Technology

I've got a few capacitive buttons in my car, none of them critical, but I'd gladly replace them with the physical buttons in the lower tier version of that car...

Like, how is this considered the nicer option? Hell, I think they're actually cheaper for the manufacturer than proper buttons at this point...

But sure, I really want to have to try three times to turn the vented seats on because I don't hit the exact right spot on the pad, only to accidentally switch it to the heated seats in triple digit weather while reaching for the AC knob (which actually is physical, thankfully)

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.

and why do they have to be everywhere? we have an induction stove and it has capacitive buttons for some idiotic reason. so many problems! when you boil water, little drops are always landing on the buttons. and to reduce power from max to min, you need to hold the - button for like a full minute. wiping the stove with a wet towel makes it go BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP and it won't shut up! and finally, when my cats walk on the buttons, they always manage to turn it on. i miss knobs.

In germany you migh have the chance to get a 50€ voucher for your next german car

I think it's Mercedes that has two mini touchpads on the steering wheel? Horrible.

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...

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?!

Touch controls are becoming increasingly common in airplanes and then backed up by mouse cursors. Flight critical controls still need to be backed by physical hardware but stuff like route planning etc is now almost entirely touch based. For light sports aircraft’s even flight critical stuff can be approved as touch controls. Look at the G3X or Dynon SkyView. They both have some form of dial-based backup controls, but it’s clearly designed for touch first.

I had a 2023 hire VW Caddy while mine was getting repaired and it had real buttons on the steering wheel thankfully. The climate control was all on a touchscreen though which was awful. At least they had a button next to the wheel that would set it to demist the windscreen (change the blowers, heat and fan to Max) so you could do that without crashing.

Was so glad to get mine back with actual controls.

I only accept Touch Screens for Media and Navigation. Everything else better be a button.

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.

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.

Your autocorrect took the day off.

Kia Stinger looks like a nice ride, good choice!