrated system is again not ideal, if a car with an integrated system is online then there is the potential for hacking.

The car control system and infotainment should be two distinctly unconnected/unlinked systems.

I much prefer the BMW iDrive single large knob for scrolling menu’s.

As the MFD has the scroll and control right at ones fingertips then surely making it possible to switch between the MFD and PCM to navigate either would be far better, oh wait, it is VW/Porsche Tech we are talking about so anything could happen.

[PJV997]

I loathe touchscreens. Thankfully the Pro Nav in our Mini, although it does have touch screen functionality, still uses the iDrive system with central rotary controller that my old 4-series had.

It's much better than the system in the Macan. It just is. I have now had my Macan for nearly a year and I doubt I will ever be convinced that the Macan's system isn't noticeably inferior (save for having sharper and prettier graphics) and harder to use than what I had in a BMW built seven years earlier.

As for buttons, my father ordered his Macan around the time Gen 2 was making way for Gen 3 and the dealer actually asked him if he preferred buttons, which being nearly 80 he did, so he managed to bag himself one of the last Gen 2s (yes, it was a factory order).

Have a Gen 3 and also drive Mrs W mini. iDrive system ok but honestly prefer Macan with the haptics. Each to their own. But agree a single big touchscreen for aircon, heated seats etc not for me. Too far.

I’d consider the haptics as a different kind of button and so not so bothered by them and have got used to them in my Gen3.

But I find the touch screen fiddly for things like changing radio station. I think I need to get more into using the right hand dial on the dashboard rather than the central touch screen.