It’s not every day (or any day, really) that we feel the need to ask everyone to be civil in advance because we’re about drop a hot take on a contentious topic, but today’s Autopian Asks is a little bit different. We’re courting controversy by soliciting feedback on a topic that people have strong opinions about. Opinions that can stoke polarization and end friendships – and no, we’re not talking about politics. Let’s talk about buttons.
It used to be that everything in a car was controlled with a button, knob, switch, or slider. Remember those multi-band graphic equalizers from the ’80s, power antenna switches, or even the Ford headlight control that let you set the auto-headlight-off delay right at the switch?
Well, it’s not the 80s anymore. With the sheer number of gadgets and functions aboard modern cars, a button, knob, or dial for everything isn’t the most practical or user-friendly solution. Some of you might not be convinced by that argument, but I urge you to take a good look at the center stack of the Buick Cascada. Look at all those tightly grouped, same-but-different controls!
Obviously, stalks still make sense for the indicators and wipers, a physical headlight switch is simply the standard, a hardwired hazard-lights switch is a must for emergencies, and being able to quickly hit the defrost button is wonderful in cold weather. What else should still be buttons, switches, and knobs?
My personal requirements are relatively simple. I’ve owned a car without a volume knob, and it wasn’t great, so a volume knob is a must. Additionally, and I can’t believe I’d need to say this, but I’d like every power window to have its own driver-accessible switch. Looking at you, Volkswagen ID.4. I also appreciate physical power-mirror controls and would like an actual finger-depressable home button for the infotainment system. What can I say? I’m a simple man. I’m fine with digital buttons for heated seats so long as they’re top-level, but in modern cars, I just set things up before I have to set off.
So, what physical controls, other than the obvious of a steering wheel, a shifter, and pedals, just make sense for you? Are you one of those people who’s fine without a volume knob, someone who wants their dashboard to look like the cabin of an A380, or somewhere in between?
(Photo credits: Honda, Buick)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Should Honking Your Horn Be Considered Free Speech?
-
What Are Some Ways That Automakers Have Made Cars Easy To Work On?
-
Have You Ever Had Parts Fall Off Of A Vehicle While Driving?
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
I’ll be much happier about a giant screen in my car when they put a thumbwheel on the driver’s side of the screen to control the brightness of the screen INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHER LIGHTING IN THE CAR. The bottom limit of thumbwheel travel shall turn the screen OFF. And don’t get fancy — I’m looking at you, Germans — and make the thumbwheel press-able or multi-functional. It turns up, it turns down, that’s it.
HVAC and radio should have knobs and buttons including a button for “seek.” I’m out here in the boondocks trying to find news about a tornado warning and have to go through three submenus to find seek because there’s no tuning knob and “seek” is a capacitive blotch on the screen that’s blinding me because I can’t find the dimmer.
Turn signals on a stalk, why would you not do that, I don’t understand why they screwed with a perfect system. Cruise control on a stubby stalk like Toyotas so I don’t have to stab at my steering wheel in the dark. The screen is only for Nav/CarPlay, system preferences, and whatever personal information harvesting apps the marketing department is forcing on us.
And finally, the transmission selector. I’ve had to drive a Lincoln MK Something recently and the selector isn’t a selector at all, it is big stupid individual buttons arrayed vertically on the left side of the stupid NAV screen. So to reverse out of a parking spot, one must lean forward, locate the “R” button and press it. Then to drive off, one must lean forward, locate the “D” button and press that. God forbid you’re in a tight spot and have to do this four or five times. Idiocy. Just put it back the way it used to be please with a stick in the middle of the console and notches for each choice.
Thank you for your time.
MX-5 infotainment knob thingy is right where my arm rests when I’m shifting, so any bump changes the menu. Maybe it needs one of those big plastic guards.
My ’23 BMW has the climate controls, including the controls for the heated seats, in the display. On top of that, everything is accessible through the iDrive controller *except* to change the temperature! As someone that absolutely despises touchscreens in cars, this is annoying, and bad interface design. To adjust the heated seats requires going through a couple of menus. I just leave them on all winter at this point. Temperature and heated seats should always have physical buttons!
When I bought my 2004 4Runner, I was so pleased at how easy it was to engage the cruise control from the stalk: push the button at the tip and then adjust speed by moving the stalk up or down. On my Subarus and first gen Mazda MPV, you had to first push a button on the dash (on the Subarus, it’s partially obscured by the dash and the same shape/size as the fog light button) then engage the stalk. My 2006 Outback thankfully has the same cruise control apparatus as Toyotas.
Our family’s 1968 Chrysler Imperial had a push button on the floor for the radio seek functions. Freaked my friends out how my dad could change the radio station without touching the dial on the dash.
“EJECT” should always be a physical button or lever.
Just flip the top of the gear lever up to reveal the red button.
Also, “caltrops.”
Pretty much anything, was driving at night this week and was adjusting the climate and then the seat position, could all be done by feel due to different sized buttons
On another tangent, in my car, I have a touchscreen to control the entertainment/radio. I also have a four way directional button on the steering wheel to control said screen. Why is it that when I turn the volume up and down, with the up and down buttons, the visual aid on the screen goes left and right? When I change the channel on the radio by pushing the left and right buttons, the vertical column of channels goes up and down? This design has made me nuts for 8 years of owning the car.
It would drive me nuts if it didn’t do that.
That just ain’t right!
Had an ‘01 V70 that did it pretty well: no touchscreen, just buttons, knobs & stalks. Simple design, intuitive. A few of the audio knobs were too similar, though.
Have a ’16 S60 with a screen, but not touch screen. The number of buttons, knobs and sliders on the dash and two stalks is comical, similar to that Buick. I can definitely see OEMs desire to reduce the number of physical switches but obviously Tesla’s all-touch solution is also comical.
One thing I like about the iDrive in my Mini is that the 6 radio preset buttons can be programmed for non-radio functions when the radio is not is use, which in my car, is 100% of the time. Another neat trick is that touching a programmed button without depressing it shows what the programmed function is without activating it.
So, to OEMs out there, give us a handful of programmable buttons that can be programmed by owners for otherwise touch-only functions.
Climate control, drive modes and safety systems should all be buttons. Maps and music are fine on screen
I’d be perfectly okay with a pair of window switches with a physical toggle to choose front or back. But I should be able to feel the position of that toggle without looking.
Everything? Yes, Everything needs buttons. Button ALL the things damnit!!!
Hold up there, Pontiac…
I didn’t say I wanted buttons for my butt…. Oh, I did, didn’t I?
Torch’s Sonar.
I think the W213/S213 Mercedes E class got the switches perfect (no I’m not biased)
There are physical switches for every important routinely changed function, from heated/cooled seats to windows and mirrors, volume, climate etc. And everything you might use sparingly is only 1 or 2 context menus away and you can add things in the menus you use more frequently (like massage or trackpace for me) to your shortcut menu on the steering wheel.
https://cdn.carbuzz.com/gallery-images/2023-mercedes-amg-e63-wagon-cockpit-carbuzz-826001.jpg
I love the old Toyota cruise control dongle, the tiny stalk below the wheel on the right. Once you learn it is is fully intuitive, working by touch only. I now find steering wheel buttons fussy in comparison.
As someone who currently owns a vehicle with the Toyota stalk and a vehicle with steering wheel buttons, I completely agree.
I also grew up with German and American cars that put cruise control on the either the turn signal stalk or another stalk adjacent to the turn signal stalk, and I’ll take the steering wheel buttons over that nonsense any day (looking at you, GM).
Ugghh – the old ’80s GM stalk mounted cruise control was a crime against humanity.
Counterpoint, the GM everything stalk was easy.
Agreed. Memorizing where everything was made it a cinch to operate without looking.
I never warmed to it. The wipers were fine but I never like the tiny cruise switch. I preferred the earlier Ford 2 stalk system or the later Ford single stalk. I’ve fully adapted the modern Toyo/Honda stalks and don’t want to go back. First car had dash mounted wiper knob, foot dimmer and the old school headlamp knob.
I left the cruise on but not active. Jab the giant set button at the end of the stalk to set.
It’s also a great affordance for blind drivers.
My 07 Corvette still has that
Respectfully disagree. I’m always fumbling for the steering wheel mounted dongle in my Toyota. Meanwhile, the cruise buttons on the wheel of my Chevy fall right where my left thumb can easily reach. It may be because the Chevy is my daily so I’m far more used to it.
2019 BMW X3 is the template.
Physical controls for AC w heated seats right next to it
Row of addressable shortcut buttons
Volume knob
Heated Steering Wheel button on the steering wheel
iDrive scroll wheel
This, so much this! Also note this BMW has manual door handles (I can’t believe I need to type that…), switches for the windows (and window lock for the back seat), separate buttons for the front & rear defroster. The only improvements may be adding a tuning knob to select the radio stations and maybe go back to the cruise control on a stalk that BMW used for a few years – it was different so I think people didn’t get it, but once you figured it out it was really easy to use.
Agree with you and Querty. And that BMW cruise was perfect, especially with the brilliant indicator that raced around the speedo to tell you what speed you’d selected.
HVAC – temp, fan speed, heat/vent/defrost controls. Radio power and volume. Rear window defroster and hazard/4-ways. (I shouldn’t have to say this, but) wiper / washer nozzle control. Headlights and high beams. Turn signals. Window regulators and mirror position. DOOR HANDLES AND LOCK CONTROLS. Interior lights (dome light) and dash backlight intensity. Transmission shifter!
While I understand this fight has already been lost, emergency brake/parking brake controls should always be mechanical, not a switch. Drive-by-wire a-la Cybertruck, with no physical connection between the steering wheel and steering rack, should be outlawed. Ditto brake-by-wire.
I also refuse to buy any car where you have to push a button or use a screen to electronically unlatch the glove compartment lid, on pure principle.
There should be a set-up for a grouping of programmable buttons that can be used if the car is owned/leased and disabled for rentals and left stock. You can throw a link tab on the touchscreen to show the button mapping, and it can alternate for each driver just like seat/key fob memories do.
I think the current 11th gen Honda Civic and the MK7 VW Golf really nailed the buttons/screens tradeoff. This makes the MK8 and ID.4 that much more frustrating.
Buttons on the steering wheel for cruise control, volume, seek, and driver assist functions. Bonus points to control a digital cluster with a steering wheel button too. NONE OF THIS VW HAPTIC TOUCH GARBAGE.Buttons on the center dash to switch between Nav/CarPlay/Radio, hazard lights, seat heaters, and drive modes.Stalks for wipers and turn signals. Looking at you Tesla.Some sort of stick or dial for shifter. Prius style or normal PRNDL are both great. Yes, the Ford dial is fine. The Mercedes mini column shifter is perfection.Dial control for headlights. (Stop overthinking this, manufacturers)Knobs for auto climate control. VW perfected this in 2015-2021 US-Model Golfs/Jettas and the current Taos with auto climate. Three big dials, with buttons for the common functions like defrosters and AC or manual controlKnob for volume and tuning or menu selection.Everything else can be on a central touch screen. I want CarPlay/Android Auto though. …I’m basically describing a higher-optioned MK6/MK7 VW product, of which my partner and I have now owned five. The 2022+ Arteon steering wheel and climate controls are a mistake… as was my purchase of said vehicle.
I’ve had three VWs, spanning from 2009-2014, and I think they’re also up there in just the right configuration for me. The only thing my center screen is any good for is pausing my music and displaying the backup camera. Otherwise, everything else has a physical button, knob, or switch.
Everything should be controlled with a physical control. I don’t want a touchscreen, non-touch screen, or capacitive buttons of any kind in my car.
Oil slick, road spikes, hub-mounted laser beams, rotating licence plate, bumper-mounted RPG, smokescreen, bulletproof shield, invisibility cloak, miniguns, rocker panel skis, passenger ejector seat, martini shaker.
Don’t forget banana peel shooter!
Infotainment & wheel:
Volume knob & audio on/off
Home button
Track forward, back & pause
Climate & settings:
Temperature
Fan speed
Defog shortcut
Drive mode toggle (for non-latching modes) or shortcut
Driving aid settings menu shortcut
Wheel & doors:
Car On/Off button
Gearshift
Turn signals
Windshield wipers
Headlight controls
Cruise control settings
ADAS on/off toggle
Steering wheel positioning settings OR memory control
Door lock/unlock
All 4 window controls
Child lock
Power mirror controls OR memory control
Basic seat adjustments
Trunk unlock/open
Gas cap/charge port unlock/open
I break essential actions in a car into three priorities: operate, navigate, and communicate. Nothing involved with these actions should be run through a touchscreen. My primary reason for saying this is that it takes only one failure to wipeout every function on a touchscreen controlled vehicle or subsystem. Screens that replace instruments, for example, will wipe out all instruments when they fail. Same with controls.
The only valid reason for changing how systems are controlled or communicate with the driver is if the change simplifies or improves interface and/or performance. Touchscreens do neither. I’ve used MFDs in planes and cars and not felt like the experience was an enhancement over physical controls and instruments. My personal opinion is that they demand too much attention, are not particularly intuitive, and are subject to glitches that physical systems are not.
Subsystems like a radio, phone interface, and climate controls are less essential and can be relegated to a single control point such as a screen. However, it can also be reasonably argued that even climate systems are important to the operational environment and can impact how the operator functions , so they need to be manual, too. Likewise seat and mirror controls.
Other than camera interfaces, that doesn’t leave much for touchscreens to do and I’m just fine with that. I’m driving a car, not playing a video game or browsing websites and I don’t want to feel like that when I’m trying control some aspect of the car.
I’m adaptable and given no choice (except driving older vehicles) I will accommodate, but it just doesn’t feel necessary to push everything off in the direction of touchscreens and most especially not in a potentially deadly moving platform.
Just so you know, I’m stealing your framework from now on – it’s such a great, intuitive way to think about the systems.
And fits my personal operating philosophy that cars are, to paraphrase Le Corbusier, machines for driving – so everything should be geared primarily toward that.
I have always found the passenger seat bidet to be best controlled through a touchscreen.
Horns, and there should be more of them, because,“you can never find a horn when you‘re mad”- Homer J. Simpson