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This may in part be motivated by new guidance from NCAP, which will from next year require that all new cars have physical controls to earn the highest safety ratings.
Whatever the motivation though, I'm glad for it. Getting rid of buttons was always a dumb idea and I'm happy to see pushback.
Hyundai (motor group) and some time later VW group announced that they are bringing physical buttons back.
March of 2023
As it turns out though, sometimes the old ways are best. Hyundai certainly thinks so, as it has pledged to employ real physical buttons in products to come.
December of 2023
https://insideevs.com/news/701296/vw-physical-controls-to-return/
Fair :)
That's very positive.
That’s why I love brands like Hyundai. Never got rid of the knobs.
Honda as well.
Subaru went all in on the touch screen and it suuuuucked.
My uncle's outback looks like a video slot machine, and everything had to be done through the touchscreen. But to add insult to injury, the Subaru touchscreens are super slow and unresponsive, so they feel like they aren't working.
Yup, that was my experience with the in laws Ascent.
Yep. And mazda has physical climate button/knobs, with a physical dial to control the infotainment (it's pretty convenient, if a bit of an older design on most of their vehicles).
I consider it space-age. I haven't driven a non-Mazda that seemed as well thought out and functional. I wish I could rip one out and put it on my non-Mazda car. I breath a sigh of relief that my partner didn't buy the Honda with a long finicky touchstrip to control the volume instead of a knob.
Which Honda had the touchstrip instead of a knob?
I don't doubt one might exist, just haven't run into one yet.
Mazda is a physical dial by default, but if you want to you can go into the settings and enable the touch screen. Best of both worlds.
Same as BMW iDrive. I'm sure some are touch screen, but you don't have to use it.
I got in right before Subaru went that way and ended up with the best of both worlds: a touchscreen for CarPlay and knobs for...everything else. I still have knobs for the radio if need be.
Plus it's a six speed manual (Crosstrek).
I get a flyer from the dealership every other week asking if I want to "upgrade." Sorry, fellas, nothing you have is an upgrade to me. You can't get a manual gearbox here any more.
You can’t get a manual gearbox here any more.
Another factor contributing to the discontinuation of manual transmissions is the increasing emphasis on safety features and the integration of advanced driver-assist technologies.
Ew.
It's frustrating because "the consumer" doesn't want manuals, yet car makers add all these things that keep people from paying attention to the road making it - in my opinion - too easy to get distracted. I like that I can't hold my phone in my hand and drive because I need to shift.
Last summer I was in Ireland, and I was peeking in a few cars on parked on the side of the road just out of curiosity. Almost every one was a manual, it seemed like. It's not that we COULDN'T have fun, manual cars here. But Americans are lazy.
Thats the reason they dont have me roped into payments right now
I have a Hyundai ioniq 5 and it definitely has touch buttons for some of the things, like climate control.
We got the new Kona and besides the touchscreen we have all the buttons.
Now, take out the bullshit that's tracking you and sending the information back to them to sell, and we'll be doing something great
Not sure how they were able to remove so many buttons in the first place and not be marked down on safety. Suddenly trying to find a demister on a touchscreen menu while in motion was never a great idea. Surprisingly, Volvo off all companies have been one of the worst for this. That's why I like Dacias, little tech = little to go wrong.
I mean it was a great idea of you wanted to reduce costs while also increasing the price of the vehicle.
And it looks nice.
And Volvo went from this:
To this:
Which is quite the change...
OTOH now we will get to enjoy dashcam videos of car rollovers where the driver is like, Where's that playlist... OH GOD OH SHIT !!!
Now get rid of the touch screen entirely. Mark my words, the first electric car unveiled as a totally analog experience will be incredibly popular.
Not out of the goodness of their own hearts mind. It's probably more because Euro NCAP are going to be deducting score for not having physical essentials in 2026.
Nah, this „news“ is from early to mid last year. Their designers simply took notes and realized touch screens suck for a vehicle.
It's been a long time since I looked but I hope most cars still have physical buttons/controls for all important functions! Besides being easier and faster to use, without them if a touchscreen malfunctions (hardware or software) everything is gone and you wouldn't be able to drive the car. Then there's the tracking and spying, and sometimes bugs and UI changes after updates--and now ads!?# Cars are becoming as enshittified like everything else now.
Thank you!
I don't care what the reasoning is behind the decision (customer feedback vs. changes to safety ratings), I'm just glad it's happening and I hope all manufacturers follow suit.
This has been my gripe with new cars ever since I found myself needing one in 2022. Everything I looked at had a huge infotainment system front-ending climate and cabin controls. Want to turn your steering wheel heat off mid drive? Ha! Tap this specific spot on this screen 3 times and hope the car doesn't bounce while you're doing so or you'll accidentally turn something else on. Want to use voice controls? Joke's on you, they only work 50% of the time.
God forbid something happens to the control board (which costs thousands of dollars to replace if you're outside warranty), because then you're completely hosed.
You know what always worked without fail? The buttons in my 2005 Corolla.
Even without the new EU regulations on this, I bet VW was already planning on doing this. The widespread backlash to the non-illuminated capacitive touch controls on the newest Golf GTIs/Rs was significant. I wouldn't have bought one of those, and a Golf R is basically my dream car.
I've been passing on a Golf R for the past 3 years for this exact reason.
I dunno. Cadillac has been doing this for decades and show no sign of stopping. I had them in my Chevy Volt and they were infuriating.
I swear I‘ve read this headline like 4 times in the last month in this very community.
I literally did not buy/straightout refused to buy new Golf because of this crap. It does not get simpler than that: other producer got my money, VW group did not. Period.
Volkswagen should be forbidden to produce anything. There were even touch-SLIDE commands on the steering wheel. God only knows how many lives were lost in accidents, because someone ''touched'' something and switched something off or on. Horrible.
would be nice seeing them doing it instead of talking about it
I mean, that's step 1? It's not like they can do an instantaneous cutover, they'll need to figure out what's vital enough to deserve buttons, come up with a design/layout for that, find a supplier for them, get them in, start assembling the cars with them... Honestly they've probably already done a lot of that behind the scenes already before saying anything publicly. Point is, it's not like there's a button in the factory to start making cars with buttons instead.
Hopefully they can hit some middleground so we don't end up back in the crazy button-hell that cars used to be. Having a billion buttons is equally as bad as having none.
Learning from Scout, which is also under the VW umbrella:
Thank you! Now bring back physical keys too!
The very definition of the solution looking for a problem that one.
Oh look I don't have to put the keys in the ignition that saved me a whole tenth of a second. Of course now it's possible to lose my keys in my own car.
Aw, just when they were about to get rid of the steering wheel, shame.
hoping the whole industry follows after, please subaru go back to the climate control buttons
revolutionary
Unbelievable levels of ingenuity.
Good
