Physical Buttons!
Discussion
New Euro NCAP safety tests next year will encourage car makers to return to physical buttons
https://www.evo.co.uk/car-technology/207666/button...
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1...
https://www.evo.co.uk/car-technology/207666/button...
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1...
Buttons are almost as annoying sometimes. There should be a knob for the ICE volume, a knob for each of the left and right temperature controls and BMW should revert back to the lovely rotary switch they used to have for the lights before they stuck a collection of buttons there instead.
5 points out of 100 is nothing - the threshold for 5 stars is 80% in that section so losing 5 points makes very little difference, so I can’t see the new protocols changing anything unless the vehicle is borderline for 5 stars.
Of course, Euro NCAP protocols have a tendency to creep in to homologation regulations over time, so some physical controls may become a requirement.
Of course, Euro NCAP protocols have a tendency to creep in to homologation regulations over time, so some physical controls may become a requirement.
i read about this, and think its a great thing, as others have said it has taken too long for someone to speak up about it.
Buttons > touch screen.
you don't need to look at a button to know you've touched and pressed it. it's more difficult on a touch screen.
Now the same needs to be done for rev/speed clusters. REAL gauges instead of a screen. a physical gauge is easier to read, won't have the same amount of glare. At a bare minimum a real gauge should be used for revs/speed.
Buttons > touch screen.
you don't need to look at a button to know you've touched and pressed it. it's more difficult on a touch screen.
Now the same needs to be done for rev/speed clusters. REAL gauges instead of a screen. a physical gauge is easier to read, won't have the same amount of glare. At a bare minimum a real gauge should be used for revs/speed.
MitchT said:
Buttons are almost as annoying sometimes. There should be a knob for the ICE volume, a knob for each of the left and right temperature controls and BMW should revert back to the lovely rotary switch they used to have for the lights before they stuck a collection of buttons there instead.
Definitely. My Lexus has buttons for temperature up and down, and holding the button doesn't increase how quickly the numbers progress. You're talking 28 presses to get it from 16 degrees 30 degrees.Mr Tidy said:
Why did it take so long?
Surely it has been pretty obvious for years that using a screen slapped onto the dashboard wasn't any safer than a screen on a mobile phone in a holder?
Yep, I feel a sense of relief when my garage gives me an older hire car and I don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to figure out how to switch on the blowers and select a radio station. It's a toss up between a 2015 Golf and a 2023 Golf. I suppose it's fine if it's a car you're using daily but for a car that I use once a year, I can't remember how to turn the volume down without accidentally turning the a/c temp down instead. I won't even mention the default lane alert thing.Surely it has been pretty obvious for years that using a screen slapped onto the dashboard wasn't any safer than a screen on a mobile phone in a holder?
Sounds like good news.
My old cars which have cd players in them are all buttons. All of them are easier to use. Aaah, the nostalgic simplicity.
The complexity came in when sat navs and online music became a modern expectation - and they necessitate screens. I think manufacturers went overboard with it, but Jaguar did a decent balanced job of this. Our e pace has rotaries where you need to turn stuff, buttons where you need to press stuff, and screens when you need to either look at stuff or perform pre-departure faffing about. As a result the screen rarely needs to be touched after setting off, as there isn’t a need.
My old cars which have cd players in them are all buttons. All of them are easier to use. Aaah, the nostalgic simplicity.
The complexity came in when sat navs and online music became a modern expectation - and they necessitate screens. I think manufacturers went overboard with it, but Jaguar did a decent balanced job of this. Our e pace has rotaries where you need to turn stuff, buttons where you need to press stuff, and screens when you need to either look at stuff or perform pre-departure faffing about. As a result the screen rarely needs to be touched after setting off, as there isn’t a need.
ambuletz said:
Now the same needs to be done for rev/speed clusters. REAL gauges instead of a screen. a physical gauge is easier to read, won't have the same amount of glare. At a bare minimum a real gauge should be used for revs/speed.
Nope. New style speed displayed as digits are far far better than a counter that goes from 0-160 (at least) where only half of it is actually useful.Plus most new cars are automatic and what % of the public looks at a rev counter anymore?
Mercury00 said:
MitchT said:
Buttons are almost as annoying sometimes. There should be a knob for the ICE volume, a knob for each of the left and right temperature controls and BMW should revert back to the lovely rotary switch they used to have for the lights before they stuck a collection of buttons there instead.
Definitely. My Lexus has buttons for temperature up and down, and holding the button doesn't increase how quickly the numbers progress. You're talking 28 presses to get it from 16 degrees 30 degrees.I don’t think we need that many buttons. I would say hazard lights and a rotary for quick temp control.
Saying that my car has none and I don’t seem to miss them but then I am a kind of set and forget kind of guy on my ac settings. Physical buttons safer but not a big issue for my use case.
I tend just to drive the car, don’t need constant fidgeting with settings.
Saying that my car has none and I don’t seem to miss them but then I am a kind of set and forget kind of guy on my ac settings. Physical buttons safer but not a big issue for my use case.
I tend just to drive the car, don’t need constant fidgeting with settings.
I quite liked the button design in the S2000 I owned a good few years ago. They were close to the steering and useable with gloves on. The radio was hidden behind a door.
I think with a little more work, combined with a heads up display they could have been made to be more useful. Provision for sat nav was lacking though.
I think with a little more work, combined with a heads up display they could have been made to be more useful. Provision for sat nav was lacking though.
When looking for a new car last year, I tried the Volvo EX30.
Not a single real physical button, apart from the windows. Even the steering wheel used "haptic" touch pads. Awful.
I went for a Kia EV3, which has physical buttons for the stuff you need to use while driving, haptic shortcut "buttons" for things you might use while driving, and a touchscreen for things you really shouldn't need on the move. Not perfect, but about as good as it gets in a new car.
Not a single real physical button, apart from the windows. Even the steering wheel used "haptic" touch pads. Awful.
I went for a Kia EV3, which has physical buttons for the stuff you need to use while driving, haptic shortcut "buttons" for things you might use while driving, and a touchscreen for things you really shouldn't need on the move. Not perfect, but about as good as it gets in a new car.
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