Buttons maybe coming back!

[F32Fleet]

https://futurism.com/the-byte/europe...r-touchscreens

I guess I'll wait another 10 years before I buy a new bimmer. Rofl.

[dgoldenz]

Europe finally doing something good for cars. Wow!

[Donatello.]

Some things, like climate controls, should be buttons & knobs. I dislike the way it is setup in my Hellcat where I have to use the touchscreen to get into the menu to change where the air is coming from. Also wouldn't mind if the heated/cooled seats were buttons instead either

[/ / / M3]

While some automakers (i.e. Tesla) go too far with eliminating "buttons", to a point where you have to use the touch screen to put the car in drive and reverse, when it comes to something like BMW's ID8, I really don't see what people are complaining about. You still have physical buttons for emergency stuff (i.e. hazard lights and defrost) and climate functions are easily accessible via an icon that is always visible on the screen.

Does anyone remember luxury cars from the 90’s and early 2000’s, with dozens of tiny buttons spread all over the cabin? They weren’t exactly intuitive either. And those cars were relatively basic feature-wise compared to today’s cars. Imagine a modern car without any screens. It would make a Boeing 747 seem basic in comparison.

[gblansten]

I don't miss all the buttons. I love a clean and minimalist approach.

[Jbrown7403]

Hah! When i first glanced at the headline, I thought Jenson Button was coming back to F1! 😉

I’m in favor of both Button and Buttons returning! (Loved his 2009 F1 season!)

[DanG]

I like having buttons for AC/Defraust etc. I think my M2 has the right mix of buttons and idrive screens.

[RPM33]

Originally Posted by DanG

I like having buttons for AC/Defraust etc. I think my M2 has the right mix of buttons and idrive screens.

How long are you going to keep your 2018 M2 Dan? Another 25 years?

[DanG]

Originally Posted by RPM33

How long are you going to keep your 2018 M2 Dan? Another 25 years?

It maybe my last car. Who knows?

[cooolone2]

Physical buttons can be manipulated absent the need to look at them (feel)... Touch screen does not allow the same and requires you to take your eyes off the road!

A combination of the two may be ok, but pure touch screen only is not the way!

[Sebis]

Originally Posted by DanG

I like having buttons for AC/Defraust etc. I think my M2 has the right mix of buttons and idrive screens.

While I do think the main cluster display is much better in iDrive 8 vs. previous generation, I dislike the A/C controls. The "auto" feature doesn't really work and have to keep adjusting the temperature.

And much worse are the heated seats controls, it refuses to activate unless I manually turn it on by forcing it on very high and then it gets too hot and have to manually adjust it back to a lower level. And unlike the main temperature controls, one has to dive into the menus to control the heated seats. I find myself having to pull over to do this safely, what a clusterf**k BMW

[TodmordenLad]

Mazda has always refused to install touchscreens in its cars on the grounds of safety. Not sure if it's still the case with their latest models?
Personally I loathe touchscreens in cars and always go for the most analogue set up possible, which is becoming increasingly challenging when buying new/nearly new.
Saab used to design the most ergonomic cockpits and dashboards, such a shame we lost them as an independent manufacturer - the cars were pretty nice too

[MJBO]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

A combination of the two may be ok, but pure touch screen only is not the way!

To be fair, it’s not purely touch, there is voice control too.

[MJBO]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Mazda has always refused to install touchscreens in its cars on the grounds of safety. Not sure if it's still the case with their latest models?

Mazda has mostly had touchscreens for better part of ten years with MZD Connect. Mazda Connect (the newer version) doesn’t have it it some (like Mazda 3), but does in models like the CX-60 and CX-90. They lockout the touch function when not in park.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by MJBO

Mazda has mostly had touchscreens for better part of ten years with MZD Connect. Mazda Connect (the newer version) doesn’t have it it some (like Mazda 3), but does in models like the CX-60 and CX-90. They lockout the touch function when not in park.

I hadn't appreciated that, I had a new shape Mazda3 for a couple of years and there was no touchscreen, just a rotary dial. Here's an interesting article on Mazda and touchscreens..

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...m-its-vehicles