The car industry trend of replacing physical buttons with touch controls is awful
- Thread starter RBH
- Start date
The screen in the car I bought 2 years ago already looks old fashioned. Hate it, but there aren't really other options.
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The 2025 Toyota 4Runner Has Tons of Buttons Inside. That’s on Purpose
The 2025 Toyota 4Runner's approach to interior tech is a practical one: Do what works, not what impresses the lowest common denominator.
www.thedrive.com
The 2025 Toyota 4Runner Has Tons of Buttons Inside. That’s on Purpose
The 2025 Toyota 4Runner's approach to interior tech is a practical one: Do what works, not what impresses the lowest common denominator.
Still has a tablet glued to the dash in the least stylish or integrated way possible and yet, it's still better than many alternatives.
My 2011 Flex (180K miles) still runs (barely), and I love it because it's one of the last cars without a screen, and a bunch normal, actual buttons. It does have a USB plug and bluetooth - and that's really all you need!
My wife's newer car has buttons for the gear-shift - it just feels so wrong!
My wife's newer car has buttons for the gear-shift - it just feels so wrong!
The 2025 Toyota 4Runner Has Tons of Buttons Inside. That’s on Purpose
The 2025 Toyota 4Runner's approach to interior tech is a practical one: Do what works, not what impresses the lowest common denominator.
Hell yeah. Hope the rest of Toyota's lineup follows.
OP
OP
Oh I'm not a fan of those gear shift buttons at all, just doesn't feel right
One thing I absolutely love about my 2021 EcoSport's dash is that it's pretty much all buttons.
My car's dashboard (I have a Titanium trim).
(a more professional picture of the dashboard)
It's simple, which is something I was looking for. I absolutely despise the trend of making everything controlled by a touchscreen.
My car's dashboard (I have a Titanium trim).
(a more professional picture of the dashboard)
It's simple, which is something I was looking for. I absolutely despise the trend of making everything controlled by a touchscreen.
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A huge screen is very benefitial for reversing and mapping data so that Toyota 4Runner seems to be the best of both worlds to me.
OP
OP
(a more professional picture of the dashboard)
It's simple, which is something I was looking for. I absolutely despise the trend of making everything controlled by a touchscreen.
To my eyes this is anything but simple. This looks like tens of buttons with various icons that are absolutely all over the place. Confusing and impractical, as opposed to a large, clear touchscreen and a few buttons and scroll wheels. Nice and easy.
The issue with touchscreens is that they're not really safe to use while driving (which is why places like the EU are looking at making buttons mandatory for some features).
Buttons and knobs provide a tactical feedback that a touchscreen can't replicate, and that's important when driving, as it'll lessen the time the driver has to take their eyes off the road.
Moving important features to a screen is one of the dumbest and unsafe things the car industry has done. It's illegal in most places to use a mobile device while driving, so why move important features to a mobile device that's built into the dashboard.
Study Finds That Buttons in Cars Are Safer and Quicker to Use Than Touchscreens
Cars in recent years have come equipped with larger, more feauture-packed touchscreen infotainment systems. But are they really better than simple buttons?
futurism.com
Shocker! In Cars, Physical Buttons Are Easier Than Touchscreens
A study showed that it is less time-consuming to push a button, as drivers have been doing for decades, rather than operate a touchscreen infotainment system.
www.caranddriver.com
New Vehicle Infotainment Systems Create Increased Distractions Behind the Wheel
AAA Foundation study reveals in-vehicle technology takes one step forward, two steps back
newsroom.aaa.com
Lastly, one you know where everything is, muscle memory kicks in. I know exactly where the button is and can press it without looking away from the road. The same applies to every other button.
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I Went To China And Drove A Dozen Electric Cars. Western Automakers Are Cooked
A trip to the Beijing Auto Show reveals just how advanced China's EVs are. So what are the so-called "foreign" automakers doing about it?
insideevs.com
Not sure how man functions can be controlled with the spinning thing to the right of the driver.
Needs to be really accurate voice recognition. Then there are problems like if people are sleeping in the back and if you are on the phone.
Would be a cool addon, but don't think voice commands can be the main control system.
That will be where it goes eventually. Soon probably. The voice commands in my Model Y are great and I use them all the time for things I used to use manual controls for, it works fantastic. I think oither brands will get there very soon too. Once AI gets into cars in major ways I think useful voice commands will become very common.
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The inside of a Geely Galaxy E8I Went To China And Drove A Dozen Electric Cars. Western Automakers Are Cooked
A trip to the Beijing Auto Show reveals just how advanced China's EVs are. So what are the so-called "foreign" automakers doing about it?
Not sure how man functions can be controlled with the spinning thing to the right of the driver.
But then it has this stupid thing for it's gear shift. No thanks!
(my wife's Santa Fe has buttons for it's gear shift - so unintuitive)
My Kona has buttons for the gear shift next to where the cup holder is.But then it has this stupid thing for it's gear shift. No thanks!
(my wife's Santa Fe has buttons for it's gear shift - so unintuitive)
But then it has this stupid thing for it's gear shift. No thanks!
(my wife's Santa Fe has buttons for it's gear shift - so unintuitive)
Hmm, my fiance just got a 2023 Kona about 6 months ago and it has a normal stick for the gear shift.
Also yeah, buttons for all the main controls instead of touch screen. Definetly one of the reasons we went with this car.
I personally hate voice commands. Talking to things to make them work is my least favorite way to interact with them.
But I'm also fine if my car doesn't get any new features after I buy it, and I don't need a fancy infotainment system.
I don't miss physical climate controls at all after 3/4 year with a Model Y. It's not like I'm changing the temperature or settings all the time, it does it's thing automatically and that's about it.
I think it's silly to remove buttons for the glove box and stuff like that for example. But now that I got used to it I'm fine with it in general. As long as it works as well as in my Tesla. I drove some modern cars with and without buttons and it was a miserable experience. Hard to understand how car manufacturers manage to create user interfaces THAT BAD.
I think it's silly to remove buttons for the glove box and stuff like that for example. But now that I got used to it I'm fine with it in general. As long as it works as well as in my Tesla. I drove some modern cars with and without buttons and it was a miserable experience. Hard to understand how car manufacturers manage to create user interfaces THAT BAD.