#bringbackbuttons
A well-designed button can be incredibly satisfying. Just ask anyone who owns a mechanical keyboard.
I think the Hummer EV is a dangerous and wasteful piece of junk. But one thing it does well is the interior controls. There’s a bunch of switches on the dash under near the infotainment screen, and there’s little symbols above them for what they do. Tapping a switch can change its context.
So you get the flexibility of infotainment controls, but the UX of actual buttons.
Too bad it’s in a Hummer EV.
Can confirm that these buttons on the steering wheel of the id4 are really, really dangerous bullshit. I regularly drive those cars as rentals, and I’ve never (not “rarely” - it’s really never) faced a worse decision on buttons in any device I ever handled. Those touchpads are solely the reason I despise all VW-cars - they are complete crap. (I use these cars only for short trips and never activate any system by these buttons after encountering numerous dangerous situations as described in the article.)
Shouldn’t automotive catch a hint from the fact that the only mainstream capacitive control devices are phones and tablets - something that you’re constantly looking at while operating?
They know.
Capacitive touch sensors are WAY cheaper than physical buttons, and aren’t nearly as prone to mechanical flaws. Plus they can market them as “newer”!
Car companies only care about your safety as much as it affects their bottom line. It’s unfortunately commonplace for there to be known fatal flaws which occur infrequently enough that it’s cheaper to just pay out the injured/killed victims than to issue a recall. Driving is inherently dangerous - any car companies that tried to fix everything would go bankrupt, or at least be squeezed out by those that don’t.
Now, if only there were a way to build the places we live so that we didn’t need to take on the risk of driving so frequently…
The older I get, the more willing I am to pay a premium for safety.
Thankfully, after every reviewer called them bullshit, their newer cars have shifted back to real buttons on the wheel.
There’s still capacitive button BS for the heating controls though, so there’s still shit reviewers need to push back on.
Ban all touch screens in cars.
The ID.4 doesn’t just have capacitive buttons, it has swipe controls on the steering wheel.
And of the most frustrating cars I have ever driven.
It’s both. VW can’t make their mind up.
Swiping works on them, but so does pressing.
While im not a fan of the capacitive buttons on the steering wheel, I’ve gotten used to them and havent had any issues. That said, if there’s some sort of recall that swaps it out for a wheel with regular buttons, im down for that. I saw some of the newer VWs had physical buttons again, i wonder if it is just as easy to sawp like my MKV Rabbit from the bare bones to a R32 wheel?
Now the capacitive buttons below the screen could f right off lol. I barely use them. I tend to rest my hand on the top of the screen and use my thumb to navigate where i need to go. Thanks above for the travel assist mode.
I got a loaner while my car was being fixed a while ago. The volume control on the wheel was touch sensitive. I would swipe it and blow my ears out while turning.
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Lots of cars got crossed from my list when shopping for a used one this year, no buttons meant no purchase. got a Kia stinger, fast car, looks good, good price, all physical buttons
That’s exactly the reason I bought Kia too last year.
