Volkswagen admits moving away from physical buttons to touch screens was a mistake. Volkswagen to Bring Back Physical Buttons to All Vehicles | PCMag
"Physical Buttons" needs more qualification? Our '10 has physical buttons, one being the vent mode. Which you'd like to access, on a twisty road, nighttime, raining, because the windshelds starting to fog up. It's here: Ensconced in a row of similar buttons, uniform and flush, with a wee text ID. Ok, you've found it, after looking down 3~4 seconds, got a finger on it. Now, just one hand on the steering wheel, you glance up to ensure you're not going off-road yet, push the button once, glance down, squinting to see the LCD display for a reaction: Ok, it shows this: Glance up at the road again, one-handing along still, another push of the button, glance down: Dang, glance up at the road again, another push: Dang, glance up at the road again, another push: Eureka! And that's as good as it gets; no directing all the air to the windshield, at least not with the regular modes. Then there's the base model Honda Fit, long since discontinued for North America, and this dash style likely long since discontinued, everywhere: ^ There's only two actual "buttons", they're distinct, on the lower left and right corners, and for largely set-and-forget functions. The other functions, recirc/fresh, temperature, fan speed and mode are all tactile, easy to find and adjust by feel alone. IIRC, Honda's mode dials had intermediate detents that you could feel as you rotate, so you've got the two extremes, and 3 detents for the intermediates. I hope VW does it right; I'd be interested.
I think Hyundai did also. The problem is cost in terms of competitive models, and what do the next generation of buyers want.
There appears to be some European safety rating encouraging this. I know the 2025 Camry is not too intuitive. There is one owner on TN that keeps hitting the "trunk open" when they want either the panoramic cameras or the fuel door release. LOL The HVAC controls put some of the buttons where other buttons just have a display. Auto high beam switch Traction control on/off Instrument panel light control Panoramic camera switch Trunk opener Fuel filler door opener For HVAC, I needed to do a screen grab to show the actual controls. Top row: Auto LED Drivers seat heater switch & LEDs Drivers seat ventilation & LEDs Drivers temperature display Fan speed display (Auto mode does not show fan speed) Heated steering wheel display (includes an Auto mode) Air direction indicator (Auto mode does not show direction) Passenger temperature indicator Bottom row Auto on/off switch (toggle) Heated side mirrors switch & LED Heater rear defroster switch & LED Driver temperature set switch (up/down) Fan speed switch (up/down) Heated steering wheel switch Air flow switch Passenger temperature set switch (up/down) Temperature sync switch & LED (driver temperature controls both) Recirculate switch & LED (Auto mode does not show status) AC switch & LED (Auto mode does not show status) It is quite the complex mess.
It does have voice commands. They were demoed but I do not use them. The salesman tried to have the built in navigation go back to the dealer but it could not find it by name. giving the address displayed the name LOL Other than navigation, voice assist works with seat memory & "ambient lighting".
