#bringbackbuttons
A well-designed button can be incredibly satisfying. Just ask anyone who owns a mechanical keyboard.
I think the Hummer EV is a dangerous and wasteful piece of junk. But one thing it does well is the interior controls. There’s a bunch of switches on the dash under near the infotainment screen, and there’s little symbols above them for what they do. Tapping a switch can change its context.
So you get the flexibility of infotainment controls, but the UX of actual buttons.
Too bad it’s in a Hummer EV.
Can confirm that these buttons on the steering wheel of the id4 are really, really dangerous bullshit. I regularly drive those cars as rentals, and I’ve never (not “rarely” - it’s really never) faced a worse decision on buttons in any device I ever handled. Those touchpads are solely the reason I despise all VW-cars - they are complete crap. (I use these cars only for short trips and never activate any system by these buttons after encountering numerous dangerous situations as described in the article.)
Im of the opinion controls for cars should be designed more like controls for airplanes. Every gage and button in that cockpit is where it is and points where it points to be able to convey a lot of information with a quick glance and allow you to interact as quickly and easily as you can read them. Marketing gimicks that remove layers of tactile response to esential controls don’t belong in heavy machinery.
Todays cars cockpit layouts are straight out dangerous for the roads tbh. Forcing you to point your eyes to some shitty display somewhere to turn down your AC, then try to tap tiny buttons and hope you won’t tap on something else, instead of looking at a road in front of you? How is that even allowed ffs?!
Shouldn’t automotive catch a hint from the fact that the only mainstream capacitive control devices are phones and tablets - something that you’re constantly looking at while operating?
They know.
Capacitive touch sensors are WAY cheaper than physical buttons, and aren’t nearly as prone to mechanical flaws. Plus they can market them as “newer”!
Car companies only care about your safety as much as it affects their bottom line. It’s unfortunately commonplace for there to be known fatal flaws which occur infrequently enough that it’s cheaper to just pay out the injured/killed victims than to issue a recall. Driving is inherently dangerous - any car companies that tried to fix everything would go bankrupt, or at least be squeezed out by those that don’t.
Now, if only there were a way to build the places we live so that we didn’t need to take on the risk of driving so frequently…
The older I get, the more willing I am to pay a premium for safety.
Thankfully, after every reviewer called them bullshit, their newer cars have shifted back to real buttons on the wheel.
There’s still capacitive button BS for the heating controls though, so there’s still shit reviewers need to push back on.
Ban all touch screens in cars.
I only accept Touch Screens for Media and Navigation. Everything else better be a button.
The ID.4 doesn’t just have capacitive buttons, it has swipe controls on the steering wheel.
And of the most frustrating cars I have ever driven.
It’s both. VW can’t make their mind up.
Swiping works on them, but so does pressing.
While im not a fan of the capacitive buttons on the steering wheel, I’ve gotten used to them and havent had any issues. That said, if there’s some sort of recall that swaps it out for a wheel with regular buttons, im down for that. I saw some of the newer VWs had physical buttons again, i wonder if it is just as easy to sawp like my MKV Rabbit from the bare bones to a R32 wheel?
Now the capacitive buttons below the screen could f right off lol. I barely use them. I tend to rest my hand on the top of the screen and use my thumb to navigate where i need to go. Thanks above for the travel assist mode.
I got a loaner while my car was being fixed a while ago. The volume control on the wheel was touch sensitive. I would swipe it and blow my ears out while turning.
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Completely ridiculous, used to own a mk6 Jetta and the steering wheel was perfect as it was, everything was right there and it was all regular buttons
This bears repeating more: VW already knew how to make good driver controls. Their buttons and switches were carefully and thoughtfully designed for many years. The decision to throw in touch-screen buttons is either chasing a fad or outright dangerous cost-cutting. Companies like VW deserve the flak because they knew better, and did it anyway.
Mk7 GTI owner here, can confirm it’s got great steering wheel controls. I like that the audio is on the left side since my right hand is busy shifting.
Lots of cars got crossed from my list when shopping for a used one this year, no buttons meant no purchase. got a Kia stinger, fast car, looks good, good price, all physical buttons
Your autocorrect took the day off.
Kia Stinger looks like a nice ride, good choice!
That’s exactly the reason I bought Kia too last year.
