“Enough with touch controls on cars”: Volkswagen begins the revolution

The anti-touch button crusade starts from the car. “Too easy to operate commands by mistake, difficult to understand if the function has been activated or not, difficult to find out what the real function of each button is”: these are the main criticisms that have rained down in Wolfsburg, the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group, the largest manufacturer in the world.

The dispute arose from the analysis of a survey that the German company carried out among its customers all over the world: from the youngest to the oldest, it seems that no one wants touch controls anymore. So Volkswagen immediately ran for cover and decided to eliminate them from the position deemed most uncomfortable: the steering wheels. The next generation of Audi, Vw, Skoda, Seat, Cupra and associates will have only “physical” buttons on the steering spokes.

Then, the rest of the dashboard and center console will be seen. But the revolution, on the contrary, has now started.

We start from the steering wheel because there, while driving or more often during maneuvers, the possibility of operating a command by mistake is more frequent. And it is no coincidence that in the Volkswagen Group survey that position of the touch buttons is the most contested.

For the automotive industry, however, this reversal is complicated and expensive: the touch controls on the steering wheel, in fact, allow you to mount small screens (such as a tablet) that can operate any function. With the enormous advantage of being modified over time at no additional cost: with each software update or multimedia system update with other features, with this system there is no need to redesign and change the entire steering wheel.

In short, the revolution has begun. And in the cockpits of the most technological cars, various signs in this direction are beginning to be seen. For example, on the future Hyundai Ioniq5 the wheel that turns on and off and allows you to adjust the volume of the multimedia system has been left, while also on the Tonale, the latest (and most digital) novelty of the Stellantis Group, on the steering wheel have been retained physical and non-touch buttons.

Now all eyes are on the Tesla which, for the moment, does not seem to want to go back on its path of absolute digitization of the passenger compartment. But, it will be a coincidence, both on the Model S and on the 3 and on the Y, the buttons on the steering wheel are physical wheels. And don’t touch: Elon Musk’s company once again proves to be a step forward.