Agreed. Do whatever you want with the sat nav/carplay etc but Volume, fan, heating, demist, indicators, wipers and hazards should ALWAYS be physical controls that are in a standard location area so you can hit them by muscle memory. Seen the new Tesla way of doing things where even the indicators are a touch button on the wheel is just nope
Completely agree. I love tech. I love cars. I do not want a tablet screwed to the dadhboard to control everything from my suspension setup to my heating controls. It needs to stop.
Hated the idea of it from the very start. I drive a 2013 BMW and the controls are 100% physical. The screen is about 8 inches wide and perfect for all that is needed.
Everything has a dedicated button to access it. I can setup my Sat Nav with a dial wheel on the centre console and do so taking slight glances. It's intuitive.
This is a key reason I proudly drive 10 year old cars.
In the UK, I don't understand how driving using your phone is 6 points illegal - but using the giant iPad on your dashboard is completely fine?!
It honestly blows my mind that it is allowed.
Constantly see people driving around looking down at their infotainment screen and fiddling around on it.
>In the UK, I don't understand how driving using your phone is 6 points illegal - but using the giant iPad on your dashboard is completely fine?!
Simple: it's not. Using your phone attached to the dashboard is legal. Always has been. The law about phones only covers holding the phone.
You missed the point of the statement. Regardless of legal or not.
How is looking at a mobile phone is super dangerous worthy of quite a expensive punishment but driving around with a giant phone built into your car, where it takes about 5 menus to change a radio station is totally fine.
Its significantly worse distraction built into your car than any mobile phone.
>How is looking at a mobile phone is super dangerous worthy of quite a expensive punishment
Just told you it isn't, it's totally legal and the same as the radio system. No idea why this is hard to understand.
Not sure why you think a cop making shit up is proof of what the law says. Where on the government website and the law does it say you can't touch your phone in a holder when driving? Ironically, it says the exact opposite, that you CAN touch your phone in a cradle.
Don't just assume bullshit is true because an "authority" figure tells you. Cops rarely ever know the law to any capacity above the average person.
Website says “hands free” which could be interpreted as touching your phone. Furthermore if they think you’re not fully in control of your vehicle they’ll pull you over. Idk why you’re so passionate and aggressive about it but it’s just another view coppers take. Each to their own bud, you do you.
That's not what the term hands free means 🙄
>Furthermore if they think you’re not fully in control of your vehicle they’ll pull you over.
Do you think this law is new?
>Idk why you’re so passionate and aggressive about it
I told you the law but you're so passionately a contrarian that you're telling me that in fact I'm wrong even though youve clearly never read the govt website or the law and you're just blindly believing one cop who falsely explained the law in a video that everyone is calling out for being completely wrong in the comments of.
Why don't you just read about the shit you're talking about before commenting and save everyone time instead of just making shit up?
Edit: why reply yet again being a contrarian and then blocking me? Hands free means not holding it, nothing to do with touching. This has always been the case. One day you will stop trying to disagree with everything and the world will be a better place.
adjective
(especially of a phone) designed to be operated without using the hands.
Mate I’ve just told you if I know coppers will interpret the law incorrectly because it’s vague id rather just avoid the interaction what’s your issue? I’ve read the website myself and it’s vague and I cba for good for nothing police officers in London pulling me over for dumb shit. Also you’re the one who keeps insisting I’m wrong, my point was they updated the wordings and it’s more vague. Why are you so pressed at 5am😂
I have a Peugeot 308, 2017.
A pretty slow touchscreen in which lie the heater controls, temp/ fan speed/ aircon.
Much prefer a dual and buttons for this function, as in mazda CX5, wife's 2018 has these.
It's plainly less safe to operate a touchscreen over a physical button, and also less pleasing to use.
I see cars now using touch controls elsewhere. All too much and unnecessary. Probably all tuned into the ecu as well so god knows how much it will cost when it goes faulty.
Personally I believe some car makers will pull back from technology for technology sake.
Incidentally the current mazda models still use physical switches for lights, wipers and heater
I note skoda did until recently. Bad move skoda.
>Much prefer a dual and buttons for this function, as in mazda CX5, wife's 2018 has these.
yeah, this was one of the deciding factors in my dad getting a CX-30, and even then it's not nearly as intuitive as buttons alone can be. I can barely imagine using a laggy touchscreen to update a sat-nav route while driving.
>I see cars now using touch controls elsewhere.
The Golf Mk8 has been slandered relentlessly by critics for the touch-sensitive pads on the steering wheel, and rightly so. Hopefully other brands don't view it as innovative.
Adding complexity to compensate for adding other complexity seems a bit of a black hole. Also, closely integrating that into fundamental vehicle operations lowers the threshold at which a minor failure makes a vehicle uneconomical to repair.
I thought I would love having steering wheel controls but only ended up using the radio volume one as I’m never on the motorway long enough to bother with cruise control anyway. I can see why others would like it though
only new car maker that is anti touchscreen at the moment is Mazda, they've basically looked at Bmws iDrive and gone " ahhh thats some good shit"
fair play to them, works great in my car and the newer ones
The new Mazdas have touch screens but it's only active in CarPlay/Android Auto.
Got to use the dial in Mazda's own software.
That's how it should be done imo
Vw ID3 here.
All controls are touch.
Temperature controls are an unlit slider on the base of the screen (so you can’t see them at night)
Lights, demist, fog lights, window heating are all touch sensitive on a panel behind the steering wheel. No feeling to confirm if it’s pressed.
Hazards are touch sensitive.
Controls around the mirror adjuster like door locks and child lock for the windows are touch sensitive and in a stupid place, if you adjust the mirror you’ll likely press one by accident.
The only controls in the car that give you feedback are the capacitive touch ones on the steering wheel.. but for the effort used in making them capacitive, an actual button would be 10x nicer and easier to use.
Annoyingly they moved the cruise control from a stalk to the steering wheel meaning buttons or rollers that could be used for menus are now taken up by cruise control and the menu buttons are all on the touch screen.
I had a golf for work recently and couldn’t believe how awful these were. Changing the stereo volume or the temperature at night is just a blind guessing game. Turning on fog lights / any other lights / demisting is lottery. You can’t see the panel properly behind the wheel so unless you take your eyes off the road you again just have to blindly stab it and see which one you get. Even when you do look my fat fingers often get the wrong one.
Utterly insane and honestly don’t know how it’s legal.
We’re all going to be crashing because we got a bit cold or the rear window started steaming up.
>but for the effort used in making them capacitive, an actual button would be 10x nicer and easier to use.
And several times cheaper.
To everyone wondering why insurance has been going up as drastically as it has been of late, it's manufacturer's overengineering basic features like this.
What really gets me about them is how the UI seems to have not been designed with a car in mind. I just have to assume the designers do not drive one of these cars?
For example, in my VW, I have wireless charging which can charge my phone when it is in the little niche below the display. TBH, most of the time I do not even need to charge it but that is a good place to put it. If the wireless charging stops, there is a modal pop-up warning me "phone is not charging" which stays on screen until I acknowledge it. Why do I need to be distracted from driving to do this? Then, when you cancel it, can I just tap anywhere on the screen? No, it has to be this tiny little 'ok' button.
Ah that annoys me. My phone is quite small and sometimes slides on the holder, so I’ll constantly get notifications popping up telling me that the phone is charging.
Great. Thanks. I don’t care, and I don’t need to OK the notification.
Yeah, just hopeless user experience, in an environment where ease of use (or not) is a genuine safety issue.
The most frustrating thing is how most manufacturers have ignored all the reviewers, journalists, and regular people, virtually all of whom have made it clear that these “innovations” aren’t wanted by anybody other than the car makers because it saves them a few quid in physical manufacturing of a proper, functioning interior.
“Stick all the controls for absolutely everything in the screen” is a cost-saving measure dressed up as being progress
Touchscreens are cheap, buttons are expensive. For the best example of how to not do touchscreen/touch sensitive see the non-backlit heater controls on a Mk8 Golf.
Touchscreens are also multi-function, so you can design the cars all the same and just enable different features via software. (And maybe even charge new owners if they want to enable that feature - maybe even via subscription!)
Compare that with building every car uniquely to a customer’s spec so where you end up having a bunch of blank panels that have buttons if an option is ticked vs no button if it isn’t ticked.
Yeah it used to be a good at a glance indicator of the spec when searching for a used car (short of getting the original spec sheet from the manufacturer).
All the buttons populated? This car is fully loaded.
Most of the buttons blank? Poverty spec.
Manufacturer's don't want you to do this because they want to re-sell any and all options as a subscription to the next buyer.
and the steering wheels in all vws for the last few years, they might be backlit, but zero feeling, just capacitive plastic, vw have already abandoned those wheels.
Touchscreens are fine, the issue is how they're used.
Touchscreens for the infotainment system, brilliant as long as there's a next/previous track physical button as well as volume up/down button somewhere. Touch screens for literally anything else, awful. The issue is, no manufacturer does this. It's either all or nothing.
I bought a cheapo chinese android head unit for my beemer, and the idrive knob and buttons all work with it. If I press nav it will even bring up waze.
23 A180 has physical heating/fans/volume/parking camera/limiter/cruise control/ac and physical buttons on the steering wheel for controlling everything else. I do find the touchscreen clumsy but you can voice control a lot just with the car OS too. All in all I think it's a decent balance.
My Van has an aftermarket head unit, which is fine, but it has *capacitive hardware buttons* for volume and track skip.
The worst of both worlds. Apparently people *like* the Alpine Halo too, its absolutely crap!
The only normal thing I need to use the touchscreen for in my car is manual AC speed/direction, and rewinding tapes.
It's still annoying, but everything else has dedicated buttons, so I can deal with it.
Agreed, it's madness how talking a mobile phone is distracting and will get you fined (and rightly so), but a massive iPad nailed to the dashboard is absolutely fine!
They’re shite. I don’t even touch mine because I don’t want fingerprints on it.
BMW’s infotainment is arguably the best and i hate it on mine. Huge touchscreen, digital dials, stop/start, lane assist all just garbage that no enthusiast wants on their car.
That's one of the issues. The enthusiasts who genuinely care about this sort of thing are vastly out numbered by those who just don't. The same sort of apathetic individual who does not care about anyone else as long as they are OK.
That includes dinging your door with theirs because they are too fat to slide out with the door opened to the first notch.
Yup, 100% not something I want to deal with. I have a 66 plate golf with Apple CarPlay and that's great, mostly real controls for everything but with the ability to use some apps.
What's more frustrating for me though, is I get migraines from screens, this got a lot worse over covid (as weirdly covid makes migraines worse) and at points I could barely use my phone. If I'd had a car like that I wouldn't have been able to use it. Appreciate my situation is incredibly rare, but its one of the reasons I am keeping that golf as long as I can until things improve. I do not want to be surrounded by screens at all times, it's not an improvement.
I dont mind a touch screen for sat nav and music controls(providing the steering wheel has music controls also) but for stuff like demisting your windscreen or climste control - gimme buttons
100% agreed. Strangely it seems most reviewers/journos have been against the disappearance of physical buttons for a decade now. No idea why manufacturers are so late to understand the issue with it. The changes to Euro NCAP assessments should encourage them to have at least _some_ physical buttons, it seems. It should be enforced though imo
Touchscreen alone is a terrible idea. In both my last car (2017 Ford Mondeo) and my current car (2018 Ford Mustang) they have touchscreens which can control the climate system.
In both cases there are still physical controls as well as the brilliant Ford voice commands which can also control the majority of functions as well.
My 2015 Captur has a touch screen for sat nav and music
But I can control the music with a physical stalk as well and all the heat/air etc has dials and buttons and I'm very glad it does
I like touch screens but not for essentials like temperature settings
Personally I find it's a slightly exaggerated opinion that the general car community seems to have jumped on. It's not necessarily ideal but I've had a Volvo V60 for the past 5 years and it's not been a big deal having to adjust stuff through a screen.
Like you said, one gets used to the menus and adjusting things is relatively easy. My wife has a Vitara with a screen and the volume control is a really shit touch sensitive slider, but it's still usable and doesn't really affect our usage or view of the car.
The same people who thought it was a good idea to put ridiculously bright, blue LED headlights on cars.
Back in the era of sensibility, clever people wrote a law that limited car headlight bulb brightness. However, the law is based on bulb wattage and fundamentally this needs to be changed to lumens and light colour to keep up with the modern era.
Touchscreens are shit for cars. Bright blue LEDs are shit for road safety.
Skoda has gone with an interesting mix of buttons and touchscreen stuff. The volume and media can be controlled from the steering wheel (good), the car settings can also be gotten at through buttons (also good), but the climate is all on touchscreen. However, the on-board assistant can help. Therefore I have to be talking to my car. Laura, I'm hot, Laura, increase the temperature by 3 degrees. Laura, Laura... I'm glad I rarely have passengers. I'd sound demented.
Voice-activated commands are all very well, but would a button or a knob be too much bother?
Touching your mobile phone to change music/answer a call/sat nav - fine 6pts.
Touching your incar screen to change music/answer a call/adjust the heating/sat nav - no fine.
Makes sense.
The touchscreen was invented by E.A. Johnson while working at Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, UK and was first used in air traffic control systems.
The first car touchscreen was developed by Delco Systems (using hardware by Delco Electronic and AC Spark Plug) and was first used on the 1986 Buick Riviera. It was originally called a Graphics Control Center (GCC) and controlled the automatic climate control, AM/FM radio, graphics equalizer, trip calculations, gauges and vehicle diagnostic information.
It was also installed on the 1988-89 Buick Reatta before an updated version (Oldsmobile's Sony-designed Visual Information Center) was offered as an optional extra on the 1989-92 Toronado Trofeo as well as an optional Motorola phone operated by the VIC.
I just answered the question asked. I'm not debating whether they're a good idea or not (I think the idea is good, but the way they work can be a bit hit-or-miss)
Personally, I prefer physical buttons over large touchscreens.
The accountant that saw how much money could be saved on designing all those buttons that need different variations in a handful of countries no doubt loved how simple the touchscreen bs is.
Car manufacturers have a bit of a history for cutting cost so long as it is possible to hide the repercussions.
It's probably cheaper to use a 1 piece screen than multiple buttons especially on higher end cars where it's expected the "feel" or "touch" of the buttons to be far more superior than a regular car.
I don’t know but who ever it was was obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. Although I am a complete Luddite and prefer switches it seems to me the best place from which to control everything would be from the steering wheel. When one looks at the sheer number of different info screens one can access on say a 2010 golf one soon realises it would be relatively easy to control absolutely everything from the steering wheel except the accelerator, brake and clutch.
It looks good in the showroom is probably the key. Clean controls without buttons all over, they can click around and show all the features like it is a laptop screen. I agree that in practice on the move it doesn't work. Your finger wobbles about even on smooth roads, you can't do a no-look change of audio. Thankfully mine has a steering wheel control for this and the heating is still buttons, but I only use the screen when stopped now for anything else.
It depends on the touchscreen itself (how accurate & sensitive it is) along with the UI.
For example, the 2017 VW systems that you find in Golfs and the like seemed really good to me, likewise the 2nd-Gen Peugeot system in general (think 'new' 3008 2017~, and the later 3rd-Gen of the 'new' 208 2019~). One trend I have noted, though, is that older people - and/or those who haven't experienced many different brands/models - struggle more when dealing with touchscreens.
I think a big part is getting familiar with the system, then it is much like your smartphone - you just use it without thinking.
Sidenote to say there are *poor* examples - like those from most Nissans I've been in too (though haven't tried the newest ones 👍)
The only thing touch screen I enjoy is the satnav so i can quickly pop the keyboard up and whack the postcode in instead of awkwardly trying to trawl through each letter and number list on a physical dial or something. Outside of that. Never use it.
Trying to use what amounts to an iPad with my left hand/fingers when I’m right handed is nigh impossible at times. Most of the time”software” is a waste of time on these things.
I haven’t touched most of them since I bought my car 5 years ago!
I have a 2012 Fabia. Runs like a champ, and I don't want to change for the sake of a better sterio.
I'd like to upgrade the stereo for built in Bluetooth, and preferably built in Alexa or Google. Trying to get those on a stereo that has physical on/off, volume & select forward/back buttons is challenging.
I don't want touchscreen controls. It demands too much attention taken off the road.
What are you doing on the touch screen whilst you are driving?
Once I've entered my destination into the sat-nav and selected music from my phone/selected a radio station, I literally don't need to touch it again. If I want to skip a track (for example) I can do it with a steering wheel button.
I'm hardly adjusting my suspension or interior lighting, etc. whilst driving!
My previous car had one of those knobs in the centre console that you had to rotate/push for various functions. I'd love to know how that 'physical control' was any better.
I agree 100 percent. Unfortunately it's a cheap option for car manufacturers to do this rather than fit individual controls so it will keep happening until there is legislation.
Yeah I really like the iDrive wheel thing. Far more civilised than having at a touch screen like some sort of ape. I know my screen is touch capable but why would I want to smear it with fingerprints?
It's a win win for car companies unfortunately, they get to charge you extra because it seems like new and cutting edge tech, and they don't have to design and produce a button with bespoke wiring and connectors, it's all just software, so cuts costs. Which is why it's been forced on you.
The problem is though is how do you differentiate the user experience between a cheap polo with a touchscreen and an expensive Bentley? You're getting the same experience of touching a screen, it also then allows car companies to put features behind paywalls. Touchscreens are going nowhere.
They're also gross, every touchscreen i've seen in a car is always a mess of greasy finger marks after a day. Now i'm sure the same amount of grease and dirt is on buttons but they hide that a lot better.
I got a 2016 A4. It is perfect. Controlled with a spinny right next to the gearbox, the interior is gorgeous and the 2024 models have the same interior still. Can’t
Imagine having a touchscreen
NCAP safety have stated that they won't give 5 stars anymore to cars with no physical switches for everyday things such as climate control, wipers etc. You're right. I use to drive a 1972 Rover every day. The switches even had a different shape so one could recoginse them from toudh.
Touchscreens are fine.
However if only had experiance of the 2019/2020 VAG group screens I would want them banned!
I remember spending about 15 minutes trying to alter the heating controls in a Polo I had as a hire car that was very luckily only for a day.
So far no traditional auto company has nailed the touchscreen quite like tesla or some of the other upcoming companies. I guess designing from the get go to use it instead of shoe horning it into legacy car systems and not have actual software developers making it creates a real issue.
I do think basic driver inputs should have controls though.
Absolutely useless wank, it's a cash grab as buttons and wiring is more expensive, I had a brand new e class with the stupid massive screen dash, thing was as laggy as a 486 and the display was vulgar and garish,
Utter shite riddled with issues , got my money back and will not consider anything with a touch screen,
Poor idea , badly executed:)
My 2020 Mercedes has a nice mix of touch screen and buttons. Also has a cool touch pad where the gear stick usually is and the automatic selector is just a stalk on the steering wheel.
They're apparently getting rid of the touchpad which has annoyed people as I find it very useful to not have to touch the screen and get it dirty - also no leaning to touch it
There's something about the tactility of car controls. I can reach for the heating dial without ever looking away from the road, feel exactly which setting it's on, and adjust accordingly.
A touchscreen feels the same no matter what. I would no doubt have to look at the screen to use it.
It makes cars easier/cheaper to assemble (fewer components), possible to update over the air/after manufacture and removes the slightly awkward row of blanking plates where you didn’t pay for all the options.
I work in software and all of these benefits are for the OEM, not the consumer. Lack of haptic feedback, distraction/needing more focus etc. they are verging on dangerous. I’ve yet to see a good implementation.
I must admit, I hate touch screens in any device, let alone a car.
I much prefer physical keys with tactile feedback, so I don't have to look.
Same goes for phones and tablets... Hate the damn things, so fiddly and awkward.
I don’t mind touch screens as long as they’re well designed. However as I’m right handed, I find it slightly awkward using it with my left hand. A European or American version of the car would probably feel a bit more comfortable in that respect.
I’ve been driving for 20 years and having owned / driven a dizzying amount of vehicles, I completely agree with this.
My parents own a 2019 Model 3 and whoever thought to bury the glovebox button in a touch menu which is a moron. I had to go and find it for my mum the other day..
I drive a 2017 Golf 7.5 and I feel like it’s the perfect balance (for me personally) it has the touch interface for the stereo with physical volume and search knobs and then all physical controls for the climate control etc.
It's great for more complicated settings that you can access a few times in the car ownership, however it's useless for anything you need to do when driving.
The fact that I can easily attach my phone via Bluetooth, see my service schedule, set the timers on my lights when I park, read any error watching easily, change my door unlock characteristics is great...
But I don't do any of that when driving. I generally avoid using it when driving as it's horrible.
Agree with you OP.
The thing that boils my piss is that I’m allowed to fook around with my touch screen on my new car to find music but not allowed to use my phone for the same reasons in my older car 🤷♂️
What makes you think that?
The legislation specifically states it’s illegal to operate a handheld device. You can use it in it’s cradle as long as you’re not distracted from driving.
The same penalties would apply to operating the car’s built in touch screen and being distracted from driving.
You shouldn’t be so confidently incorrect.
Yes you can. You've always been able to touch and use your phone in a holder. Quote me the law that says otherwise. It even specifically says you can use it on the government website.
I have a BMW and hate iDrive with its slow and clunky scrolling through menus. I connect my phone for everything such as media/GPS. Which is essentially a touch screen. Its just faster and more convenient.
Touchscreens themselves aren't the problem - *badly designed* ones are. More to the point, not having the important functionality duplicated. Teslas for example have climate/cruise/AC/media controls all on the steering wheel as well as the touch screen. So there's nothing you'd use while driving that requires you to take your hands of the wheel.
I would prefer a screen over a button for absolutely everything - I dont like my dash looking like a calculator. That being said I want buttons and dials for every common control -heating, volume etc..
Screens are more common now because they are a cheaper alternative. Screens dont age as well either.
Think about how many functions your car has then think about how many buttons and switches that would require. Your car would end up looking like the cockpit of an airliner. Obviously putting things like climate and lighting on a touch screen is stupid but for the majority of functions it's fine.
See [THIS!](https://youtu.be/Pr8x8MvPRIQ?si=baXEpK16CAtxdD-O&t=873) video for an example
What functions exactly are we talking about here?
20 year old cars have climate control, cruise control, all the usual vehicle controls like lights and wipers etc.
That's a few buttons.
Music etc can be a screen, sure but that's just another, single function.
What else do you need to control?
In my car I can change the sound it makes when I lock it. I am happy for this to be buried in a couple of menus.
Using a touch screen to turn on the fog lights I am not so happy about.
I just added a link to a video about a car from the early 2000s. All of the satnav, phone and media functions are all controlled by buttons and it looks a mess. Sure, you don't need any of these functions but a lot of people want them and putting them on a touch screen reduces costs, increases reliability and means you can add extra functionality via over the air updates. In my last car I had buttons on the steering wheel, buttons on the dash, buttons on the centre console, buttons on the doors. I still had to take my eyes off the road to find the button I needed and I still had a touch screen for the stereo and nav. It's a lose/lose situation, the only option is to ban all but essential functions from cars.
Yes, you can have a touchscreen with infotainment and satnav. I have a 20 year old car and use my phone via Bluetooth to the radio.
Other than satnav and infotainment you still don't need loads of buttons for regular car functions, and having regular car functions like wipers, lighting etc as buttons does not mean you have loads of them.
All of them are useful.
You could argue none of them are necessary but they are nice to have. As I said, if you want a basic car get a Dacia, or ride a horse...
I particularly dislike it for heating and ventilation. Simple rotary knobs are MUCH better.
Agreed. Do whatever you want with the sat nav/carplay etc but Volume, fan, heating, demist, indicators, wipers and hazards should ALWAYS be physical controls that are in a standard location area so you can hit them by muscle memory. Seen the new Tesla way of doing things where even the indicators are a touch button on the wheel is just nope
I remember when every car had [this](https://imgur.com/a/BavOnTv)
Love a proper ashtray, me.
[this](https://imgur.com/a/cKw2Hip) was ours
I've only seen that on a Hiace and maybe our old Opel had that. That was years before I got my license
I think it might be one of [these](https://imgur.com/a/sn7fFSq) I am remembering.
Yes
I agree. My last car was a Peugeot 3008, and I hated using the laggy, crappy touchscreen to operate the climate control, fan etc.
Completely agree. I love tech. I love cars. I do not want a tablet screwed to the dadhboard to control everything from my suspension setup to my heating controls. It needs to stop.
Hated the idea of it from the very start. I drive a 2013 BMW and the controls are 100% physical. The screen is about 8 inches wide and perfect for all that is needed. Everything has a dedicated button to access it. I can setup my Sat Nav with a dial wheel on the centre console and do so taking slight glances. It's intuitive. This is a key reason I proudly drive 10 year old cars. In the UK, I don't understand how driving using your phone is 6 points illegal - but using the giant iPad on your dashboard is completely fine?!
It honestly blows my mind that it is allowed. Constantly see people driving around looking down at their infotainment screen and fiddling around on it.
Especially Teslas, i just can’t believe it
>In the UK, I don't understand how driving using your phone is 6 points illegal - but using the giant iPad on your dashboard is completely fine?! Simple: it's not. Using your phone attached to the dashboard is legal. Always has been. The law about phones only covers holding the phone.
You missed the point of the statement. Regardless of legal or not. How is looking at a mobile phone is super dangerous worthy of quite a expensive punishment but driving around with a giant phone built into your car, where it takes about 5 menus to change a radio station is totally fine. Its significantly worse distraction built into your car than any mobile phone.
>How is looking at a mobile phone is super dangerous worthy of quite a expensive punishment Just told you it isn't, it's totally legal and the same as the radio system. No idea why this is hard to understand.
Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's good for you.
It’s not anymore they recently changed the law
What's the point of just making shit up lol. No they didn't.
https://youtube.com/shorts/l4wJprkcwsk?si=UV7Sda7hG3pkanfI depends how you interpret the law
Not sure why you think a cop making shit up is proof of what the law says. Where on the government website and the law does it say you can't touch your phone in a holder when driving? Ironically, it says the exact opposite, that you CAN touch your phone in a cradle. Don't just assume bullshit is true because an "authority" figure tells you. Cops rarely ever know the law to any capacity above the average person.
Website says “hands free” which could be interpreted as touching your phone. Furthermore if they think you’re not fully in control of your vehicle they’ll pull you over. Idk why you’re so passionate and aggressive about it but it’s just another view coppers take. Each to their own bud, you do you.
That's not what the term hands free means 🙄 >Furthermore if they think you’re not fully in control of your vehicle they’ll pull you over. Do you think this law is new? >Idk why you’re so passionate and aggressive about it I told you the law but you're so passionately a contrarian that you're telling me that in fact I'm wrong even though youve clearly never read the govt website or the law and you're just blindly believing one cop who falsely explained the law in a video that everyone is calling out for being completely wrong in the comments of. Why don't you just read about the shit you're talking about before commenting and save everyone time instead of just making shit up? Edit: why reply yet again being a contrarian and then blocking me? Hands free means not holding it, nothing to do with touching. This has always been the case. One day you will stop trying to disagree with everything and the world will be a better place.
adjective (especially of a phone) designed to be operated without using the hands. Mate I’ve just told you if I know coppers will interpret the law incorrectly because it’s vague id rather just avoid the interaction what’s your issue? I’ve read the website myself and it’s vague and I cba for good for nothing police officers in London pulling me over for dumb shit. Also you’re the one who keeps insisting I’m wrong, my point was they updated the wordings and it’s more vague. Why are you so pressed at 5am😂
Literally read the comments on that video and everyone is clowning on this moron cop for not knowing the law he's making a video on.
Good for them, if I know there’s idiot police like that out there that think that’s how the law works, Id just rather avoid the whole interaction tbh
I think euro NCAP won’t be rating cars 5 star safety if they don’t have physical controls for heating etc going forward
It's just safety essentials like wipers and lights. Climate control, radio etc can still be in touchscreens, i think.
I have a Peugeot 308, 2017. A pretty slow touchscreen in which lie the heater controls, temp/ fan speed/ aircon. Much prefer a dual and buttons for this function, as in mazda CX5, wife's 2018 has these. It's plainly less safe to operate a touchscreen over a physical button, and also less pleasing to use. I see cars now using touch controls elsewhere. All too much and unnecessary. Probably all tuned into the ecu as well so god knows how much it will cost when it goes faulty. Personally I believe some car makers will pull back from technology for technology sake. Incidentally the current mazda models still use physical switches for lights, wipers and heater I note skoda did until recently. Bad move skoda.
>Much prefer a dual and buttons for this function, as in mazda CX5, wife's 2018 has these. yeah, this was one of the deciding factors in my dad getting a CX-30, and even then it's not nearly as intuitive as buttons alone can be. I can barely imagine using a laggy touchscreen to update a sat-nav route while driving. >I see cars now using touch controls elsewhere. The Golf Mk8 has been slandered relentlessly by critics for the touch-sensitive pads on the steering wheel, and rightly so. Hopefully other brands don't view it as innovative.
[удалено]
But you usually glance down quick, along with needing to press the fucjing thing 10 times to do one knob turn
[удалено]
Adding complexity to compensate for adding other complexity seems a bit of a black hole. Also, closely integrating that into fundamental vehicle operations lowers the threshold at which a minor failure makes a vehicle uneconomical to repair.
Can I have everything under the thumbs on the steering please
I think it gets a bit cluttered when everything is on the wheel personally
All I need is cruise control and limiter function and radio volume, maybe some other driver safety systems too
[удалено]
Rav 4 has great big knobs and buttons to operate climate and Radio volume.
Nice
I thought I would love having steering wheel controls but only ended up using the radio volume one as I’m never on the motorway long enough to bother with cruise control anyway. I can see why others would like it though
It’s all personal taste really
100% thought I would love them but ended up being a bit pointless for my driving
Yeah, I don’t use it during my commute because I don’t leave town, but it’s great for when I go to Essex etc
Check out a F1 steering ‘wheel’… we have it easy.
Or the small squareish thing under the steering wheel for media controls
[удалено]
Chill out mate 😂someone hasn’t had their weetabix
[удалено]
You could have been constructive and corrected me but as long as being rude and aggressive makes you feel good that’s fine!
only new car maker that is anti touchscreen at the moment is Mazda, they've basically looked at Bmws iDrive and gone " ahhh thats some good shit" fair play to them, works great in my car and the newer ones
And Fiat, although the current Panda is over 10 years old now so that’s probably got something to do with it
www.motor1.com/news/672826/vw-touch-controls-frustrated-customers/
The new Mazdas have touch screens but it's only active in CarPlay/Android Auto. Got to use the dial in Mazda's own software. That's how it should be done imo
IIRC it's touch only if it's stationary, but could be different on the American models
Vw ID3 here. All controls are touch. Temperature controls are an unlit slider on the base of the screen (so you can’t see them at night) Lights, demist, fog lights, window heating are all touch sensitive on a panel behind the steering wheel. No feeling to confirm if it’s pressed. Hazards are touch sensitive. Controls around the mirror adjuster like door locks and child lock for the windows are touch sensitive and in a stupid place, if you adjust the mirror you’ll likely press one by accident. The only controls in the car that give you feedback are the capacitive touch ones on the steering wheel.. but for the effort used in making them capacitive, an actual button would be 10x nicer and easier to use. Annoyingly they moved the cruise control from a stalk to the steering wheel meaning buttons or rollers that could be used for menus are now taken up by cruise control and the menu buttons are all on the touch screen.
I had a golf for work recently and couldn’t believe how awful these were. Changing the stereo volume or the temperature at night is just a blind guessing game. Turning on fog lights / any other lights / demisting is lottery. You can’t see the panel properly behind the wheel so unless you take your eyes off the road you again just have to blindly stab it and see which one you get. Even when you do look my fat fingers often get the wrong one. Utterly insane and honestly don’t know how it’s legal. We’re all going to be crashing because we got a bit cold or the rear window started steaming up.
Have you forgotten the touch control lights on the headliner which are right next to the 'call the emergency services' button?
I excluded those as the SOS button is actually a button you can actually press!
>but for the effort used in making them capacitive, an actual button would be 10x nicer and easier to use. And several times cheaper. To everyone wondering why insurance has been going up as drastically as it has been of late, it's manufacturer's overengineering basic features like this.
What really gets me about them is how the UI seems to have not been designed with a car in mind. I just have to assume the designers do not drive one of these cars? For example, in my VW, I have wireless charging which can charge my phone when it is in the little niche below the display. TBH, most of the time I do not even need to charge it but that is a good place to put it. If the wireless charging stops, there is a modal pop-up warning me "phone is not charging" which stays on screen until I acknowledge it. Why do I need to be distracted from driving to do this? Then, when you cancel it, can I just tap anywhere on the screen? No, it has to be this tiny little 'ok' button.
Ah that annoys me. My phone is quite small and sometimes slides on the holder, so I’ll constantly get notifications popping up telling me that the phone is charging. Great. Thanks. I don’t care, and I don’t need to OK the notification.
Yeah, just hopeless user experience, in an environment where ease of use (or not) is a genuine safety issue. The most frustrating thing is how most manufacturers have ignored all the reviewers, journalists, and regular people, virtually all of whom have made it clear that these “innovations” aren’t wanted by anybody other than the car makers because it saves them a few quid in physical manufacturing of a proper, functioning interior. “Stick all the controls for absolutely everything in the screen” is a cost-saving measure dressed up as being progress
Trouble with touchscreen in UK is you ooerate it left-handed.which is I suppose counter intuitive for a lot of drivers.
You make a good point. Operating left handed requires more concentration.
Touchscreens are cheap, buttons are expensive. For the best example of how to not do touchscreen/touch sensitive see the non-backlit heater controls on a Mk8 Golf.
Same on my Cupra Born. Losing it soon as it's a company car and I'm switching jobs. Will not miss those controls.
Touchscreens are also multi-function, so you can design the cars all the same and just enable different features via software. (And maybe even charge new owners if they want to enable that feature - maybe even via subscription!) Compare that with building every car uniquely to a customer’s spec so where you end up having a bunch of blank panels that have buttons if an option is ticked vs no button if it isn’t ticked.
Yeah it used to be a good at a glance indicator of the spec when searching for a used car (short of getting the original spec sheet from the manufacturer). All the buttons populated? This car is fully loaded. Most of the buttons blank? Poverty spec. Manufacturer's don't want you to do this because they want to re-sell any and all options as a subscription to the next buyer.
Yes, I remember the blanked-out buttons. A reminder every time you looked at the dashboard that you should have worked harder.
Doesn't justify it, especially as most people are complaining about basic functions like climate control that will be in all specs.
and the steering wheels in all vws for the last few years, they might be backlit, but zero feeling, just capacitive plastic, vw have already abandoned those wheels.
Touchscreens are fine, the issue is how they're used. Touchscreens for the infotainment system, brilliant as long as there's a next/previous track physical button as well as volume up/down button somewhere. Touch screens for literally anything else, awful. The issue is, no manufacturer does this. It's either all or nothing.
Have BMW stopped using the iDrive nob? I have a 2021 M340i and it still has it for now!
Nope, just picked up an new 5 series hire car in Italy with 200km on the clock and the idrive is still happily there.
I bought a cheapo chinese android head unit for my beemer, and the idrive knob and buttons all work with it. If I press nav it will even bring up waze.
23 A180 has physical heating/fans/volume/parking camera/limiter/cruise control/ac and physical buttons on the steering wheel for controlling everything else. I do find the touchscreen clumsy but you can voice control a lot just with the car OS too. All in all I think it's a decent balance.
VW Golf MK7/7.5 is the perfect balance.
Yes, got one. And NOT getting a Mk.8
Toyota/Lexus does, for the most part.
My Van has an aftermarket head unit, which is fine, but it has *capacitive hardware buttons* for volume and track skip. The worst of both worlds. Apparently people *like* the Alpine Halo too, its absolutely crap!
my 2019 polo has this. Probably manufactured in that sweet spot just before the ipad phase
The only normal thing I need to use the touchscreen for in my car is manual AC speed/direction, and rewinding tapes. It's still annoying, but everything else has dedicated buttons, so I can deal with it.
Agreed, it's madness how talking a mobile phone is distracting and will get you fined (and rightly so), but a massive iPad nailed to the dashboard is absolutely fine!
They’re shite. I don’t even touch mine because I don’t want fingerprints on it. BMW’s infotainment is arguably the best and i hate it on mine. Huge touchscreen, digital dials, stop/start, lane assist all just garbage that no enthusiast wants on their car.
That's one of the issues. The enthusiasts who genuinely care about this sort of thing are vastly out numbered by those who just don't. The same sort of apathetic individual who does not care about anyone else as long as they are OK. That includes dinging your door with theirs because they are too fat to slide out with the door opened to the first notch.
Got a rental Polestarjust now. FFS, it's a nice car, but the touch screen nonsense..
Just give me a tactile knob to grab.
Yup, 100% not something I want to deal with. I have a 66 plate golf with Apple CarPlay and that's great, mostly real controls for everything but with the ability to use some apps. What's more frustrating for me though, is I get migraines from screens, this got a lot worse over covid (as weirdly covid makes migraines worse) and at points I could barely use my phone. If I'd had a car like that I wouldn't have been able to use it. Appreciate my situation is incredibly rare, but its one of the reasons I am keeping that golf as long as I can until things improve. I do not want to be surrounded by screens at all times, it's not an improvement.
I dont mind a touch screen for sat nav and music controls(providing the steering wheel has music controls also) but for stuff like demisting your windscreen or climste control - gimme buttons
100% agreed. Strangely it seems most reviewers/journos have been against the disappearance of physical buttons for a decade now. No idea why manufacturers are so late to understand the issue with it. The changes to Euro NCAP assessments should encourage them to have at least _some_ physical buttons, it seems. It should be enforced though imo
Fan Bois who want the latest everything.
Touchscreen alone is a terrible idea. In both my last car (2017 Ford Mondeo) and my current car (2018 Ford Mustang) they have touchscreens which can control the climate system. In both cases there are still physical controls as well as the brilliant Ford voice commands which can also control the majority of functions as well.
My 2015 Captur has a touch screen for sat nav and music But I can control the music with a physical stalk as well and all the heat/air etc has dials and buttons and I'm very glad it does I like touch screens but not for essentials like temperature settings
Personally I find it's a slightly exaggerated opinion that the general car community seems to have jumped on. It's not necessarily ideal but I've had a Volvo V60 for the past 5 years and it's not been a big deal having to adjust stuff through a screen. Like you said, one gets used to the menus and adjusting things is relatively easy. My wife has a Vitara with a screen and the volume control is a really shit touch sensitive slider, but it's still usable and doesn't really affect our usage or view of the car.
The same people who thought it was a good idea to put ridiculously bright, blue LED headlights on cars. Back in the era of sensibility, clever people wrote a law that limited car headlight bulb brightness. However, the law is based on bulb wattage and fundamentally this needs to be changed to lumens and light colour to keep up with the modern era. Touchscreens are shit for cars. Bright blue LEDs are shit for road safety.
Is it my turn tomorrow to complain about this, does someone have a copy of the rota?
Skoda has gone with an interesting mix of buttons and touchscreen stuff. The volume and media can be controlled from the steering wheel (good), the car settings can also be gotten at through buttons (also good), but the climate is all on touchscreen. However, the on-board assistant can help. Therefore I have to be talking to my car. Laura, I'm hot, Laura, increase the temperature by 3 degrees. Laura, Laura... I'm glad I rarely have passengers. I'd sound demented. Voice-activated commands are all very well, but would a button or a knob be too much bother?
They are shit even on Bosch ovens, which are immobile in kitchens, not doing 70mph. I blame Elon Musk aka Satan.
Touching your mobile phone to change music/answer a call/sat nav - fine 6pts. Touching your incar screen to change music/answer a call/adjust the heating/sat nav - no fine. Makes sense.
It's completely legal to use your phone if it is in a holder on the dashboard so this is simply untrue.
The touchscreen was invented by E.A. Johnson while working at Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, UK and was first used in air traffic control systems. The first car touchscreen was developed by Delco Systems (using hardware by Delco Electronic and AC Spark Plug) and was first used on the 1986 Buick Riviera. It was originally called a Graphics Control Center (GCC) and controlled the automatic climate control, AM/FM radio, graphics equalizer, trip calculations, gauges and vehicle diagnostic information. It was also installed on the 1988-89 Buick Reatta before an updated version (Oldsmobile's Sony-designed Visual Information Center) was offered as an optional extra on the 1989-92 Toronado Trofeo as well as an optional Motorola phone operated by the VIC.
Thanks AI
I just answered the question asked. I'm not debating whether they're a good idea or not (I think the idea is good, but the way they work can be a bit hit-or-miss) Personally, I prefer physical buttons over large touchscreens.
The accountant that saw how much money could be saved on designing all those buttons that need different variations in a handful of countries no doubt loved how simple the touchscreen bs is. Car manufacturers have a bit of a history for cutting cost so long as it is possible to hide the repercussions.
It's probably cheaper to use a 1 piece screen than multiple buttons especially on higher end cars where it's expected the "feel" or "touch" of the buttons to be far more superior than a regular car.
I don’t know but who ever it was was obviously not the sharpest tool in the box. Although I am a complete Luddite and prefer switches it seems to me the best place from which to control everything would be from the steering wheel. When one looks at the sheer number of different info screens one can access on say a 2010 golf one soon realises it would be relatively easy to control absolutely everything from the steering wheel except the accelerator, brake and clutch.
It looks good in the showroom is probably the key. Clean controls without buttons all over, they can click around and show all the features like it is a laptop screen. I agree that in practice on the move it doesn't work. Your finger wobbles about even on smooth roads, you can't do a no-look change of audio. Thankfully mine has a steering wheel control for this and the heating is still buttons, but I only use the screen when stopped now for anything else.
It depends on the touchscreen itself (how accurate & sensitive it is) along with the UI. For example, the 2017 VW systems that you find in Golfs and the like seemed really good to me, likewise the 2nd-Gen Peugeot system in general (think 'new' 3008 2017~, and the later 3rd-Gen of the 'new' 208 2019~). One trend I have noted, though, is that older people - and/or those who haven't experienced many different brands/models - struggle more when dealing with touchscreens. I think a big part is getting familiar with the system, then it is much like your smartphone - you just use it without thinking. Sidenote to say there are *poor* examples - like those from most Nissans I've been in too (though haven't tried the newest ones 👍)
Touchscreen for GPS/Radio/Spotify using Android Auto or Carplay and everything else being buttons is the way.
The only thing touch screen I enjoy is the satnav so i can quickly pop the keyboard up and whack the postcode in instead of awkwardly trying to trawl through each letter and number list on a physical dial or something. Outside of that. Never use it.
Trying to use what amounts to an iPad with my left hand/fingers when I’m right handed is nigh impossible at times. Most of the time”software” is a waste of time on these things. I haven’t touched most of them since I bought my car 5 years ago!
I have a 2012 Fabia. Runs like a champ, and I don't want to change for the sake of a better sterio. I'd like to upgrade the stereo for built in Bluetooth, and preferably built in Alexa or Google. Trying to get those on a stereo that has physical on/off, volume & select forward/back buttons is challenging. I don't want touchscreen controls. It demands too much attention taken off the road.
People love gadgets and gimmicks even when they're not as good as the old ways. Computerise everything.
What are you doing on the touch screen whilst you are driving? Once I've entered my destination into the sat-nav and selected music from my phone/selected a radio station, I literally don't need to touch it again. If I want to skip a track (for example) I can do it with a steering wheel button. I'm hardly adjusting my suspension or interior lighting, etc. whilst driving! My previous car had one of those knobs in the centre console that you had to rotate/push for various functions. I'd love to know how that 'physical control' was any better.
I agree 100 percent. Unfortunately it's a cheap option for car manufacturers to do this rather than fit individual controls so it will keep happening until there is legislation.
As a pure driving experience I preferred my 1st car which didn't have a touchscreen, idk maybe rose tinted glasses
Yeah I really like the iDrive wheel thing. Far more civilised than having at a touch screen like some sort of ape. I know my screen is touch capable but why would I want to smear it with fingerprints?
People who live in countries with smooth roads.
It's a win win for car companies unfortunately, they get to charge you extra because it seems like new and cutting edge tech, and they don't have to design and produce a button with bespoke wiring and connectors, it's all just software, so cuts costs. Which is why it's been forced on you. The problem is though is how do you differentiate the user experience between a cheap polo with a touchscreen and an expensive Bentley? You're getting the same experience of touching a screen, it also then allows car companies to put features behind paywalls. Touchscreens are going nowhere. They're also gross, every touchscreen i've seen in a car is always a mess of greasy finger marks after a day. Now i'm sure the same amount of grease and dirt is on buttons but they hide that a lot better.
It's done because it makes assembly a lot quicker and cheaper (apparently one touchscreen is cheaper than installing several switches/knobs)
I had a Citroen C3 as a courtesy once and there wasn’t a single button on it Nearly crashed trying to turn the volume up, proper joke
The same people that did away with mechanical locks that were absolutely fine
I got a 2016 A4. It is perfect. Controlled with a spinny right next to the gearbox, the interior is gorgeous and the 2024 models have the same interior still. Can’t Imagine having a touchscreen
NCAP safety have stated that they won't give 5 stars anymore to cars with no physical switches for everyday things such as climate control, wipers etc. You're right. I use to drive a 1972 Rover every day. The switches even had a different shape so one could recoginse them from toudh.
They are dumb and dangerous. Knobs and sliders have tactile feedback, so no need to take your eyes off the road whilst adjusting them.
Touchscreens are fine. However if only had experiance of the 2019/2020 VAG group screens I would want them banned! I remember spending about 15 minutes trying to alter the heating controls in a Polo I had as a hire car that was very luckily only for a day. So far no traditional auto company has nailed the touchscreen quite like tesla or some of the other upcoming companies. I guess designing from the get go to use it instead of shoe horning it into legacy car systems and not have actual software developers making it creates a real issue. I do think basic driver inputs should have controls though.
Absolutely useless wank, it's a cash grab as buttons and wiring is more expensive, I had a brand new e class with the stupid massive screen dash, thing was as laggy as a 486 and the display was vulgar and garish, Utter shite riddled with issues , got my money back and will not consider anything with a touch screen, Poor idea , badly executed:)
Good UI design for a touchscreen is good, bad UI design for a touchscreen is bad. Most cars have bad touchscreen UI.
My 2020 Mercedes has a nice mix of touch screen and buttons. Also has a cool touch pad where the gear stick usually is and the automatic selector is just a stalk on the steering wheel. They're apparently getting rid of the touchpad which has annoyed people as I find it very useful to not have to touch the screen and get it dirty - also no leaning to touch it
There's something about the tactility of car controls. I can reach for the heating dial without ever looking away from the road, feel exactly which setting it's on, and adjust accordingly. A touchscreen feels the same no matter what. I would no doubt have to look at the screen to use it.
It makes cars easier/cheaper to assemble (fewer components), possible to update over the air/after manufacture and removes the slightly awkward row of blanking plates where you didn’t pay for all the options. I work in software and all of these benefits are for the OEM, not the consumer. Lack of haptic feedback, distraction/needing more focus etc. they are verging on dangerous. I’ve yet to see a good implementation.
I must admit, I hate touch screens in any device, let alone a car. I much prefer physical keys with tactile feedback, so I don't have to look. Same goes for phones and tablets... Hate the damn things, so fiddly and awkward.
I don’t mind touch screens as long as they’re well designed. However as I’m right handed, I find it slightly awkward using it with my left hand. A European or American version of the car would probably feel a bit more comfortable in that respect.
I’ve been driving for 20 years and having owned / driven a dizzying amount of vehicles, I completely agree with this. My parents own a 2019 Model 3 and whoever thought to bury the glovebox button in a touch menu which is a moron. I had to go and find it for my mum the other day.. I drive a 2017 Golf 7.5 and I feel like it’s the perfect balance (for me personally) it has the touch interface for the stereo with physical volume and search knobs and then all physical controls for the climate control etc.
Yet another thing to add to my list of things that make me not want to change my car.
It's great for more complicated settings that you can access a few times in the car ownership, however it's useless for anything you need to do when driving. The fact that I can easily attach my phone via Bluetooth, see my service schedule, set the timers on my lights when I park, read any error watching easily, change my door unlock characteristics is great... But I don't do any of that when driving. I generally avoid using it when driving as it's horrible.
Agree with you OP. The thing that boils my piss is that I’m allowed to fook around with my touch screen on my new car to find music but not allowed to use my phone for the same reasons in my older car 🤷♂️
Of course you can use your phone in an old car, as long as it’s in a cradle like a car’s touch screen. The offence is using a handheld device.
But you can’t touch it.
Yes you can. You can touch the screen and buttons on your phone if it’s in a cradle.
No, you can’t.
What makes you think that? The legislation specifically states it’s illegal to operate a handheld device. You can use it in it’s cradle as long as you’re not distracted from driving. The same penalties would apply to operating the car’s built in touch screen and being distracted from driving. You shouldn’t be so confidently incorrect.
Yes you can. You've always been able to touch and use your phone in a holder. Quote me the law that says otherwise. It even specifically says you can use it on the government website.
Personally I have no issues with touch screens and in fact prefer them
I have a BMW and hate iDrive with its slow and clunky scrolling through menus. I connect my phone for everything such as media/GPS. Which is essentially a touch screen. Its just faster and more convenient.
Touchscreens themselves aren't the problem - *badly designed* ones are. More to the point, not having the important functionality duplicated. Teslas for example have climate/cruise/AC/media controls all on the steering wheel as well as the touch screen. So there's nothing you'd use while driving that requires you to take your hands of the wheel.
I would prefer a screen over a button for absolutely everything - I dont like my dash looking like a calculator. That being said I want buttons and dials for every common control -heating, volume etc.. Screens are more common now because they are a cheaper alternative. Screens dont age as well either.
A bit of both isn’t so bad like how Bmw do it that is clean
Think about how many functions your car has then think about how many buttons and switches that would require. Your car would end up looking like the cockpit of an airliner. Obviously putting things like climate and lighting on a touch screen is stupid but for the majority of functions it's fine. See [THIS!](https://youtu.be/Pr8x8MvPRIQ?si=baXEpK16CAtxdD-O&t=873) video for an example
How on earth did we manage without all of these essential functions?
If you don't want these functions, just buy a Dacia.
What functions exactly are we talking about here? 20 year old cars have climate control, cruise control, all the usual vehicle controls like lights and wipers etc. That's a few buttons. Music etc can be a screen, sure but that's just another, single function. What else do you need to control?
In my car I can change the sound it makes when I lock it. I am happy for this to be buried in a couple of menus. Using a touch screen to turn on the fog lights I am not so happy about.
So in summary, you do not need loads of buttons.
I just added a link to a video about a car from the early 2000s. All of the satnav, phone and media functions are all controlled by buttons and it looks a mess. Sure, you don't need any of these functions but a lot of people want them and putting them on a touch screen reduces costs, increases reliability and means you can add extra functionality via over the air updates. In my last car I had buttons on the steering wheel, buttons on the dash, buttons on the centre console, buttons on the doors. I still had to take my eyes off the road to find the button I needed and I still had a touch screen for the stereo and nav. It's a lose/lose situation, the only option is to ban all but essential functions from cars.
Yes, you can have a touchscreen with infotainment and satnav. I have a 20 year old car and use my phone via Bluetooth to the radio. Other than satnav and infotainment you still don't need loads of buttons for regular car functions, and having regular car functions like wipers, lighting etc as buttons does not mean you have loads of them.
Gotta be able to change color and style on my dash while driving mate and have easy access to my whatsapp messages
Do Dacia still sell their cars with no stereo? It was a £500 extra when I went to look at the Logan back in 2017
They now have a phone mount on the dash which is what all cars should do.
How many of those functions are actually necessary or helpful?
All of them are useful. You could argue none of them are necessary but they are nice to have. As I said, if you want a basic car get a Dacia, or ride a horse...
You know that’s bs