The move is part of move away from touchscreen controls, which drivers complained were tedious and dangerous to use while driving.

Volkswagen will restore physical buttons to the dashboard in its latest compact car, part of a wider move away from touchscreens.

In a particularly retro touch, the new ID Polo will even have a volume dial.

For a decade or so, automakers rushed to replace knobs and switches with screens, Autoblog noted in October, but users largely disliked them: Controlling the air conditioning, for example, required delving through submenus while driving, which was both difficult and dangerous. Research found that using touchscreens took longer and distracted drivers.

Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and VW have all announced plans to return to more tactile controls, and US and EU regulators announced last year that cars with touchscreen controls could get worse safety ratings.

  • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    2 days ago

    The car I drive now is the newest car I’ve ever owned. It’s a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara, V6 AWD. I like everything about it. I’ll keep it running as long as I can.

    This is what a car should look like inside. Everything in reach, physical knobs I can set without looking, no distractions. Peak design:

    No internet account required, of course, which also means they can’t nerf my car from the other side of the planet, or charge me for 50 more HP, or heated seats. The most sophisticated display is the red LEDs that tell time, outside temp, and real time MPG. Also, I like having a car I actually own, Suzuki doesn’t want anything to do with me, and I don’t want anything to do with them. It was a one-time transaction, like a hooker and a john. We’re not in a fucking life-long relationship.

    Cars should not be this inside. While I agree it’s cool and futuristic, it is not practical. Form should follow function, everything about this is the opposite:

    • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Wow that’s a very cool looking cabin on the Suzuki!
      We had an Opel Vectra from the same year, with leather cabin and manual 6 shift gear. We really liked that car, and would have kept it longer. But safety regulation required some pretty expensive repairs to keep it legal, and the yearly tax on petrol cars that don’t have high mileage is becoming pretty significant here in Denmark.

      But our VW ID.4 is a far cry from as bad as the EV you are showing.

      Everything required for everyday driving has buttons and levers like traditional cars.
      VW is already doing it pretty well IMO, improving further on it to include for instance air condition is nice, but no biggie IMO.
      But again your Suzuki look REALLY nice. 😎

    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.comEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      Not only no physical controls, but no fucking instrument cluster either. Tesla interiors are such a bad design. I don’t like the exterior design either, but that’s more of an aesthetic preference than a functional one.