Cars may have to ditch touch screens for physical buttons; here is why

Ever tried to search for the desired button on a touch screen control panel of your car while driving? Yes, it is really difficult to locate the appropriate button on a touch screen without diverting your attention from the road.

Thinking away from the aesthetics and only from the driver’s perspective, it is actually easy for a driver to feel the physical buttons with their fingers and locate them without shifting the focus from the road.

In fact, a recent study by a Swedish car website, Vi Bilägare corroborates the assumption.

However, it is really strange that barring one or two manufacturers who think beyond aesthetics and cheap show-offs to offer practicality to their drivers, almost all vehicle manufacturers especially cars, are increasingly opting for touch screens.

According to Vi Bilägare, inspiration for the screen-heavy interiors in modern cars comes from smartphones and tablets. Designers want a “clean” interior with minimal switchgear, and the financial department wants to lower the cost. So, instead of developing, manufacturing and keeping physical buttons in stock for years to come, car manufacturers are keen on integrating more functions into a digital screen which can be updated over time.

Vi Bilägare gathered eleven modern cars from different manufacturers at an airfield and measured the time needed for a driver to perform different simple tasks, such as changing the radio station or adjusting the climate control. At the same time, the car was driven at 110 km/h. They also invited an “old-school” car without a touchscreen, a 17-year-old Volvo V70, for comparison.

One important aspect of this test is that the drivers had time to get to know the cars and their infotainment systems before the test started.

The tests which were conducted include; activating the heated seat, increasing the temperature by two degrees, and start the defroster, powering on the radio and adjusting the station to a specific channel, resetting the trip computer, lowering the instrument lighting to the lowest level and turn off the center display.

And the results though startling, it was expected.

The easiest car to understand and operate, by a large margin, was the 2005 Volvo V70. The four tasks were handled within ten seconds flat, during which the car was driven 306 meters at 110 km/h.

At the other end of the scale, the Chinese electric car MG Marvel R performed far worse. The driver needed 44.6 seconds before all the tasks were completed, during which the car had travelled 1,372 meters – more than four times the distance compared to the old Volvo.

BMW iX and Seat Leon performed better, but both were still too complicated. The driver needed almost a kilometer to perform the tasks. Lots can happen in traffic during that time.

Dacia Sandero and Volvo C40 performed well although they both have touchscreens. However, they are not overloaded with features. Volvo shows that a touch screen doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated.

The website did not include any Honda cars in the test. One car manufacturer which has actually gone against the trend and introduced physical switches and buttons ditching touch screens, is the Honda itself. For its bestselling model in India, City, Honda ditched the touch screen climate control in the latest gen (5th) of its car and introduced physical buttons again.

It was not always the case. In fact, while upgrading from 3rd gen to 4th gen, Honda City went with the trend and introduced an all-touchscreen panel including the air conditioning system. However, good sense prevailed and they turned their ac controls to the good old physical buttons in the 5th gen City after getting feedback from their customers.

It only remains to be seen when the car manufacturers are going to ditch the touch screen controls for physical buttons.